Beyond the overwhelming joy felt by Philadelphia Eagles players and fans alike, the character of this team was on display for all to see in Sunday's Snow Bowl win over the Detroit Lions.
There are victories in the NFL and there are character wins that help separate a team from the pack and prove themselves contenders. Sunday's Eagles victory over the Detroit Lions in the Snow Bowl at Lincoln Financial Field is firmly entrenched in the latter category.
Expected to be tested by Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and the Lions, the Eagles withstood an early punch, and the eight inches of snow that coated the field to emerge victorious in one of the more memorable games in league history.
The sights and sounds of the team streaming off the field at the end and long snapper Jon Dorenbos refusing to leave the tunnel two hours after the game's conclusion to pose with lucky VIP fans and guests with the snow covered tundra speak to the iconic nature of the victory just earned by the NFC East leading Eagles.
“They really enjoyed it,” head coach Chip Kelly of his team playing in blizzard-like conditions for one half, eight inches of snow the other. “They kind of probably went back to when they were little kids running around out there.”
Count linebacker Connor Barwin, who defensive coordinator Bill Davis labeled his 'Jack of All Trades' last week amongst those who won't soon forget what is already being affectionately known throughout the Delaware Valley as 'Snow Bowl 2013'.
"As soon as we walked out of the tunnel for pregame warmups we knew that this was going to be a game we'd always remember," Barwin told reporters at his locker following Sunday's game. "It was like one of those games that you watch as a kid growing up on NFL Films.
"But we looked around and said to each other 'let's make sure we go out and remember it as a win.'"
Barwin and his teammates on defense held Johnson, inarguably a future first-ballot Hall of Famer to just 49 receiving yards. Johnson's production was one yard shy of that from Eagles backup running back Chris Polk who finished with 50 rushing yards and one touchdown.
“It’s like you are in the backyard like a kid,” said Nick Foles of playing in the snow-globe. “You just have to make plays and try and give them a chance.”
Perhaps the seminol moment of the Eagles win was Brent Celek sliding to a stop at the ten-yard line on a 27-yard gain to cap a fourth quarter where the Eagles slammed the door on the Lions with an emphatic 28-point outburst in the fourth quarter.
Celek could have done snow angels for the final ten-yards necessary to plow the Eagles over 40 points on the day, but he chose to end the game right then and there on the ten-yard line.
“I will remember this game always,” Celek said afterwards. "I knew as soon as we called that play that if I caught it, I was going down. Listen, I score, then we have to do a kickoff and then the defense has to go out there. Guys can get hurt. It's not a smart move for the team."
Beyond the child-like joy seen coming from the Eagles locker room on Sunday, beating a fellow division leading opponent in the dominant, resilient fashion that the Eagles did on Sunday against Detroit, firmly puts the rest of the league on notice.
Perhaps most impressive is the fact that rather than sulk on the sidelines or roll over as they may have done in the not-so-distant past when trailing 14-0 in the third quarter, which would have been easy to do after posting -1 yard of total offense in the first quarter, the Birds dug in -both literally and figuratively- and got the job done.
Put simply, the win spoke volumes about the character of this team that continues to improve with each passing week, especially amid the first five-game winning streak this team has seen in four seasons.
"I didn't learn anything," Kelly said Monday when asked what he learned about the character of his team thanks to Sunday's win. "I knew exactly what those guys were going to be like. I think maybe some other people did, but I didn't have any question in my mind what was going to go on in that football game because I've been around these guys every single day."
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
