The Eagles have had their fair share of great passing seasons, but we have narrowed the list down to five seasons and five different quarterbacks:
Overall Season Passing Statistics
1990 Randall Cunningham:
2004 Donovan McNabb:
2010 Michael Vick:
2013 Nick Foles:
2017 Carson Wentz:
Per Game
Leading Rushers and Receivers
To help determine which quarterback had the best passing season we will review each season by their strength of schedule, and performance in the red zone, against over .500 teams, playoffs teams, and against top defenses.
Strength of Schedule
Overall Cunningham and Wentz faced tougher opponents on average than McNabb and Foles. Nick Foles had by far the easiest schedule compared to the other three quarterbacks.
Average win total of opponent:
Vick: 7.9 wins
Cunningham: 7.8 wins
Wentz: 7.7 wins
McNabb: 7.2 wins
Foles: 6.5 wins
Red Zone
*Red Zone stats are unavailable for Cunningham's 1990 season
vs Over .500 teams
% of pass attempts/ % of yards/% of touchdowns:
Wentz: 50.0%/ 48.6%/ 39.4%
Cunningham: 40.6%/ 35.6%/ 30.0%
Vick: 45.7%/40.6%/ 33.3%
McNabb: 21.3%/ 20.4%/ 19.4%
Foles: 16.4%/ 16.1%/ 22.2%
vs Playoff Teams
% of pass attempts/ % of yards/% of touchdowns:
Cunningham: 40.6%/ 35.6%/ 30.0%
Wentz: 26.5%/ 25.7%/ 27.3%
Vick: 26.1%/ 24.1%/ 19.0%
McNabb: 21.9%/ 22.0%/ 25.8%
Foles: 5.7%/ 7.9%/ 11.1%
Against Top Defenses
Once again Randall Cunningham and Carson Wentz have a higher percentage of their plays against tougher competition than the other three quarterbacks.
*DISCLAIMER: It is tough to compare Randall Cunningham's passer rating equally to the other four as the NFL was very different in 1990. (Ex. Highest rating against over .500 opponents in 1990 was Jim Kelly w/ 96.3, largest in 2019 was Ryan Tannehill w/118.5)
Who do you think had the best season?
Each season listed above has valid reasons to be considered the best in Eagles history and each holds a special place in the hearts of Eagles fans.
After looking at them in a little more detail which quarterback do you think had the best season?
Statistical Credits: Pro Football Reference and Football Outsiders
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