Philly OK with its role as underdog
Victory over Brady, Belichick would be ultimate vindication
The day after Philadelphia destroyed Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game, coach Doug Pederson paid proper respect to the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII opponent, the New England Patriots. Although they pulverized Minnesota 38-7, the Eagles are six-point underdogs against the Patriots on Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. That’s the most decisive spread since Pittsburgh was favored by seven over Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII.
Pederson, an Andy Reid disciple who played quarterback for four teams during a 13-year career, doesn’t mind the underdog role and certainly understands it. The Eagles weren’t favored in playoff victories over Atlanta or Minnesota, and both games were played at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Patriots overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit
to defeat Jacksonville 2420 in the AFC Championship Game.
The Patriots are trying to achieve a new standard of excellence. They are playing in their eighth Super Bowl during the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era.
Coaches and quarterbacks come and go in the NFL, but Belichick and Brady are trying to lead the Patriots to a sixth Super Bowl victory, which would tie Pittsburgh for the most in history. No coach-quarterback twosome has experienced the success they have.
“Listen, I think everybody in the league sort of envies (their) success to some extent, and rightfully so,” Pederson said during his Monday news conference. “They’ve been there, done that many times, and that’s something that every other team would love to have.”
Pederson knows what it’s like to defeat New England in a Super Bowl. When he backed up Brett Favre in Green Bay, he earned a ring when the Packers defeated the Patriots, coached by Bill Parcells, in Super Bowl XXXI.
This one is different, of course. The Patriots are 5-2 in Super Bowls since that loss to Green Bay.
Habitual MVP
Brady has earned four Super Bowl MVP awards and has a 27-9 playoff record.
“It’s impressive, obviously, and it’s wellrespected and well-documented,” Pederson said. “At the same time, we’re just going to prepare the same and try to block out all the noise.
“There’s going to be a lot written to probably both extremes. But again, our guys have been resilient. They’ve been able to block that noise out. Once the ball is teed up and kicked off, just trust our players, trust our schemes and play football.”
Pederson calls the plays, and if he can find a way to get quarterback Nick Foles to continue a terrific postseason run that saw him play brilliantly against Minnesota, the Eagles have a chance to pull an upset.
Perhaps Foles, the Austin native who played at Westlake High School, will have a couple miracles in his pocket the same way Eli Manning did when the Giants defeated the Patriots in two Super Bowls.
Foles ripped apart a Minnesota defense that ranked first in the regular season and allowed the fewest points in the NFL. He completed 26 of 33 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception, and his rating was 141.4.
Foles has started three playoff games in his career, including a loss under Chip Kelly. But in those three games, he has been magnificent.
Check it out: 72-of-96 for 795 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions and a 116.4 rating.
And he’s a six-point underdog?
Batman vs. Superman
Look at it like this: Foles is Batman, but he’s going against Superman. Batman has no superpowers, and unless the Eagles’ defensive players stuff some kryptonite down their pants, Superman is going to win what could be an epic performance.
Brady has started 36 postseason games compared to Foles’ three. The Eagles have the better defense, but New England’s defense plays best when it has to.
After falling behind Jacksonville and being in danger of suffering a monumental upset, the Patriots allowed two field
goals in the second half, giving Brady time to work his magic in the fourth quarter.
This Super Bowl should be extra special for Brady and Belichick. They overcame the distraction of the ESPN the Magazine story that portrayed a New England house divided.
Brady, 40, excelled against the Jaguars despite getting more than 10 stitches on his right hand last week and worrying that he might not be able to play against the Jaguars.
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure on Wednesday,” Brady said after the victory. “I thought out of all the plays, my season can’t end on a handoff in practice. We didn’t come this far to end on a handoff.
“Everyone did a great job kind of getting me ready. It was a great team effort. Without that, I definitely wouldn’t be playing.”
Brady is losing offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who will be Indianapolis’ new coach.
Belichick is losing defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who will be Detroit’s new coach.
Belichick and Brady have lost coordinators before, and they continued to win Super Bowls. No matter what happens against Philadelphia, expect the Patriots to be favored again next season.
That’s the true definition of excellence.