# 1989 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1989 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 57th season in the National Football League (NFL).
This season marked the Eagles’ second consecutive appearance in the postseason, this time as a wild-card team. They would lose in the Wild Card round to the Los Angeles Rams 21–7.
Tribulation struck the Eagles late in the season with the death of quarterbacks coach Doug Scovil from a heart attack. For the remainder of the season, the Eagles wore a black stripe made of electrical tape over the wings on their helmet in tribute.
It was Hall of Famer Cris Carter's final season in Philadelphia as his on-and-off the field troubles led to his release the following preseason. He would then sign with the Minnesota Vikings.

## Offseason
### Draft

1989 Philadelphia Eagles draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 49 | Jessie Small | LB | Eastern Kentucky |
| 3 | 76 | Robert Drummond | RB | Syracuse |
| 3 | 81 | Britt Hager | LB | Texas |
| 6 | 162 | Heath Sherman | RB | Texas A&M–Kingsville |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season

Randall Cunningham enjoyed the second of back-to-back breakout seasons, beginning with his leading the Eagles to a 42–37 comeback victory at RFK Stadium on September 17, right after signing a contract extension.
The Eagles won five of their last six games to challenge the Giants for the division lead. On Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium, the Eagles shutout their division rival Cowboys 27–0, amidst accusations that certain defensive players were rewarded with bounties to take out several Dallas players, including kicker Luis Zendejas. Less than two weeks later, back in Philadelphia, Eagles fans pelted the Cowboys and game officials with snowballs packed in ice thanks to freezing temperatures and snowfall from the previous day.
The two matchups between the Cowboys and Eagles became known as the Bounty Bowls.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 10, 1989 | Seattle Seahawks | W 31–7 | 1–0 | 64,287 |
| 2 | September 17, 1989 | at Washington Redskins | W 42–37 | 2–0 | 53,493 |
| 3 | September 24, 1989 | San Francisco 49ers | L 38–28 | 2–1 | 66,042 |
| 4 | October 2, 1989 | at Chicago Bears | L 27–13 | 2–2 | 66,625 |
| 5 | October 8, 1989 | New York Giants | W 21–19 | 3–2 | 65,688 |
| 6 | October 15, 1989 | at Phoenix Cardinals | W 17–5 | 4–2 | 42,620 |
| 7 | October 22, 1989 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 10–7 | 5–2 | 64,019 |
| 8 | October 29, 1989 | at Denver Broncos | W 28–24 | 6–2 | 75,065 |
| 9 | November 5, 1989 | at San Diego Chargers | L 20–17 | 6–3 | 47,019 |
| 10 | November 12, 1989 | Washington Redskins | L 10–3 | 6–4 | 65,443 |
| 11 | November 19, 1989 | Minnesota Vikings | W 10–9 | 7–4 | 65,944 |
| 12 | November 23, 1989 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 27–0 | 8–4 | 54,444 |
| 13 | December 3, 1989 | at New York Giants | W 24–17 | 9–4 | 74,809 |
| 14 | December 10, 1989 | Dallas Cowboys | W 20–10 | 10–4 | 59,842 |
| 15 | December 18, 1989 | at New Orleans Saints | L 30–20 | 10–5 | 59,218 |
| 16 | December 24, 1989 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 31–14 | 11–5 | 43,287 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seahawks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Eagles | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
| Redskins | 20 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 37 |

#### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • 49ers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 38 |
| Eagles | 9 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 28 |

#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| • Bears | 0 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 27 |

#### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 3 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
| • Eagles | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |

#### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |

#### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Eagles | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Broncos | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 24 |

#### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| • Chargers | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 20 |

#### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Redskins | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Eagles | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| • Eagles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

#### Week 12 at Cowboys

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 27 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
* Date: November 23, 1989
* Game time: 4:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C)
* Game attendance: 54,444
* Referee: Gene Barth
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
* Box Score, Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
PHI – Cris Carter 6-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Roger Ruzek kick), 13:37. Eagles 7–0.
PHI – Roger Ruzek 36-yard field goal, 2:46. Eagles 10–0.
Third quarter
PHI – Cris Carter 18-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Roger Ruzek kick), 11:27. Eagles 17–0.
PHI – Keith Byars 1-yard run (Roger Ruzek kick), 6:52. Eagles 24–0.
Fourth quarter
PHI – Roger Ruzek 38-yard field goal, 14:56. Eagles 27–0.
Top passers
PHI – Randall Cunningham – 21/33, 234 yards, 2 TD
DAL – Troy Aikman – 7/21, 54 yards, 3 INT
Top rushers
PHI – Randall Cunningham – 5 rushes, 46 yards
DAL – Broderick Sargent – 3 rushes, 44 yards
Top receivers
PHI – Keith Byars – 8 receptions, 90 yards
DAL – Derrick Shepard – 3 receptions, 25 yards :
"The Bounty Bowl"
Reggie White won the Turkey Leg Award

#### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Giants | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 17 |

#### Week 14

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Eagles | 0 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
* Date: December 10
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 24 °F (−4 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
* Referee: Jerry Seeman
* TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Second quarter
PHI – Cris Carter 4-yard pass from Randall Cunningham (Roger Ruzek kick) – Eagles 7–0
PHI – Cris Carter 13-yard pass from Matt Cavanaugh (Roger Ruzek kick) – Eagles 14–0
DAL – Luis Zendejas 47-yard field goal – Eagles 14–3
PHI – Roger Ruzek 29-yard field goal – Eagles 17–3
Third quarter
PHI – Roger Ruzek 46-yard field goal – Eagles 20–3
DAL – Daryl Johnston 18-yard pass from Troy Aikman (Luis Zendejas kick) – Eagles 20–10
Cowboys
Troy Aikman 17/30, 152 Yds, TD 6 Rush, 60 Yds
James Dixon 6 Rec, 69 Yds
Eagles
Randall Cunningham 17/31, 170 Yds, TD
Anthony Toney 17 Rush, 49 Yds
Keith Jackson 3 Rec, 57 Yds :

#### Week 15

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| • Saints | 7 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 30 |

#### Week 16

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Eagles | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| New York Giants$^{(2)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 348 | 252 | W3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles$^{(4)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 7–1 | 8–4 | 342 | 274 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–4 | 8–4 | 386 | 308 | W5 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 258 | 377 | L6 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 1–7 | 1–13 | 204 | 393 | L7 |

## Postseason

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Rams | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
The Los Angeles Rams, ignoring the weather, the fans, and the Eagles mighty defense, rode a quick start to defeat the Eagles at Veterans Stadium, 21–7 on New Year's Eve, 1989. The Eagles came into their first home playoff game in 8 seasons against the Los Angeles Rams with injury concerns. Several players came limping into the game, but perhaps the most concerning injury was that of Eric Allen, whose ankle had been injured a few weeks prior. Allen was an outstanding cover corner and without him, the Eagles would be forced to start reserve cornerback Izel Jenkins. The Rams at the time had a potent and versatile offense, especially in the passing game. Quarterback Jim Everett, running back Greg Bell and wideouts Henry Ellard and Willie "Flipper" Anderson rounded out the Rams offense. However, none of this seemed to concern head coach Buddy Ryan, who reportedly was asked the week leading up the game his impression of Rams running back Greg Bell. Ryan gave a curious vanilla answer to the reporter then turned and walked away saying, "Greg Bell my ass." Most of the media that had gathered exploded in laughter.
Eric Allen, as it turned out, did not start the game, which was played on an overcast, drizzly New Year's Eve. The Rams immediately attacked Allen's replacement, cornerback Izel Jenkins. Jenkins was burned on the Rams first touchdown; a 39-yard touchdown pass from Jim Everett to Henry Ellard on the Rams first possession. Jenkins was again burned for another long pass, this time to Willie Anderson and by midway through the second quarter, head coach Buddy Ryan had all but no choice to insert the limping Allen with the Rams already leading 14–0.
The Eagles offense, led by All-Pro quarterback Randall Cunningham had no answers for a unique zone implemented by Rams defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmer, who at times during the game only rushed two defenders and dropped everything back in coverage. Cunningham, while completing 24 of 40 pass, only threw underneath the zone for the majority of the game and simply was unable to get anything downfield. It certainly did not help matters not having All-Pro receiver Mike Quick unable to play due to a season-ending injury earlier in the year. The Eagles had less than 100 yards of offense at halftime, and did not have a single first down till midway through the second quarter. The Eagles first four possessions where three (3) three and outs and an interception. When the Eagles finally did score on a one-yard Anthony Toney touchdown plunge to make the game 14–7 with just under 11 minutes to go, there was hope. The Eagles defense, after their shaky start, had by and large held the Rams in check. Indeed, after the Eagles only touchdown of the afternoon, the Eagles defense held the Rams twice and gave the Eagles good field position on their next two possessions, which began at their own 31- and 40-yard lines. However, the Eagles would manage just one first down on those two possessions.
The Rams finally put the nail in the coffin with just under three minutes left, when Greg Bell ran for a 7-yard touchdown for the final score of 21–7. This touchdown run came a few plays after Bell ran 54 yards down to the 10-yard line. The Eagles defense, especially the front four, had finally collapsed after keeping the Rams in check for so long during the game.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
| Wildcard | December 31, 1989 | Los Angeles Rams | L 21–7 | 57,869 |

