The 1993Philadelphia Eagles season was their 61st in the
National Football League (NFL). The team failed to improve upon their
previous output of 11–5, winning only eight games[1] and failed to qualify for the playoffs for only the second time in six seasons. Ten of their sixteen games were decided by a touchdown or less. The team was without future hall of fame defensive end
Reggie White, who had signed via free agency with the Green Bay Packers.
The downturn was directly related to the twin losses of QB
Randall Cunningham (broken leg) and WR
Fred Barnett (ACL tear) to season-ending injuries in a 35–30 win against the
New York Jets on October 3. Though the Eagles won their first four, following that game, lost six straight to fall out of playoff contention.
Bubby Brister was only able to do so much in a starting role, but the club rallied to win their final three games, including their first road win in San Francisco in 10 years.
The 1993 NFL draft was held April 25–26, 1993. The draft was reduced to eight rounds, down from 12. Because the Eagles tied with five other teams at 11–5 in
1992, they rotated in picking 20th to 25th in the eight rounds. There were 224 players taken in this draft by the NFL. The Eagles had two first round picks at number 19 and 24 overall. With those, they chose Lester Holmes, an offensive tackle out of Jackson State, and Leonard Renfro, a defensive tackle out of Colorado.
The Eagles spoiled
Reggie White's Lambeau Field debut as a member of the Packers. White carved out a Hall of Fame career in eight seasons (1985-92) with the Eagles before signing with Green Bay as a free agent in April 1993.
The victory was costly for the Eagles when
Randall Cunningham went down with a season-ending injury, the second time in three seasons Philadelphia would have to play the majority of a campaign without its offensive leader.
Miami's
Don Shula became the NFL's all-time leader in coaching victories with his 326th, surpassing the
Chicago Bears' legendary
George Halas. The winning quarterback was future Eagles coach
Doug Pederson, substituting for the injured
Scott Mitchell. Mitchell became the Dolphins' starter when
Dan Marino suffered a season-ending injury in week 6.