Philadelphia Eagles Tickets- Tie Confuses Players, Fans

For fans who have ever wondered why many records are displayed with three numbers, for example 4-5-3, it was cleared up during week 11’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals. Although some players and many fans may have been unaware of this rule, NFL games can, in fact, end in a tie. Even Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb expressed his confusion with the rules, stating that he did not know there could be a tie. Even with the confusion, the game ended as the rules say with a 13-13 tie. With this tie as with them in other sports, both sides seemed to end even more frustrated than if they had actually lost the game. Luckily for everyone, ties are rare, so go ahead and get your Philadelphia Eagles tickets from StubHub without worrying about another one.

Looking at the stats heading into the game, the 5-4 Eagles were the clear favorite over the 1-8 Bengals. The Eagles, however, do not seem to have too great of luck at Cincinnati, with an all-time record of 0-3-1 against the Bengals. A tied game may equal a hard-fought match by both sides, but in the case of this game, it equaled a game full of mistakes by both sides. Donovan McNabb was 28 of 58 for one touchdown, three interceptions, one fumble and a passer rating of 50.9. Although Cincinnati quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had better stats, going 29 of 44 for one touchdown and no interceptions, he was sacked eight times during the game.

The game got off to a slow start, with neither team putting any points on the board. In the second quarter, the Bengals struck first when Shayne Graham nailed a 20-yard field goal. The Eagles answered back soon after with a 47-yard field goal by David Akers. Not to be outdone, Fitzpatrick stepped up and nailed a 26-yard pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh to close out the half. The Bengals widened their lead to 13-3 in the third quarter with a 41-yard field goal by Graham. McNabb found L.J. Smith with a four-yard pass to put the Eagles within striking distance. Akers tied the game in the fourth quarter with a 27-yard field goal. In overtime, neither team seemed to get anywhere near ending the game. With only seconds left in overtime, however, it looked like the Bengals might take it when Graham lined up for a 47-yard field goal. It went just wide, resulting in the tie.

The last time a game tied came in 2002 with a 34-34 game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Pittsburgh Steelers. In that game, it was a quarterback showdown between Michael Vick and Tommy Maddox, a far cry from the Eagles/Bengals game. Just two years before the Eagles picked up McNabb, the Eagles had their last tie. The rule was first adopted by the NFL in 1974, and since then there have been 17 games that ended in ties. The game wasn’t all bad news for the Eagles. Houshmandzadeh had his best game since 2004 with 12 receptions, 149 yards and one touchdown.

This article was written by Julie Cudney and is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells tickets to sporting events, concerts and theater productions. Go to StubHub.com for Philadelphia Eagles tickets.