Here’s our list of the top 10 upset wins in Philadelphia sports history

Philadelphia is often characterized as a city of underdogs. That’s thanks, in part, to long being considered New York’s little brother, that city between the Big Apple and Washington, and also thanks to that fictional boxer who defied the odds.

But it also has played out some in our real-life sports, too. The Eagles and Nick Foles won the Super Bowl in 2018 after beginning the season down the odds board at 40/1. Last year’s Phillies nearly pulled off an equal stunner. They made it to the World Series after starting the playoffs at 35/1 to win the World Series.

And remember those 2010 Flyers, who erased a 3-0 series deficit to the Bruins?

Along the way, there have been plenty of individual game surprises, too. Let’s take a look at some of the best single-game upsets, according to betting odds, in Philadelphia sports history.

(Note: Archived betting data is difficult to come by, which means this list is made up of mostly recent events. Special thanks to OddsShark’s database for the major assist.)

The Flyers traveled to Pittsburgh for Game 5 in the first round of the 2018 NHL playoffs having fallen behind three games to one in the series after a 5-0 drubbing on their home ice. The series was all but over, and the Flyers were the largest underdogs they have been in any postseason game since at least 2008. They entered Game 5 as +237 underdogs in Pittsburgh.

Sean Couturier, who returned to Game 5 after missing the previous game with an injury, scored a late goal to lift the Flyers to a 4-2 win — making Claude Giroux’s words come true — that sent the series back to Philadelphia, where it ended with an 8-5 Penguins victory in Game 6.

There aren’t too many postseason baseball games when the underdog is +175, but that was the case for last season’s NLDS opener in Atlanta. The Phillies had used Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler to get by the Cardinals in the wild-card round, and Ranger Suárez was taking the mound against Braves ace Max Fried. It wasn’t as if the Phillies were throwing away Game 1, but it sort of had a feel of: “Win the Suárez game, win the series.” And that’s what the Phillies did.

They torched Fried for eight hits and six runs in 3⅓ innings, eventually building a 7-1 lead that they narrowly held on to in a 7-6 series-opening win. Massive upset? Maybe not. But it set the tone for a remarkable run to the World Series.

True, they didn’t do it a third time, so who cares, right?

But the 76ers’ wins in Boston in Games 1 and 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last season marked two of the five times the Sixers have won a playoff game as at least eight-point underdogs in 19 tries since at least 2001. (Hint: We’ll get to another one of these later.)

Game 1 was the James Harden Game. Harden scored 45 points, including a huge three-pointer late in the fourth quarter, in a 119-115 Sixers win. They were 10½-point underdogs with Joel Embiid out of the lineup.

Then, in Game 5, Embiid scored 33 and Tyrese Maxey added 30 in a 115-103 Sixers win as 8½-point underdogs. It looked to be a critical win considering it gave the Sixers a 3-2 series lead. But, well, you know the rest of the story.

Oddly enough, the Eagles and 49ers played the final game of the 1993 season at Candlestick Park, too, and Bubby Brister and Co. knocked off the 49ers, 37-34, as 13½-point underdogs while San Francisco readied for the postseason.

Eight months later, after losing in the NFC title game, Steve Young and the 49ers were on their way to eventually winning a Super Bowl. But Randall Cunningham and the Eagles traveled out West in Week 5 of the 1994 NFL season as nine-point underdogs and crushed the 49ers, 40-8. Cunningham threw for two scores, Charlie Garner ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and the Eagles’ defense dominated the 49ers.

Check out the highlights here.

It was a down year for Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb. But when is it not fun to beat Dallas? Especially on the road as a 10-point underdog.

The Eagles, who would finish the season 8-8 and miss the playoffs, held the 12-1 Cowboys without a touchdown in a 10-6 win. They picked off Tony Romo three times, and the quarterback finished the game completing just 13 of 36 passes. The last of those interceptions fell into the hands of Brian Dawkins.

Later, to seal the victory, Brian Westbrook knelt at the 1-yard line at the urging of Jon Runyan to make sure Dallas didn’t get the ball back.

Check out the highlights here.

Christian Hackenberg’s freshman season at Penn State wasn’t perfect, but it ended with a bang in Wisconsin against the No. 15 Badgers, who were on the cusp of earning a BCS bowl bid.

How opposite were these seasons going? Wisconsin was a 25-point favorite.

Hackenberg threw for 339 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Penn State ripped off 24 straight points to turn a 14-7 deficit into a 31-14 lead. The Nittany Lions then held off a late Wisconsin comeback for a 31-24 victory.

About the big point spread, Penn State coach Bill O’Brien had this to say after the game: “I’m not allowed to talk about that even though it seems like a lot of you guys thought it was the right line. You’re wrong.”

It was essentially a lost season for the Sam Bradford-led Eagles when they traveled up to Massachusetts to meet Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the 10-1 Patriots, who were defending Super Bowl champions.

Early on, it looked like the eight-point spread wasn’t nearly enough. The Patriots took a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter and the Eagles offense wasn’t getting anything going. But Najee Goode’s return for a touchdown off a Chris Maragos blocked punt just before halftime evened the score at 14 apiece and kicked off a 35-0 Eagles run that featured several return scores. Malcolm Jenkins had a 99-yard interception score and Darren Sproles returned a punt 83 yards to the end zone — in an eventual 35-28 Eagles win.

How about this for foreshadowing? That game also featured a Patriots play design that looked a bit similar to one — the Philly Special — the Eagles used a few years later to beat New England in the Super Bowl.

Check out the highlights here.

» READ MORE: Eagles shock the world, and the Patriots

The 6-7 defending champion Eagles needed a road win to stay alive in the playoff hunt. The 11-2 Los Angeles Rams were looking to avenge the previous season’s loss (the game in which Carson Wentz was injured) and let the Eagles know their Super Bowl run was a fluke and the Rams were the real top dogs in the NFC.

Oddsmakers thought the latter to be the case. The Eagles were slotted as 13½-point underdogs for this Sunday Night Football game.

It was the week before Christmas, and Saint Nick (Foles) was ready to save a season in a similar spot. Wentz was injured again, and Foles was playing for the first time in weeks. The Eagles dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Rams by 17-0 on their way to a 30-23 win. The victory started a run of three straight wins that landed the Eagles in the postseason.

How’s this for a rivalry game finish?

In front of a “White Out” crowd at Beaver Stadium, Penn State knocked off No. 2 Ohio State, its bitter rival, as a 17½-point underdog in the wildest of ways.

Penn State’s Marcus Allen blocked a field goal and Grant Haley returned it 60 yards for a touchdown with less than five minutes on the fourth-quarter clock. The 24-21 Penn State win was a monumental one. It was the Nittany Lions’ first victory over Ohio State in five years; their first win over a ranked team under James Franklin; their first win against a top-five team since 1999; and first against a top-two team since 1990.

Can any list of Philly underdogs be complete without Allen Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue?

The Sixers entered the first game of the 2001 NBA Finals as 12-point underdogs to Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

You know how the series ended, with the Lakers winning four straight and the series, four games to one, but Iverson’s 48-point performance in Game 1 and his legendary step over Lue is a top moment in Philadelphia sports history.

» READ MORE: The Sixers' unexpected trip to the 2001 Finals