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Four straight trips to the playoffs, three straight NFC East titles, and two straight seasons as the top seed in their conference.
The Eagles know that's not enough, but, at the same time, it's truly an amazing
accomplishment.
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"Not too many people get to do this," offensive guard John Welbourn said late Saturday after the Eagles clinched the NFC East and a first-round bye with a victory over the Washington Redskins. "I think what it means is that the system they have here works."
Welbourn is right. Not too many teams win three straight division titles, and
it's not often that a team is the top seed in its conference in consecutive
years, either.
The last time the Eagles won three straight anything was 1947 to 1949 when they
celebrated NFL East titles in three straight years and advanced to the title
game three straight times, winning it twice. Back then, the NFL had 10 teams
and a 12-game schedule. Today, the league has 32 teams and a 16-game schedule,
and at least three playoff victories are needed to claim a title.
In the last three seasons, the Eagles have more than doubled their total of
NFC East titles, which stood at two in 29 seasons before coach Andy Reid's arrival.
By winning Saturday, the Eagles placed themselves among some of the best teams
in NFL history. They became just the 13th team to win three straight division
titles since the schedule expanded to 16 games in 1978, and they are the first
team to have the top seed in their conference in consecutive years since the
Buffalo Bills during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. The last NFC team to do it was
the San Francisco 49ers in 1989 and 1990.
"Hopefully, now, the Philly fans will believe in us a little more,"
Welbourn said.
The truth, of course, is that in order for that to happen, it's going to take
more than three straight division titles. The Eagles could win every division
title from now until the apocalypse, and it would mean little to their fans
if there wasn't at least one Super Bowl title to go along with it.
For the most part, the players have similar feelings. That's why the extent
of this year's NFC East celebration didn't go beyond placing some hats noting
the accomplishment on their heads.
"We're happy, but we're not too happy," defensive end N.D. Kalu said.
"We know we've got a lot more to do."
If history does indeed repeat itself, a third straight division title should
increase the Eagles' chances of getting to the Feb. 1 title game in Houston.
Ten of the 12 previous teams to win at least three straight division titles
since 1978 have reached the Super Bowl. Half of the 12 won at least one title
during that time.
That group includes Joe Montana's 49ers, who won five straight division titles
and two Super Bowls from 1986 to 1990. It includes Don Shula's Miami Dolphins,
who won five straight division titles and lost twice in the Super Bowl from
1981 to 1985. It includes Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins, who won three straight
division titles and a Super Bowl from 1982 to 1984.
It includes Walter Payton's Chicago Bears, who won five straight titles and
a Super Bowl from 1984 to 1988. It includes the Dallas Cowboys, who parlayed
a trio of stars - Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin - into five straight
division titles and three Super Bowl titles from 1992 through 1996. And it includes
Brett Favre's Green Bay Packers, who went to two Super Bowls and won one from
1995-97.
The only two teams that failed to reach the Super Bowl after winning three straight
titles during a 16-game season were the Cleveland Browns (1985-87), who lost
consecutive heartbreaking AFC championship games to John Elway and the Denver
Broncos, and the San Diego Chargers (1979-81), who lost consecutive AFC title
games to Oakland and Cincinnati.
Of course, the Eagles don't want to be the Buffalo Bills, either. They won four
straight division titles, went to the playoffs six straight times, and lost
four straight Super Bowls between 1988 and 1993.
For the most part, though, history says that if you keep winning your division,
you at least get to the big game. History also tells us that it's often good
to be the top seed in your conference.
Of the 74 teams that have gone to the Super Bowl, 44 of them - that's 59 percent
- were seeded first in their conference. Of the 37 teams to win, 23 of them
- that's 62 percent - were No. 1 seeds.
That doesn't mean anything this season, and it certainly didn't mean anything
for the Eagles last season when they squandered their chance to close Veterans
Stadium with a victory in the NFC championship game by losing to Tampa Bay.
The Eagles have reason to be proud of what they've accomplished under Reid.
But the coach will certainly remind them that there's much work left to be done.