The 1996 season was the Philadelphia Eagles' sixty-fourth in the National Football League (NFL). The team matched its 10–6 record from the previous season and qualified for the playoffs for the second year in a row.

After a season-ending injury to Rodney Peete, Ty Detmer took over the starting role. For the second time in three seasons, the Eagles stood at 7–2 at the nine-game mark, thanks to a fan-thrilling win November 3 on the road against Dallas. The cap to that contest was a combined 104-yard interception return between James Willis and Troy Vincent during the game's final moments, which turned a potential game-winning drive by the Cowboys into a Philadelphia victory.

But, as it did in 1994 under Rich Kotite, the team wilted. This time, after piling up four losses in five games, including an embarrassing 27-point setback on national TV at Indianapolis, the team scrambled in the playoff picture. Wins against the Jets and Cardinals managed to right the ship, however, resulting in a wild-card matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. Despite that success, the Eagles' season ended in San Francisco with a 14–0 first-round loss to the 49ers.

The 1996 season was also the first season the Eagles debuted the midnight green, white, and black look, with new helmet designs and the logo and endzone font as well.

The Eagles held training camp for the first year at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, home of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

The Eagles signed college free agent Hollis Thomas, a defensive tackle out of Northern Illinois, and also signed former Miami Dolphins cornerback Troy Vincent as a free agent.

Veteran San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Steve Wallace was signed via free agency to a one-year contract, but after a poor showing in the preseason was cut at the end of training camp and promptly re-signed by the 49ers.^[1][2]