# 1984 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1984 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 52nd in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved upon their previous output of 5–11, winning six games. Despite the improvement, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight season.
Whatever outside chance the Birds had to make the playoffs was sunk on November 25 at St. Louis, when starting quarterback Ron Jaworski suffered a broken leg and missed the remainder of the season. It was the most serious injury the "Polish Rifle" ever suffered in his long career. Joe Pisarcik took over under center for the final three-plus games.
This would be the final season for the Eagles under the ownership of Leonard Tose; as following rumors that the team might end up moving to Phoenix, Tose would eventually sell the team in 1985 to Norman Braman.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

The 1984 NFL Draft was held May 1–2, 1984. It was 12 rounds held over two days and televised by ESPN in great detail. A month later a draft was held for college seniors who already signed with either the CFL or USFL prior to the May 1984 draft. While the Eagles finished the 1983 NFL season with a record of 5–11 and in fourth place in the NFC East Division they would always get the 4th pick in the 12 rounds of the draft. Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Oilers at 2–12 and the New York Giants at 3–13 would have a worse record. It would be one of the most power balanced years.
1984 Philadelphia Eagles draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 4 | Kenny Jackson | WR | Penn State |
| 3 | 60 | Rusty Russell | T | South Carolina |
| 4 | 88 | Evan Cooper | DB | Michigan |
| 5 | 116 | Andre Hardy | RB | St. Mary's (CA) |
| 6 | 144 | Scott Raridon | T | Nebraska |
| 7 | 172 | Joe Hayes | RB | Central State (OK) |
| 8 | 200 | Manny Matsakis | K | Capital |
| 10 | 256 | John Thomas | DB | TCU |
| 11 | 284 | John Robertson | T | East Carolina |
| 12 | 312 | Paul McFadden | K | Youngstown State |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### NFL supplemental draft

This draft was held on June 5, 1984. These were players that were not drafted by an NFL team. In an attempt to head off a bidding war in its own ranks for USFL and CFL players. NFL teams chose 84 players from 224 available during the three-round selection meeting. Many of the big name USFL players were ineligible for the draft because their rights were already owned by NFL clubs. Still 3 of the first 4 players selected would become NFL Hall Of Famers. These players signed with the USFL before the NFL could draft them. Some teams took a chance and drafted players still so they had their NFL rights, The Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, suspecting that the USFL was not going to last, acquired Walker's NFL rights by drafting him in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | USFL / CFL Team |
| 1 | 4 | Reggie White | Defensive end | University of Tennessee | Memphis Showboats |
| 2 | 32 | Daryl Goodlow | Linebacker | Arizona | Oklahoma Outlaws |
| 3 | 60 | Thomas Carter | Linebacker | San Diego State | Oakland Invaders |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 4 | at Detroit Lions | L 14–17 | 0–1 | Pontiac Silverdome | 46,055 |
| 2 | August 11 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–20 (OT) | 0–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | 46,696 |
| 3 | August 18 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 31–10 | 1–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 51,743 |
| 4 | August 23 | Cleveland Browns | W 20–19 | 2–2 | Veterans Stadium | 40,030 |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 2 | at New York Giants | L 27–28 | 0–1 | Giants Stadium | 71,520 | Recap |
| 2 | September 9 | Minnesota Vikings | W 19–17 | 1–1 | Veterans Stadium | 55,942 | Recap |
| 3 | September 16 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 17–23 | 1–2 | Texas Stadium | 64,521 | Recap |
| 4 | September 23 | San Francisco 49ers | L 9–21 | 1–3 | Veterans Stadium | 62,771 | Recap |
| 5 | September 30 | at Washington Redskins | L 0–20 | 1–4 | RFK Stadium | 53,064 | Recap |
| 6 | October 7 | at Buffalo Bills | W 27–17 | 2–4 | Rich Stadium | 37,555 | Recap |
| 7 | October 14 | Indianapolis Colts | W 16–7 | 3–4 | Veterans Stadium | 50,277 | Recap |
| 8 | October 21 | New York Giants | W 24–10 | 4–4 | Veterans Stadium | 64,677 | Recap |
| 9 | October 28 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 14–34 | 4–5 | Veterans Stadium | 54,310 | Recap |
| 10 | November 4 | at Detroit Lions | T 23–23 (OT) | 4–5–1 | Pontiac Silverdome | 59,141 | Recap |
| 11 | November 11 | at Miami Dolphins | L 23–24 | 4–6–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 70,227 | Recap |
| 12 | November 18 | Washington Redskins | W 16–10 | 5–6–1 | Veterans Stadium | 63,117 | Recap |
| 13 | November 25 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 16–17 | 5–7–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 39,858 | Recap |
| 14 | December 2 | Dallas Cowboys | L 10–26 | 5–8–1 | Veterans Stadium | 66,322 | Recap |
| 15 | December 9 | New England Patriots | W 27–17 | 6–8–1 | Veterans Stadium | 41,581 | Recap |
| 16 | December 16 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 10–26 | 6–9–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 15,582 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Washington Redskins$^{(2)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 426 | 310 | W4 |
| New York Giants$^{(5)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 7–7 | 299 | 301 | L2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 423 | 345 | L1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–5 | 7–5 | 308 | 308 | L2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 9 | 1 | .406 | 2–6 | 3–8–1 | 278 | 320 | L1 |

