What a thrill to watch the Eagles in the fourth quarter–and not have an anxiety attack! Despite their 14-3 record in the regular season, several close games kept us on the edge of our seats until the very last minute. The playoffs, however, were much different. In fact, the post-season average score had the Eagles on the winning edge of 36-19 points.
As a former Philadelphia Eagle, everyone wanted to know my Super Bowl predictions. Even still, no one trusted my intuition over the Vegas odds, which had the Chiefs slightly favored. This year, I said the Eagles would win the Super Bowl by at least 8 points, and have a +2 in the turnover category, but that didn’t sit well with the armchair quarterbacks.
Everyone underestimated their excellent Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, who had not one but two weeks to get ready for the Chiefs. I knew Mahomes had no chance to be prepared for their defense.
In the first quarter, the Eagles’ defensive front four were consistent on their pass rushes. Both Eagle edge rushers went upfield for 4-5 yards and then collapsed the pocket giving Mahomes only two options: throw or run up the middle.
Sure, he had one or two good runs, but he was basically shut down. Truth be told, the Chiefs had only 23 total yards at the half. Maybe Villanova could have had more than that.
I could tell the game was over by the first half. The Eagles’ defense played downhill football with hard-hitting tackling, stopping the Chiefs dead in their tracks, if not sending them backward.
We can’t forget one other key factor in the Eagles’ victory–they were having FUN while doing it. I’ve experienced that adrenaline rush on a few occasions during my NFL career. Sacking a clueless team during the first half of a game is a great way to build momentum that ultimately secures the win.
So, the Eagles are the 59th Super Bowl champs! Can they repeat? It is my belief that yes, they can, and maybe some of you armchair quarterbacks at home should listen to me this time.
And last but not least, Howie Roseman, who has done an incredible job finding good talent, will have these 5 draft choices: 1st Round – #32 | 2nd Round – #64 | 3rd Round – #96 | 4th Round – #129 | 5th Round – #162.
Go Birds!
