Going Deep
It happened. It was real. Whether you're waking up this morning or were afraid to fall asleep last night just in case it was a dream, here's a reminder: The Philadelphia Eagles are the 2018 World Champions of Football.
Led by a guy who was coaching high school football nine years ago, they defeated the vaunted New England Patriots for the franchise's first title since the Eisenhower administration. Doug Pederson and Nick Foles–just two years removed from contemplating retirement–stared down Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and matched them shot for shot, blow for blow.
Foles's journey from cast off to journeyman to backup ended with him being named Super Bowl MVP after he became the first player in the game's history to throw and catch a touchdown in the same contest. Foles threw for 373 yards, three scores and finished the night with a passer rating of 106.1, but he was far from a one-man show.
It's cliche to say it takes 53 men to win a championship. But it'll be hard to explain the Eagles 2018 championship without mentioning the "next-man up" mentality this team has carried over the course of the season. A backup quarterback won MVP and was never sacked, despite playing behind a backup left tackle. An undrafted rookie running back was the Eagles leading receiver. Brandon Graham and Nelson Agholor, former first-round picks who were labelled busts, came through with a fourth quarter strip-sack and 84 receiving yards, respectively. Bryan Braman was left on the streets for the first 15 weeks of the season, but came up with a huge special teams tackle in the fourth quarter, pinning Brady and company inside their own 10-yard-line.
This was a win for guys like Wilbert Montgomery and Brian Westbrook. Ron Jaworski and Donovan McNabb. Bill Bergey and Brian Dawkins. Players who bled green, left it all on the field and still came up short of their ultimate goal. But more importantly, this was a win for generations of fans who have dealt with loss and heartbreak over the past 58 years. The seven-pound Lombardi Trophy is just a fraction of the weight that has been lifted off their shoulders.
For years, fans had been dealt empty promises. New regimes and rosters renewed optimism every spring, but disappointment and heartache would set in as Super-Bowl dreams died as quickly as the leaves on the December trees.
But this team was different. They certainly felt different. Howie Roseman and the rest of the Eagles' brass assembled a band of brothers who persisted through the season, even after losing their Hall of Fame left tackle, their Pro Bowl running back, their special teams ace, their starting middle linebacker, and (of course) the potential MVP of the league. In spite of the injuries, the Eagles' faith never wavered.
Today is a day to celebrate. The Philadelphia Eagles are on top of the football world. As the poles are greased and the parade is planned, it is important to remember those fans who were unable to make it to this glorious day. The diehards who were buried in their midnight green and had a view from the ultimate skybox last night. This win is for them, too.
There will be no more memes or jokes at the expense of Eagle fans. No more taunts about an empty trophy case or illegitimate championships because they came in an era when the championship game didn't have a slick moniker.
The Eagles are Super Bowl champions. Read that again if you have to. It's true. Savor the taste of victory for as long as you can. But as they say, you'll always remember your first.
Injury Report
The Eagles didn't suffer any injuries over the course of the game, save for Stefen Wisniewski missing a few snaps after hobbling off the field in the third quarter. So, we'll use this space to look at the different Eagles players who were lost to the injured reserve over the course of the season and the players who stepped up and filled their roles.
Caleb Sturgis: Sturgis played just one game for the Eagles before being lost for the season with a quadriceps injury in his plant leg. The Eagles signed Jake Elliott off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad and the rookie stepped up immediately, kicking a 61-yard, game-winning field goal against the Giants in Week 3.
Darren Sproles: Sproles broke his arm and tore his ACL against the New York Giants in Week 3. The 12-year vet has been with the Eagles since 2014 and was a huge weapon on offense and as a returner. Sproles had made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons with the Birds. In his absence, Corey Clement emerged as a weapon in the passing game and the Eagles acquired Kenjon Barner to return punts.
Jordan Hicks: Hicks had ankle trouble for much of the year before finally going on the IR with a torn Achilles tendon after the Washington game in Week 7. Joe Walker stepped into his place, but he was later lost for the season with a neck injury. Dannell Ellerbe and Najee Goode took the bulk of the snaps in base defense during the playoff run.
