Yes, the Patriots are in the Super Bowl again. Yes, they are favored to win. And yes, the general consensus is Brady will hoist another Lombardi trophy. But not so fast! After Carson Wentz went down and everyone had decided that was it for Philly, I wrote an article as to why the Philadelphia Eagles would make it to Super Bowl LII.
Guess what? The Philadelphia Eagles are in Super Bowl LII! If you think the Patriots have already locked up another title, you're about to learn why the Eagles will be the ones celebrating a Super Bowl win.
The Eagles are playing with a chip on their shoulder
The Eagles have not been happy about their underdog status. Despite losing starting quarterback and MVP candidate Carson Wentz to a season-ending knee injury on December 10th, the Eagles finished with the best record in the NFC, a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Their only loss since Wentz got hurt was a meaningless regular season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.
Many Eagles starters rested completely and others played very little. This was the only home loss all season. Despite this, the Eagles were underdogs at home in the divisional round against a red hot Atlanta Falcons team that had won seven of their last nine games and were the defending NFC Champs.
After knocking off the Falcons, Pro Bowl left tackle Lane Johnson and defensive end Chris Long wore dog masks after the game, in response to being underdogs despite being the higher seed and playing at home. This started a craze in Philadelphia and a run on dog masks on Amazon.
The Eagles have overcome a lot of adversity
The injury to franchise quarterback Carson Wentz was the big one, but the Eagles have been overcoming injuries to good football players all season long.
First it was Darren Sproles, one of the best all purpose running backs and returners in the NFL.
They also lost kicker Caleb Sturgis. He was followed by perennial Pro Bowler and future Hall of Fame left tackle Jason Peters. Jordan Hicks, the rising young middle linebacker was also lost for the season, as was the Eagles' best special teams player Chris Maragos.
Ronald Darby, a starting cornerback, missed half the season with an injury.
NFL teams have injuries. It's the nature of the sport, but that's quite a lot of top talent the Eagles have lost along the way and they haven't missed a beat.
The Eagles' defense is dominant
The Eagles' defense is peaking at the right time. They've proven they are a dominant defense that can completely shut down opposing offenses, no matter who it is. The Falcons went in to Philadelphia for the divisional playoff round with a high-powered offense led by veteran quarterback Matt Ryan and the league's best receiver, Julio Jones. The Eagles' defense gave up one touchdown and 10 total points and ended the Falcons' season.
The Minnesota Vikings came into Philadelphia riding high on an impossible to believe unless you saw it last play victory against the New Orleans Saints.
They were playing for a chance to be the first NFL team to play a Super Bowl game at home. They took their very first possession and easily marched down the field for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Everything pointed toward a Vikings victory, but just like you saw the week before against the Saints, that's why they play the game. It ended as well for the Vikings as it had previously for the Falcons. In other words, not very well. The Minnesota Vikings never scored again. The Eagles' defense manhandled them, creating three turnovers and scoring as many touchdowns as the Vikings' offense. Patrick Robinson scored on an electrifying 50 yard interception return that tied the game 7-7 and then the Eagles' offense took over, scoring 31 straight points for a 38-7 Eagles victory.
Nick Foles is good
The Eagles became underdogs as soon as Carson Wentz went down with a season-ending knee injury. Sure, Wentz was leading the NFL in touchdown passes at the time and was on his way to a likely MVP season. A loss like that is going to hurt any team.
That being said, there is a reason the Eagles picked up Nick Foles and made him the highest paid backup quarterback in the NFL. He had the third highest season-long quarterback rating in NFL history back in 2013 when he tossed 27 touchdowns against only 2 interceptions. His 2014 wasn't nearly as good but should anyone really have expected such a thing? He does have a winning record as a starter in the NFL.
Doug Pederson, an ex-NFL quarterback himself, was the reason the Eagles drafted Nick Foles in the first place.
So, clearly, Doug has confidence in Nick.
Foles hadn't played all season long until Wentz got hurt. In the NFL, that means very few reps in practice and none with the first team wide receivers. It was going to take time for Nick to shake off the rust, find his rhythm and get on the same page with his wide receivers.
Against the Falcons, Nick did not turn the ball over, he completed over 70 percent of his passes (23-30) and threw for 249 yards. That's a quarterback rating of 100. Despite the offense only scoring one touchdown, the Eagles won the time of possession battle and Foles led the team on numerous time-consuming drives. This kept the defense fresh and the Falcons' offense off the field.
Foles shredded the Vikings' defense
The Minnesota Vikings gave up fewer points than any team in the NFL (15.75 per game). They were dominant on third down, allowing first downs on barely twenty-five percent of third down plays. That was the lowest number since 1970. Foles embarrassed the Vikings' defense. The Eagles' offense put up 31 points, the most the Vikings had given up all season long.
Nick Foles completed a mind-boggling 79 percent of his passes! He threw for 352 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception. His quarterback rating was a near-perfect 141. He had two touchdown passes over 40 yards and a few other completions over 35 yards. He averaged over 10 yards per pass attempt. The Eagles converted 10 of 14 third downs.
The Patriots can't stop everyone
One of the hallmarks of Bill Belichick's coaching is that his gameplan to take away what he feels is the opponents' biggest threat. If it was Atlanta, he'd take away Julio Jones. He would make you beat him some other way. So who does he take away on the Eagles' offense?
In two playoff games, six Eagles receivers have at least six receptions. Three other receivers have caught passes. The Eagles have three productive running backs that are part of the offense and share the load. Two of them, Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement have also combined for 12 receptions and 109 yards receiving in the playoffs to go with their running duties. The third is LeGarrete Blount, who won a Super Bowl with New England last year, and has two rushing touchdowns in two playoff games for the Eagles.
Nick Foles is developing a rhythm with his wide receivers, Alshon Jeffrey, Torrey Smith and Nelson Agholor. He has completed 23 passes to those receivers in the playoffs, including three touchdowns, one for 53 yards and another for 41 yards.
The Eagles don't have an offensive player that a defense can plan for. If they do that, someone else will have a big day, and the Patriots' defense is not the Minnesota Vikings' defense.
Football games are won at the line of scrimmage
This is a cliche for a reason. It's true, and in the playoffs the Eagles' lines have been dominant on both sides of the ball. On offense, they've kept Nick Foles upright and given him time to go through his progressions and make his throws.
This has been crucial as Foles is a more traditional pocket passing quarterback than Carson Wentz. He looks to stand in the pocket and deliver the football. The offensives line has allowed him to do just that.
The defensive line for the Eagles has been outstanding. They are eight players deep, rotating linemen in and out of the game to keep them fresh. They wear down offensive lines and get pressure on the quarterback. Against the Vikings they pressured Keenum into three turnovers, two interceptions and a fumble.
The Eagles are a better team
Even without Carson Wentz the Eagles are a better football team than the New England Patriots right now. New England has Patriots mystique and Tom Brady. That goes a long way, but the Philadelphia Eagles, from top to bottom, have a better football team.
