Top 10 Biggest Rivals of the Philadelphia Eagles

I'm an Eagles fan. No surprise there. Everyone on this website essentially knows that. Here are the teams that have had the most history/animosity towards my beloved Birds.
The Top Ten
1 Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference East division.

In the city of Philadelphia, the Dallas Cowboys and their fans are essentially viewed as spawn of the anti-Christ. There is so much disdain, fury, and vitriol directed towards this team to the point where it's borderline unhealthy. Eagles fans have gained the reputation as being one of the most insanely passionate fan bases in all of professional sports; sometimes even going to unfortunate depths to show their devotion to the Birds...I am confident when I say that most Eagles fans hate the Cowboys just as much as they love the Eagles. And knowing the insane nature of many Eagles fans, that is saying a hell of a lot. On a personal level, I cannot stand this team. I despise their colossal arrogance and sense of elitism and entitlement despite not accomplishing a damn thing for over two decades. I abhor the fact that they refer to themselves as "America's Team" despite the fact that more Americans want to see them fail than want to see them win. What makes you so special to be the football team that represents our whole country? I'm an American and you sure aren't my team. I hate the stupid Confederate star they use as their logo despite calling themselves "America's Team" and their disgusting uniforms that use three different shades of blue. I detest their overpriced monstrosity of a stadium with their self-fellating scoreboard that blocks punts. I loathe the fact that they repeatedly sign and keep around players who have blatantly committed crimes such as domestic abuse (Dez Bryant, Ezekiel Elliott, Greg Hardy, Nate Newton, Jourdan Lewis, etc.) I am revolted by Jerry Jones' enormous ego and feeling of superiority. I hate how much attention they get from the national media despite being a joke of a franchise that has failed to reach the NFC Championship Game since 1996. I despise their bandwagon, cocky, and obnoxious fan base who insecurely bring up "mah 5 rings" despite them being filled with dust and losing relevance with each annual failure. I simply hate this... more

2 New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team located in the New York metropolitan area.

Along with the Packers and the Bears, the Eagles and the Giants arguably have the lengthiest and most storied rivalry in all of the NFL. It is a rivalry that is filled with iconic plays, games, and traditions. Concrete Charlie laying out Frank Gifford, both Miracles at the Meadowlands, Lawrence Taylor using Jaws as his own personal tackling dummy, Randall Cunningham's Monday Night Football evasion, Jason Sehorn's cartwheel pick six, Brian Westbrook's punt return, the epic line battles between Michael Strahan and Jon Runyan, Jake Elliott's 61 yard game-winning field goal, the list just goes on and on. In a way, it's a shame that the rivalry has cooled off a bit in recent years due to the Eagles' dominance over Big Blue. The Giants have also replaced the Browns as the laughingstock of the NFL due to their behind-the-scenes drama, trading a transcendent receiving talent in Odell Beckham Jr. for essentially nothing, their unexplainable belief that Eli Manning is still a starting quarterback in today's NFL, and selecting Daniel Jones (a quarterback who was projected to be taken in the second or third round) sixth overall in the 2019 draft over guys like defensive stud Josh Allen and a much more NFL-ready quarterback Dwayne Haskins. On second thought, it's not a shame what's happened here. It's great and hilarious.

3 Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

In 2020, Washington after 87 years got rid of the Redskins trademark due to it being labeled racist to native culture. It was named the Washington Football Team until February... read more

The Redskins and Eagles don't have nearly as much animosity towards each other as they do with the other teams in their division. Every team and fan base seems to hate one other in the NFC East except for the Eagles-Redskins. Don't get me wrong. Eagles fans don't like the Redskins. But this more comes from the fact that they play in the same division and there is a lengthy history between the two franchises. They kind of dislike one another by default. Unlike the Cowboys and Giants, there has also been very little postseason history between the two teams: only one playoff game being a 1990 Wild Card game that Washington came out victorious. And the "Body Bag Game" will forever live in Eagles folklore. Mainly, it's difficult for me to actually hate the Redskins because they have not been a well-run organization for most of my lifetime. I was born in 1998, and since that time, they have only won two playoff games. It's hard to get all up in arms over such a small threat when there are two greater evils to deal with in your division. I do have to add that it's always fun to poke fun of Dan Snyder and the South Park episode mocking the loss of their trademark was hilarious.

4 Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960, and first took the field for the 1961 season.

Most of the animosity between these teams is very recent. And most of it can stem from one game in particular: the 2017 NFC Championship. The Vikings were flying high coming off one of the most insane and unlikely victories in the history of sports by defeating the Saints in The Minneapolis Miracle. With their confidence riding high, all they had to do was defeat a weakened Eagles team down to their backup quarterback in order to play in their first Super Bowl in over 40 years. The game was even being played in their shiny new stadium to boot. Vikings fans showed up cocky and confident doing the SKOL chant on the Rocky steps and dressing his statue (a symbol of the city's fighting spirit) in purple. A great, well-contested game between two juggernauts seemed to be on the horizon. That's what everyone predicted at least. In reality, Minnesota didn't even show up to the game. They were utterly dominated in what has to go down as one of the most humiliating defeats in NFL history. Giving up 38 unanswered points to close the game and essentially rolling over and begging for mercy on national T.V.. Since then, Vikings fans have sworn to make the Eagles pay for what they did to them. They've gotten off to a great start by losing the final Wild Card spot to them last season. The Vikings have also never defeated the Eagles in a playoff game, so there's that also.

5 New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region. New England Patriots are one of the few teams to have 5+ wins in the Super Bowl.

