By Mid-Afternoon — the Eagles Were Down 23–0 in Cleveland.
By the Second Quarter — the Comeback Was In Full Effect.
PHOTO: Philadelphia EaglesFor a team that was predicted to be a Super Bowl contender in 1991- the season wasn’t going well for Philly by early November. The Eagles were 4–5 and had lost All-Pro Quarterback Randall Cunningham to a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the season. But Super Bowl Champion Jim McMahon was back, and the Eagles were in Cleveland on November 10th fighting for their playoff lives.
For nearly two quarters, the league’s best defense was exploited by a 42-yard interception return by Eric Turner and Bernie Kosar’s two touchdown passes to put the Browns up 23–0. The Eagles began a furious comeback sparked by an eighteen-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Keith Jackson. McMahon then connected with Fred Barnett on a seventy-yard touchdown pass. Eagles kicker Roger Ruzek made four field goals to pull the Eagles within 30–26.
After a fourth-quarter Webster Slaughter fumble on a punt return while trying to come out of his end zone and Eagles recovery at the three-yard line — McMahon found Calvin Williams for a five-yard score to put the Eagle up 32–30 permanently.
The win pulled the Eagles to a .500 record at 5–5. Despite finishing the 1991 season with a 5–1 record down the stretch and the #1 defense against the pass, the run, and yards allowed, the team would finish without making the playoffs. The comeback in Cleveland, however, orchestrated thanks in part to Jim McMahon’s 341 passing yards, wouldn’t just be a season highlight.
It would be the second-largest comeback in franchise history to that point.
PHOTO: Philadelphia Eagles