Jason Peters: Peters was carted off the field during that Washington game as well and it seemed like a massive blow to the Birds' Super Bowl hopes. (Spoiler alert: they won the Super Bowl last night.) Second-year lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai stepped up and, despite some early struggles, really came on late in the year and protected Foles's blindside admirably during the postseason. At 36, it is worth wondering if Peters has played his last snaps as an Eagle.
Carson Wentz: The second-year quarterback dove for the end zone against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14 and ended up tearing his ACL and LCL. The loss of an MVP candidate seemed to be detrimental to the Eagles season, but Foles stepped up when he was called upon in the postseason and led the Birds to their first Super Bowl.
Measurables
1151: The Eagles and Patriots combined for 1151 total yards, the most yards accumulated in any game in NFL history. So many records were broken last night, but for all of this to occur in the biggest game of the year is just crazy. The previous record was set in 1950 when the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Rams combined for 1133 yards.
0: The Patriots became the first team in Super Bowl history to not punt once in the entire game. Of their 11 drives, the Patriots scored four touchdowns, one field goal, had two drives end due to the clock, missed one field goal, turned the ball over on downs once and fumbled once. And speaking of that fumble…
1: Graham's strip-sack of Brady was the quarterback's first turnover in the final five minutes of a Super Bowl in his career. Brady has played in eight Super Bowls and Graham's sack, which turned out to be the only sack of the game for either team, effectively put an end to the Patriots' comeback bid. Also Brady became the first player in NFL history to pass for 500 yards and three touchdowns, while tossing zero interceptions, and still lose the game.
0: Despite the Eagles defense getting absolutely shredded by Brady and the Patriots offense, Jim Schwartz's crew didn't allow a single point in the final two minutes of the game. In fact, the Eagles defense didn't allow a single point in the final two minutes of any game this season. Not sure I've ever seen a team just dominate during the closing moments for an entire season.
115.7: Foles posted a quarterback rating of 115.7 during the Eagles postseason run. Not enough can be said about how he put the offense on his back over the past two weeks. His postseason quarterback rating is the third-highest by an Super Bowl-winning QB in NFL history behind Joe Flacco in 2012 and Drew Brees in 2009.
4: Four different Eagles have now thrown a touchdown in the Super Bowl: Jaworski, McNabb, Foles and Burton. One of these things is not like the other.
Five-Step Drop
1. Who knows what the future holds, but it's hard to imagine this Eagles team not contending for championships for the foreseeable future. With Wentz healthy again, they have their franchise quarterback back and the team will return 20 other starters coming back for 2018. The lone holdout is Nigel Bradham. Credit Roseman and Pederson for putting together this roster and building them into a championship-caliber unit.
2. I know it will be discussed, but there is no quarterback controversy brewing. Foles may be a good quarterback, possibly too good to be a backup, but Wentz is clearly the superior player, and if he's healthy, he should be on the field. Foles could stay through training camp just as an insurance plan if Wentz's rehab doesn't go according to plan, but if a team is desperate for a quarterback in August and Wentz is healthy, Roseman will probably unload Foles for a ransom a la Bradford.
3. It was great seeing Jeff Lurie holding up that Lombardi Trophy after more than 20 years of faithful service to the city of Philadelphia. Winning the Super Bowl has always been Lurie's top goal as an owner and he has never stood in the way of the team trying to win on the field. It probably took much longer than he expected, but I'm sure it still tasted sweet for the owner. The Eagles have finally become the Gold Standard.
4. Perhaps the craziest thing about yesterday's game is just how little resistance the Eagles defense offered against Brady and the Patriots. Brady threw for 505 yards, Rob Gronkowski had 9 catches for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan combined for 14 catches and 280 yards. But the Eagles offense controlling the clock and limiting the Patriots' chances on offense ultimately won them the game.
5. When the Eagles hired Chip Kelly in 2013, they were hoping he could be a cutting-edge, innovative genius who coached aggressively and could rally his troops. Instead, it seems like Pederson fits that bill as the Eagles head coach continued to roll the dice, going for it on fourth down twice last night, as well as attempting two two-point conversions. He may not have gotten any love in the Coach of the Year voting, but Doug Pederson has established himself as civic hero on the same footing as William Penn and Ben Franklin.
What's Next
Party on, Philadelphia.