The Eagles and Patriots are one of only seven combinations of teams to play one another in multiple Super Bowls. For reference, the others are Steelers-Cowboys, Redskins-Dolphins, 49ers-Bengals, Cowboys-Bills, Giants-Patriots, and Patriots-Rams. And for the most part, this "rivalry" is built upon the importance of each of those games in the history of the Eagles franchise. Super Bowl 39 saw the Andy Reid's team finally get over the hump and reach the big game only to come up short to the Pats who had solidified themselves as a dynasty. 13 years later, the Birds managed to return the favor by defeating New England amidst them being in another era of Super Bowl dominance with the same exact QB and head coach. The Patriots will always have an important in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles seeing as how the franchise's first Super Bowl championship came as a result of defeating them. And knowing that we defeated arguably the best player, coach, and franchise in NFL history to win our first Super Bowl makes that win all the more sweet.

6 Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football franchise based in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Believe it or not, but the Eagles and Cardinals played in the same division at one point. For 32 seasons from 1970 to 2001, the Cardinals were a member of the NFC alongside the Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, and Redskins. Over that time, they moved out of St. Louis to stop competing with the more popular baseball team, and moved to Phoenix to become the Phoenix Cardinals, which later became the Arizona Cardinals of course. However, despite being in the same division, the Eagles and Cardinals were never really seen as adversaries to one another outside of a few scuffles between Bill Bergey and Conrad Dobler in the 1970s. You could make the argument that during their NFC East span between 1970 and 2001, the Cardinals were probably the worst franchise in the NFL. In 32 seasons, they only made the playoffs four times, won just one playoff game, had only six winning seasons, and went through 12 different head coaches. Not really a compelling division rival. Ironically, the Eagles and Cardinals would become more adversarial since their post-division rival years after the Cardinals justifiably moved to the more geographically appropriate NFC West. The two teams clashed in a memorable NFC Championship Game in 2008 where the Cardinals came out on top and a 10-year-old me was inconsolable. And over the next decade, Arizona would become an enormous thorn in the Eagles side as they would go 4-2 in the next few matchups with the great Larry Fitzgerald having a dominating game each and every time.

7 New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints currently compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference South division.

The rivalry between these two teams only really has achieved relevance since the turn of the 21st century. The Eagles and the Saints have squared off in three playoff games in the past 15 years: 2006, 2013, and 2018. Guess who won all three of those games? Unfortunately, the Saints did. I'm not really a big fan of the Saints as a result. Their Bountygate scandal was a stain on pro football, and I really can't stand Sean Payton. The guy just gets on my nerves with his unbridled arrogance and douchebag demeanor. Nothing much to say here. This team has just been a thorn in Eagles' fans sides for a long time.

8 Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference South division.

To quote the best sports YouTuber UrinatingTree, "Only a brick wall can stop you. It's name is the Eagles." You know how the Saints have always been a thorn in the Eagles side and never seem to be able to beat them in big games? Yeah. The exact opposite is for the Eagles and the Falcons. The Falcons have repeatedly come up short against the Eagles in big games such as in the 2002 playoffs, 2004 NFC Championship Game, 2017 playoffs, and the 2018 Kickoff Game. The last two games in that list the Falcons lost in basically the exact same way.

9 Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference North division.

The Bears and the Birds have played in four playoff games and have an evenly matched record of 2-2. However, each team has a particular heartbreaking moment from each of their playoff matchups. The Eagles weren't able to overcome the massive layer of fog over Soldier Field in the 1988 playoffs and the Bears fell victim to a double doink thirty years later off the foot of Cody Parkey. These are two tough franchises known for their physical play, bruising players on both sides of the ball, and hail from the two largest blue collar cities in the country. Despite enduring many layers of heartbreak from the other team's hand, there's a lot of comradery from each of these two teams.

10 Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that competes in the National Football League. Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most Super Bowls with 6 which currently stands today.

The Steelers make this list from the sheer fact that Philadelphians and Pittsburghers don't seem to like each other for whatever reason. This is much more exemplified with the Flyers-Penguins rivalry but there's still some animosity between the two largest cities in Pennsylvania. I can't explain it but it does seem that Pittsburgh hates us way more than we hate them. Maybe it's a little brother situation. These two teams do have the distinction of being part of the same fracnhise for a single season: the 1943 Phil-Pitt Steagles. Don't ask me how that happened either. I could never tell you.

The Contenders
11 Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football franchise located in the Miami metropolitan area.

The Dolphins are not liked in philly because the eagles have lost more to them then the dolphins have to them.

12 Oakland Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football franchise based in Las Vegas. The Raiders began playing in 1960 as a member club of the American Football League; they have been a member club of the National Football League since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger... read more
13 Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are an American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colts compete in the National Football League as a member club of the American Football Conference South division.
14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers currently compete in the National Football League as a member team of the National Football Conference South division.
15 Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Lions compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference North division... read more
16 Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns compete in the National Football League as a member team of the American Football Conference North division... read more
17 Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football franchise based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals currently compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's American Football Conference North division.
18 Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's American Football Conference West division.
19 Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in Los Angeles. The Chargers compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's American Football Conference West division.
20 Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football franchise based in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference West division.
21 Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference North division. The Packers have won 4 Super Bowls and 13 NFL championships.
22 New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team located in the New York metropolitan area.
23 Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are an American professional football franchise based in Jacksonville, Florida.
24 Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League as a member club of the American Football Conference South division.
25 Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League as a member club of the American Football Conference North division.
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