## Statistics
### Defense

| Player | Games | Sacks | Int | Yards | TD | Forced Fumbles | Fumble Recovery | Tackles |
| Byron Evans | 16 | 2.0 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 184 |
| Clyde Simmons | 16 | 15.5 | 1 | 60 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 135 |

### Offense
#### Passing

Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
| Player | Games | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
| Randall Cunningham | 16 | 290 | 532 | 3400 | 21 | 15 | 75.5 |
| Matt Cavanaugh | 9 | 3 | 5 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 79.6 |
| Roger Ruzek | 5 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 158.3 |

#### Receiving

Note: ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
| Player | Games | Reception | Yards | TD | Long |
| Keith Byars | 16 | 68 | 721 | 0 | 60 |
| Keith Jackson | 14 | 63 | 648 | 3 | 33 |
| Cris Carter | 16 | 45 | 605 | 11 | 42 |
| Ron Johnson | 14 | 20 | 295 | 1 | 34 |
| Anthony Toney | 14 | 19 | 124 | 0 | 15 |
| Robert Drummond | 16 | 17 | 180 | 1 | 21 |
| Jimmie Giles | 16 | 16 | 225 | 2 | 66 |
| Gregg Garrity | 9 | 13 | 209 | 2 | 31 |
| Mike Quick | 6 | 13 | 228 | 2 | 40 |
| Heath Sherman | 15 | 8 | 85 | 0 | 17 |
| Gizmo Williams | 13 | 4 | 32 | 0 | 11 |
| Mark Higgs | 15 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
| Anthony Edwards | 9 | 2 | 74 | 0 | 66 |
| Dave Little | 16 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
| Carlos Carson | 6 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |

#### Rushing

Note: ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
| Player | Games | Att | Yards | TD | Long |
| Randall Cunningham | 16 | 104 | 621 | 4 | 51 |
| Anthony Toney | 14 | 172 | 582 | 3 | 44 |
| Keith Byars | 16 | 133 | 452 | 5 | 16 |
| Mark Higgs | 15 | 49 | 184 | 0 | 13 |
| Heath Sherman | 15 | 40 | 177 | 2 | 37 |
| Robert Drummond | 16 | 32 | 127 | 0 | 16 |
| Mike Reichenbach | 16 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| John Teltschik | 16 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| Cris Carter | 16 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 11 |

### Special teams
#### Kick returns

| Player | Games | Returns | Yards | TD | Long | Yards per return |
| Keith Byars | 16 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27 | 27.0 |
| Mark Higgs | 15 | 16 | 293 | 0 | 30 | 18.3 |
| Dave Little | 16 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 7.0 |
| Heath Sherman | 15 | 13 | 222 | 0 | 45 | 17.1 |
| Gizmo Williams | 13 | 14 | 249 | 0 | 28 | 17.8 |

#### Punt returns

| Player | Games | Returns | Yards | TD | Long | Yards per return |
| Anthony Edwards | 9 | 7 | 64 | 0 | 28 | 9.1 |
| Gizmo Williams | 13 | 30 | 267 | 0 | 24 | 8.9 |

#### Kicking

Note: FGA = Field goals attempted; FGM = Field goals made; FG% = Field goal percentage; XPA = Extra points attempted; XPM = Extra points made; XP% = Extra points percentage
| Player | Games | FGA | FGM | FG % | XPA | XPM | XP % |
| Steve DeLine | 3 | 7 | 3 | 42.9% | 3 | 3 | 100.0% |
| Roger Ruzek | 5 | 11 | 8 | 72.7% | 14 | 14 | 100.0% |
| Luis Zendejas | 8 | 15 | 9 | 60.0% | 23 | 23 | 100.0% |

#### Punting

| Player | Games | Punts | Yards | Long | Block | Yards per Punt |
| Randall Cunningham | 16 | 6 | 319 | 91 | 0 | 53.2 |
| Max Runager | 4 | 17 | 568 | 52 | 0 | 33.4 |
| John Teltschik | 10 | 57 | 2245 | 58 | 0 | 39.4 |
| Rick Tuten | 2 | 7 | 256 | 45 | 0 | 36.6 |

## Awards and honors

* Keith Byars, Led all NFL running backs in receiving yardage
* Keith Jackson, Pro Bowl selection