### Game summaries
#### Week 4 (Sunday, September 23, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers (4–0) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Eagles (1–3) | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Date: September 23, 1984
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C); wind 9
* Game attendance: 62,771
* Referee: Ben Dreith
* TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier (play-by-play) and Wayne Walker (color commentator)
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| SF | Passing | Matt Cavanaugh | 17/34, 252 YDS, 3 TDs |
| SF | Rushing | Wendell Tyler | 21 CAR, 113 YDS |
| SF | Receiving | Dwight Clark | 3 REC, 84 YDS, 1 TD |
| PHI | Passing | Ron Jaworski | 16/40, 187 YDS, 1 INT |
| PHI | Rushing | Wilbert Montgomery | 12 CAR, 51 YDS |
| PHI | Receiving | Wilbert Montgomery | 7 REC, 46 YDS |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | SF | PHI |
| 1 | 1:30 | | | | 49ers | Craig 35-yard touchdown reception from Cavanaugh, Wersching kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 2 | 11:52 | | | | Eagles | 35-yard field goal by McFadden | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | 0:55 | | | | Eagles | 32-yard field goal by McFadden | 7 | 6 |
| 2 | 0:12 | | | | 49ers | Solomon 2-yard touchdown reception from Cavanaugh, Wersching kick good | 14 | 6 |
| 3 | 6:13 | | | | Eagles | 43-yard field goal by McFadden | 14 | 9 |
| 4 | 10:10 | | | | 49ers | Clark 51-yard touchdown reception from Cavanaugh, Wersching kick good | 21 | 9 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 21 | 9 |
* Point spread: 49ers by 4½
* Over/Under: 44.0 (under)
* Time of Game:
| 49ers | Game Statistics | Eagles |
| 23 | First downs | 15 |
| 37–177 | Rushes–yards | 20–72 |
| 252 | Passing yards | 187 |
| 17–34–0 | Passes | 16–41–1 |
| 4–31 | Sacked–yards | 2–18 |
| 221 | Net passing yards | 169 |
| 398 | Total yards | 241 |
| 173 | Return yards | 51 |
| 7–39.1 | Punts | 7–40.0 |
| 2–0 | Fumbles–lost | 0–0 |
| 12–141 | Penalties–yards | 4–30 |
| 34:31 | Time of Possession | 25:29 |

## Awards and honors

* Mike Quick, 1984 Pro Bowl selection
* Paul McFadden, All-Rookie Team, Second team All-NFC, UPI Rookie of the Year