Philadelphia Eagles: Top 10 Offenses of All Time

Perhaps one of the great tragedies of the 2011 NFL lockout would be the loss of what has the potential to be the greatest Philadelphia Eagles offense of all time.

With Michael Vick unequivocally back and, frankly, better than ever, the Eagles have an enigmatic quarterback surrounded by two coming-into-their-prime wide receivers in DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, and a here-sooner-than-we-thought running back in LeSean McCoy.  

Throw in Jason Avant, who could be a top-two receiver on another team and a good pass-catching tight end in Brent Celek, and the Eagles look stacked.  Could this team potentially be the greatest Eagles offense ever?

Let's have a look.

10. 1953 Eagles

The 1953 Eagles, led by quarterback Bobby Thomason and the running back trio of Frank Ziegler, Don Johnson and Jerry Williams, led the NFL in yards gained and finished third in points scored.

It was not enough to propel them into the playoffs, however, as a dominant Cleveland Browns team went 11-1 on the strength of a league-best defense and won the NFL East.

9. 1944 Eagles

In 1944, the Eagles led the NFL in points scored and finished fifth in total yards behind Steve Van Buren, Jack Hinkle and Mel Bleeker.

That Eagles team won seven games and lost only one, but finished with two ties, including one against the division-winning New York Giants, as they failed to make the playoffs.

8. 2006 Eagles

One year after the Terrell Owens experiment ended in a 6-10 disaster, McNabb got injured after the Eagles were 5-5 through 10 games, giving way to Jeff Garcia.  His performance, combined with a monster year for Brian Westbrook, led the Eagles to a 5-1 record the rest of the way and led them back into the playoffs.

The Eagles' offense managed over 4,300 yards of passing, with four different receivers collecting 600 yards or more.

7. 1965 Eagles

The 1965 Eagles managed to tie for the most points scored in the NFC East division and still went 5-9 because of a terrible defense.  

The Eagles finished second in the league in passing yards behind quarterbacks Norm Snead and King Hill, and finished with the fourth-best rushing attack on the strength of Timmy Brown and Earl Gros.

6. 1980 Eagles

The 1980 NFC-champion Philadelphia Eagles finished sixth in points scored, eighth in yards of offense and finished 12-4 on the strength of an NFL-leading defense.

Led by an underrated trio of Ron Jaworski, Harold Carmichael and Charles A. Smith, the Eagles real secret was minimizing turnovers.  Jaworski and company had the second-fewest interceptions in the league and lost only 18 fumbles all year, making them fourth overall in fewest turnovers allowed.

5. 2004 Eagles

In 2004, the Eagles finally got Donovan McNabb a real weapon in the form of Terrell Owens, one of the elite wide receivers in all of football.  The McNabb-Owens combination got the Eagles all the way to the Super Bowl, but no further.

4. 1990 Eagles

The height of Randall Cunningham's powers produced one of the most dynamic offenses in Eagles' history.

3. 1949 Eagles

One of the greatest Eagles teams of all time, the 1949 squad led the NFL in points scored and fewest points allowed and shut out the Los Angeles Rams 14-0 in the NFL championship game.

The Eagles featured the league's best rusher, Steve Van Buren, as well as the league's highest-rated passer in Tommy Thompson.

2. 2010 Eagles

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 09: Michael Vick #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles takes the field before playing against the Green Bay Packers in the 2011 NFC wild card playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 9, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (P

The 2010 squad saw the re-emergence of Michael Vick after a three-year hiatus from being a starting quarterback in the NFL. And it also saw the emergence of a very good young offense featuring DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin.

The 2010 team finished third in the NFL in points scored and second in yards gained.

1. 1961 Eagles

Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns (and also interceptions) for an Eagles squad that finished first in the NFL in offensive yards and third in points scored.

The Eagles went 10-4, but lost two games to the New York Giants and ended up finishing a half game behind the Giants, which went 10-3-1 and on to the NFL championship game.