By Mid-Afternoon — the Eagles Were Down 23–0 in Cleveland. By the Second Quarter — the Comeback Was In Full Effect.
For a team that was predicted to be a Super Bowl contender in 1991- the season wasn’t going well for Philly by early November. The Eagles were 4–5, had lost All-Pro Quarterback Randall Cunningham to a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the season. But Super Bowl Champion Jim McMahon was back and the Eagles were in Cleveland on November 10th fighting for their playoff lives.
For nearly two quarters, the league’s best defensive was exploited by a 42-yard interception return by Eric Turner and Bernie Kosar’s two touchdown passes to put the Browns up 23–0. The Eagles then began a furious comeback that was sparked by an eighteen-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Keith Jackson. McMahon then connected with Fred Barnett on a seventy-yard touchdown pass. Eagles kicker Roger Ruzek then made four field goals to pull the Eagles within 30–26.
After a fourth-quarter Webster Slaughter fumble on a punt return while trying to come out of his own end zone and Eagles recovery at the three-yard line — McMahon found Calvin Williams for a five-yard score to put the Eagle up 32–30 permanently.
The win pulled the Eagles to a .500 record at 5–5. Despite finishing the 1991 season with a 5–1 record down the stretch and the #1 defense against the pass, the run, and yards allowed — the team would finish without making the playoffs. The comeback in Cleveland however, orchestrated thanks in part by 341 passing yards by Jim McMahon — wouldn’t just be a season highlight.
It would be the second largest comeback in franchise history to that point.
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