Eagles have teamfirst playmakers

PHILADELPHIA — Winning is an easy sell.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the first team since the 1990 New York Giants to reach a Super Bowl without a player totaling 1,000 scrimmage yards, although running backs Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount and wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith have done so in the past.

That group plus Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz, wide receiver Nelson Agholor and others have bought into a team-first, unselfish concept. They’re not checking their stats after games. The only number they cared about all season was the win column.

One more against New England in the Super Bowl brings home the team’s first NFL title since 1960.

“I think this group of guys is as good as you could ask to be around,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. “Really, the character and the work ethic, the camaraderie, just the commitment to the process that Coach (Doug Pederson) and our staff is always talking about. There’s a complete buy-in.

“It really helps that we’ve had the success and the execution. It’s always easier to buy in when you’re having the success that we’ve had.”

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Like most of the Patriots players, Trey Flowers generally stays under the radar.

Flowers made his loudest impact on the field and emerged as a key part of the defense during the runs to the Super Bowl the past two seasons. He became one of the leaders on a defense that has finally found some stability after struggling to stop teams early in the season. He helped fill the void created by Dont’a Hightower’s season-ending shoulder injury.

Flowers missed all but one game during his rookie season in 2015 before being placed on injured reserve because of knee and shoulder issues.

He returned in 2016 and appeared in all 16 regular-season games, leading the team with seven sacks. His production continued in the playoffs, where he added two and a half sacks.

The 24-year-old has been equally impressive this season. Flowers again led the team in sacks, with six and a half, despite missing back-toback games in December with a rib injury. But he totaled 12 tackles and a half-sack in his final three games. It was his best three-game stretch of the regular season.

He’s added another sack and eight tackles since the start of the postseason.

Power of Flowers