1996 Philadelphia Eagles season

1996 Philadelphia Eagles season
Head coach	Ray Rhodes
Owner	Jeffrey Lurie
Home field	Veterans Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (49ers) 14–0

The 1996 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 64th in the National Football League (NFL). The team matched their previous output of 10–6, and qualifying for the playoffs.

For the second time in three seasons, the Eagles were 7–2 at the nine-game mark, thanks to a thrilling win November 3 on the road against Dallas. The capper to that contest was a combined 104-yard interception return between James Willis and Troy Vincent in the final moments which turned a potential game-winning drive by the Cowboys into a Philadelphia victory.

As in 1994 under Rich Kotite, the Eagles wilted. This time, four losses in five games, including an embarrassing 27-point setback on national TV at Indianapolis, had the club scrambling in the playoff picture. However, wins against the lowly Jets and Cardinals managed to right the ship, and a wild-card berth was the reward.

The 1996 season was also the first season the Eagles debuted the midnight green, white, and black look, with new helmet designs and the logo and endzone font as well.

Offseason

The Eagles held training camp for the first year at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, home of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

The Eagles signed college free agent Hollis Thomas, a defensive tackle out of Northern Illinois.

NFL draft

The 1996 NFL Draft was held April 20–21, 1996. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.

With a 10–6 record in 1995, and tying with 2 other teams, the Eagles would rotate picking between the 23rd pick to the 25th pick in the 7 rounds. They would choose 8 players in the 6 rounds they had picks. The Eagles would take with their 1st pick in the draft, Jermane Mayberry a Tackle out of Texas A&M-Kingsville

The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.

1996 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	25	Jermane Mayberry *	OT	Texas A&M-Kingsville
2	54	Jason Dunn	TE	Eastern Kentucky
2	61	Brian Dawkins *	FS	Clemson	Compensatory pick
3	85	Bobby Hoying	QB	Ohio State
4	121	Ray Farmer	DB	Duke
5	147	Whit Marshall	LB	Georgia
6	194	Steve White	DE	Tennessee
6	197	Tony Johnson	TE	Alabama
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1996 Philadelphia Eagles staff
	Front office Owner/Chief Executive Officer – Jeffrey Lurie Senior Vice President of Administration – Joe Banner Director of Football Operations – Dick Daniels Director of College Scouting – John Wooten Director of Scouting – Chuck Banker Head coaches Head Coach – Ray Rhodes Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Jon Gruden Running Backs – Dick Jamieson Wide Receivers – Gerald Carr Tight Ends – Ted Williams Offensive Line – Bill Callahan Offensive Assistant – Juan Castillo			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Emmitt Thomas Defensive Line – Mike Trgovac Linebackers – Joe Vitt Defensive Assistant – Chuck Knox Jr. Special teams coaches Special Teams – Danny Smith Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Mike Wolf

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Network	Kickoff (ET)	Attendance
1	September 1, 1996	at Washington Redskins	W 17–14	FOX	1:00pm	53,415
2	September 9, 1996	at Green Bay Packers	L 39–13	ABC	9:00pm	60,666
3	September 15, 1996	Detroit Lions	W 24–17	FOX	1:00pm	66,007
4	September 22, 1996	at Atlanta Falcons	W 33–18	TNT	8:00pm	40,107
5	September 30, 1996	Dallas Cowboys	L 23–19	ABC	9:00pm	67,201
6	Bye
7	October 13, 1996	at New York Giants	W 19–10	FOX	4:00pm	72,729
8	October 20, 1996	Miami Dolphins	W 35–28	NBC	4:00pm	66,240
9	October 27, 1996	Carolina Panthers	W 20–9	FOX	1:00pm	65,982
10	November 3, 1996	at Dallas Cowboys	W 31–21	FOX	1:00pm	64,952
11	November 10, 1996	Buffalo Bills	L 24–17	NBC	1:00pm	66,613
12	November 17, 1996	Washington Redskins	L 26–21	FOX	1:00pm	66,834
13	November 24, 1996	at Arizona Cardinals	L 36–30	FOX	4:00pm	36,175
14	December 1, 1996	New York Giants	W 24–0	FOX	1:00pm	51,468
15	December 5, 1996	at Indianapolis Colts	L 37–10	ESPN	8:00pm	52,689
16	December 14, 1996	at New York Jets	W 21–20	FOX	12:30pm	29,176
17	December 22, 1996	Arizona Cardinals	W 29–19	FOX	1:00pm	63,658

Game summaries

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total • Eagles 7 7 7 10 31 Cowboys 7 3 3 8 21 Date: November 3 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game attendance: 64,952 Game weather: 50°F; wind 8 TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Scoring summary Q1 DAL Emmitt Smith 1 yard run (Chris Boniol kick) DAL 7–0 Q1 PHI Ricky Watters 5 yard run (Gary Anderson kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 DAL Chris Boniol 19 yard field goal DAL 10–7 Q2 PHI Ty Detmer 6 yard run (Gary Anderson kick) PHI 14–10 Q3 DAL Chris Boniol 37 yard field goal PHI 14–13 Q3 PHI Irving Fryar 14 yard pass from Ty Detmer (Gary Anderson kick) PHI 21–13 Q4 DAL Emmitt Smith 7 yard run (Eric Bjornson pass from Troy Aikman) Tie 21–21 Q4 PHI Gary Anderson 30 yard field goal PHI 24–21 Q4 PHI Troy Vincent 90 yard interception return (Gary Anderson kick) PHI 31–21

^[1]

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Dallas Cowboys	10	6	0	.625	286	250	L1
^(5) Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	0	.625	363	341	W2
Washington Redskins	9	7	0	.563	364	312	W1
Arizona Cardinals	7	9	0	.438	300	397	L1
New York Giants	6	10	0	.375	242	297	L2

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Network	Kickoff (ET)	Attendance
Wild Card	December 29, 1996	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–0	FOX	4:00pm	56,460

References

1. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-30.

External links

• 1996 Philadelphia Eagles at Pro-Football-Reference.com