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After Dodgers’ World Series Victory, Philadelphia Teams Have Now Lost 23 Times to Playoff Opponents that Went on to Win it All
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When the Phillies lost to the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, there was some grumbling among the locals that LA would go on to win it all.
Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened, though it wasn’t as easy as we initially thought. After sweeping the Brewers with no issues whatsoever, they needed extra innings in Game 7 to dispatch the Blue Jays and win their second World Series in a row, finishing with 13 wins and 4 losses in the postseason. Toronto was responsible for three of those losses and the Phillies one, so we were sadly denied the pitiful “Phils vs. Dodgers was the real World Series” narrative.
There’s this existing thought that Philadelphia teams oftentimes lose in the playoffs to opponents that go on to win it all. Or, a general idea that our teams have faced some real killers in the past. Case in point, you look at how often the Flyers have reached the mountaintop, only to be undone by guys like Wayne Gretzky, Sergei Fedorov, and Patrick Kane. Those were some elite Flyers teams, defeated only by generational talent on the other side.
As an exercise in storyline examination, we asked artificial intelligence to look up how many times a Philadelphia team has lost in the playoffs to a squad that went on to win it all. The A.I. failed miserably, and seemed to confuse Finals results with early playoff round results. It screwed up years and seasons, though it did note that the four majors + Philly Union are 8-20 in championship games going back to the start of the Super Bowl era, which was somewhat helpful, but I went through each team individually and tallied the rest of the results the old-fashioned way.
Phillies
The Phils are 2-6 all-time in the World Series. Additionally, they lost to the following World Series winners in previous playoff rounds:
- 1976: lost to Reds in NLCS
- 2010: lost to Giants in NLCS
- 2011: lost to Cardinals in NLDS
- 2025: lost to Dodgers in NLDS
In 1977 and 1978, the Phillies lost to the Dodgers in the NLCS, but LA was dispatched by the Yankees in the Fall Classic on both occasions. They lost to the Rockies in the 2007 NLDS, who got swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.
The one that’s most annoying remains 2023 against the Diamondbacks, who went on to lose 4-1 to the Rangers in the World Series.
Eagles
The Birds are 2-3 in title games during the Super Bowl era. They won three championships before the big game was created.
Going back to 1966, they’ve lost in the playoffs to the following teams that went on to lift the Lombardi Trophy:
- 1992: lost to the Cowboys in the Divisional Round
- 1995: lost to the Cowboys in the Divisional Round
- 2002: lost to the Bucs in NFC Championship Game
- 2010: lost to Packers in the Wild Card Round
A look back to the 90s reveals why the Cowboys used to be hated around here a lot more than they currently are. Not only were they a pain in the ass in the regular season, but twice they dispatched the Birds en route to Super Bowl wins in the Troy Aikman era.
Sixers
Since 1963, when the Syracuse Nationals relocated, the Sixers are 2-4 in the Finals.
They lost to the following teams who went on to win it all:
- 1964-65: lost to Celtics in Division Finals
- 1965-66: lost to Celtics in Division Finals
- 1967-68: lost to Celtics in Division Finals
- 1968-69: lost to Celtics in Division Finals
- 1977-78: lost to Bullets in Conference Finals
- 1980-81: lost to Celtics in Conference Finals
- 1990-91: lost to Bulls in second round
- 2018-19: lost to Raptors in second round
Those games in the mid-1960s should come with an asterisk since the NBA only had nine and teams at the time. That number increased to 14 by the time 1970 hit, but there’s a bloated number of playoff appearances since the league was so thin. Note that between 1978 and 2025 this has only happened four times, which is more in line with what you see in the Phillies’ and Eagles’ histories.
Flyers
The Flyers have the distinction of having the most championship appearances in the modern “four for four” era of Philadelphia sports. They won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975 and have gone 0-6 ever since, losing in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997, and 2010.
The rest of the list:
- 1972-73: lost to Canadiens in semifinals
- 1994-95: lost to Devils in conference finals
- 1999-00: lost to Devils in conference finals
- 2003-04: lost to Lightning in conference finals
- 2008-2009: lost to Penguins in conference quarterfinals
- 2010-2011: lost to Bruins in conference quarterfinals
Some pretty tough ones to swallow on the list. In particular, that second Devils series, and the Tampa series, which both went to seven games.
Union
The U are 0-1 in MLS Cup. Additionally:
- 2021: lost to New York City FC in the Conference Finals
This one shouldn’t really count since the Union were down almost their entire starting lineup due to fugazi COVID rules. They battled NYC to a 2-1 home loss and there’s no doubt in my mind that they would have won MLS Cup had they been at full strength.
Note: Let me know if I missed anything, it’s k.kinkead@sportradar.com. Like I said, the A.I. stunk! Wasn’t helpful at all.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com