2011 Philadelphia Eagles Were Incredibly Hyped But Ultimately Disappointed

Published on September 8th, 2022 9:01 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


2011 was supposed to be a big year for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The team was led by a resurgent Michael Vick, who was still just 31 years of age and had shown a return to form in the year prior.

The team added all sorts of big names in the offseason, including Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Nnamdi Asomugha and Steve Smith, just to name a few.

The defense was going to be a problem, and the offense, led by names like Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson, was going to be one of the most electrifying in the NFL.

All of the moves led new backup quarterback, Vince Young, to proclaim that the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles were a "dream team".

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Las Vegas bought into the hype as well, as the Eagles were one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl heading into the season.

In fact, only the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers had better odds to win.

It was going to be a great year in Philadelphia.

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On September 11th, 2011, the Eagles travelled to St. Louis for their home opening, and things went just as well as they possibly could have for the Eagles.

The Andy Reid coached squad won by a score of 31-13, and they were dominant on both sides of the ball.

The offense racked up 403 yards of total offense, while the defense returned a fumble for the touchdown.

This was to be the blueprint for the season - help on both sides of the ball.

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The season, however, would take a sharp turn for the worse over the next month, as the Eagles would proceed to lose four straight games.

They lost a 35-31 heartbreaker to the Atlanta Falcons on the road in Week 2. The Eagles were up by 10 heading into the fourth quarter, but they managed to blow the lead.

The Eagles played their next two games at home, but they were both losses - 29-16 against the New York Giants, and 24-23 against the San Francisco 49ers.

The next week, the Eagles were back on the road, where they ended up losing 31-24 to the Buffalo Bills.

Just like that and the Eagles were 1-4 and wondering what had gone wrong.

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The Eagles would win their next two games, both important divisional games against the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys win was particularly emphatic, as they smashed their foes 34-7 at home.

Suddenly, the Eagles were 3-4 and seemingly getting things together.

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After that, disaster struck, as the Eagles lost two very winnable games at home against the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals.

Both games were close, though the Eagles just couldn't pull it out when it mattered, and that would become the theme for the season.

After beating the Giants on the road, the Eagles would proceed to lose consecutive games to the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, and their season was over as they looked at a 4-8 record.

The funny thing is that the Eagles would pull it together at the end of the year, winning their last four games in a row to finish with a record of 8-8.

The damage had been done, however, and the Eagles would miss the playoffs.

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After all of the promise and hype, the Eagles missed the playoffs.

There was some hope that they could possibly squeak into the playoffs, though the New York Giants would end up winning the division, and ultimately went on to win the Super Bowl as well.

Eagles fans were left flummoxed - how could a team that finished 10-6 the season before miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007, despite adding all of the new talent?

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2011 remains a sore spot for fans of the Eagles franchise.