The Dallas Cowboys’ head coach declared that the Philadelphia Eagles’ coach had a “big, fat rear end.”The Cowboys’ kicker was knocked senseless during a blowout loss to the Eagles, and vowed to “deck” the culprit behind the shocking on-field violence. That was just the start of the most bitter rivalry in the NFL, which resumes on Thursday as the 2025 season kicks off on prime time TV at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Nick Sirianni, Saquon Barkley, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jones are the names that dominate now.But the core of the Eagles vs Cowboys rivalry comes down to two big words: Bounty Bowl.Factor in that there were two Bounty Bowls during the 1989 season, and it’s easy to understand why Eagles-Cowboys means so much to two different NFL fanbases more than 30 years later.“Having bounties on opposing players is not the way it’s supposed to be done,” said Johnson, during a tense postgame press conference after a 27-0 shutout defeat to the Eagles at Texas Stadium on November 23, 1989.“We were told last night by a coach — and it’s confirmed by two different players — there’s a $200 bounty on Luis Zendejas, a $500 bounty on Troy Aikman,” Johnson said. “That takes away from the integrity of the game.”It was old-school Philly coach Buddy Ryan against the flashy and splashy Johnson.There were attacks by and accusations from the warring teams that made the New Orleans Saints‘ 2009 Bountygate scandal pale in comparison. The foundation for the Bounty Bowls was established by the 1987 NFL players’ strike and accusations that one side of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry was blatantly running up the score.Troy Aikman had a lot to prove vs the EaglesGettyIt was a true battle of the trenchesGettyBuddy Ryan was one of a kindGetty‘I confirm there was a bounty’After Jones bought America’s Team for $140 million and abruptly ended the Tom Landry-era, the Cowboys entered a full rebuild that featured Herschel Walker being traded in a franchise-changing blockbuster and Johnson taking over as head coach after leading The University of Miami to college championship glory.Dallas’ rebuild allowed Philadelphia to humiliate the Cowboys on the field twice a year, and that’s when the Bounty Bowls appeared.The Cowboys suffered through a 1-15 season in 1989, as Aikman adjusted to the intensity of the NFL in real time and Dallas was consistently embarrassed.Zendejas, the Cowboys’ kicker, had previously played for Philadelphia.The 5ft 9in specialist became a symbol for the hatred between the teams and fanbases, with the Eagles placing a bounty on taking him down during a game.While Johnson said at the time it was a $200 bounty, Philly linebacker Seth Joyner later revealed the bounty was worth much more.youtube@Ramen RobbieBounty Bowl 1 on November 23, 1989 was brutal[/caption]youtube@Ramen RobbieLuis Zendejas was singled out by the Eagles for switching sides[/caption]‘He got knocked out’“I will confirm that there was a bounty on Luis Zendejas and it wasn’t $200, it was for $10,000!” Joyner said.On Thanksgiving in 1989, Zendejas crumpled to the turf following a Dallas kickoff at Texas Stadium.He stumbled, walked the wrong way, and had to be helped off the field.“I think he got knocked out,” announcer John Madden said. “He’s going to the wrong sideline. He’s groggy. “He’s either going over there because he doesn’t know where he is or he’s going over to argue with someone.”Madden added: “The Eagles sent someone after Zendejas.”In Bounty Bowl I, Aikman was attacked in the end zone after a play was blown dead, while a Cowboys player squared up and reared back before throwing a punch during a fight between the teams. In a fiery press conference, Johnson hit back at the Eagles and verbally attacked Ryan.youtube@Ramen RobbieJimmy Johnson was not a big fan of Ryan with the Eagles[/caption]youtube@Ramen RobbieBounty Bowl II was even more bitter in Philly[/caption]‘His big, fat rear end’“I would’ve said something to Buddy but he wouldn’t stand on the field long enough,” Johnson said. “He put his big, fat rear end into the dressing room.”After Johnson defended his players and his struggling team, the Cowboys’ kicker took a shot at Ryan, his former coach with the Eagles. “You know how Buddy is,” Zendejas said. ‘If I could have stood up and decked him, I would have. The next time I can stand on my two legs and can get close enough to him, I will deck him.’Ryan laughed off the accusations.In 1989, the Eagles (11-5) were clearly the better team and were able to bully the Cowboys, on and off the field.“Why would I place a bounty on a kicker, who can’t kick worth a damn?” Ryan said. “The guy was in a six-week slump. I wanted him in the game.”As for Johnson’s comment about his “big, fat rear end,” Ryan took the high road.“I resent that,” Ryan said. “I’ve been on a diet. I lost a couple pounds. I thought I was looking good.”GettyIt’s hard to bring down Saquon Barkley in an Eagles uniform[/caption]Bounty Bowl, the sequelBounty Bowl II was played just two weeks later in Philadelphia at Veterans Stadium on December 10, 1989. The on-field mayhem continued, highlighted by snowballs being thrown at the Cowboys. “The Philly fans let me know how they felt,” Johnson said. “That’s when they pelted me with snowballs. Terry (Bradshaw) was doing the game — they fired a few snowballs at him, too.”Snowballs were also fired into the TV broadcast booth.“This is really fun,” an announcer said.The Eagles beat Dallas again, winning 20-10 on a day when Aikman was sacked five times and the Randall Cunningham-Cris Carter combo was enough for Philly. The Eagles made the playoffs in 1989 but lost a Wild Card game to the Los Angeles Rams.Ryan was gone a year later, with Philly unable to win when it mattered in the postseason.Jones, Johnson and the Cowboys kept building and eventually created a Dallas dynasty from 1992-95, which was recently documented in the Netflix series ‘America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.’“In the end, I had the last laugh,” Johnson said. “Buddy’s Eagles never won a playoff game and we ended up winning two Super Bowls.”The Eagles vs Cowboys rivalry was just beginning in 1989.In many ways, it was the peak of the battle. 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