Super Foles, defense lead Eagles to Super Bowl
The party started hours before the game began in the parking lots, and it kept on going right on through the night when the Eagles roared past the Minnesota Vikings and clinched a berth in the Super Bowl.
Who would have thought this when the season started? Or when four key starters suffered season-ending injuries, including star quarterback Carson Wentz?
Yet there was Wentz's backup, Nick Foles, throwing deep and accurately. And there was the Eagles' defense stopping the Minnesota Vikings cold after the Vikings scored on their opening drive.
And there were the Eagles and their fans, dancing and celebrating and standing throughout their 38-7 win over the Vikings in the NFC Championship game on Sunday night.
The Eagles will play in the Super Bowl for their third time in the 52-year history of the championship game. They have never won it. They'll face the New England Patriots on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis.
"Words can't really describe what I feel like right now," Foles said. "I haven't really had time to comprehend what's going on. I don't know if I ever will. When I was up on the stage [at the end of the game], that's something you dream about as a kid. Just being the magnitude of this game, and us to go out as a team and put together a great performance, that's something really special."
The Vikings were hoping to become the first team in Super Bowl history to play the championship game in their home stadium.
Instead, the Eagles will be playing in a rematch of the 2005 Super Bowl, when the Eagles lost to the Patriots 24-21. New England beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20 in the AFC Championship game earlier Sunday.
The Eagles can thank Foles and a devastating defense for completely overwhelming the Vikings, who came into the game with the top-ranked defense in NFL, giving up an average of 276 yards per game. The Eagles nearly had double that amount.
"This is very humbling and unbelievable," Foles said on the field after the game.
Foles had no trouble with the Vikings. He completed 26 of 33 passes for 352 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. It was by far his best game since he took over for Wentz, who tore his ACL on Dec. 10 in a game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Eagles weren't supposed to have a chance after that. Wentz was a front-runner for the MVP award, and Foles struggled badly in the Eagles' final two regular season games.
As tight end Zach Ertz put it, "We had an All-Pro team on [injured reserve]."
But the Eagles kept believing, even if many others didn't. Even the betting lines had the Eagles as underdogs in their two playoff games. The Eagles were the NFC's top seed and were playing at home in both games.
A few players unveiled dog masks to signify their "underdog" mentality after beating the Atlanta Falcons 15-10 last week. And they kept up their "We all we got, we all we need" mantra for the Vikings.
The Eagles didn't need a miracle to beat the Vikings. They simply overwhelmed them.
EAGLES: Fans pumped right from the beginning
The fans and players were in a festive mood right from the start. Right tackle Lane Johnson ran out onto the field holding up the jersey of left tackle Jason Peters, who is one of four key starters who suffered season-ending injuries.
And yet, the Eagles might have been too amped. The Vikings took the opening kickoff and scored as tight end Kyle Rudolph got behind the defense and scored on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Case Keenum.
But the sense of doom didn't last long, even after the Eagles went three-and-out on their first possession.
Defensive end Chris Long, one of the low-priced free agent signings, hit Keenum's arm as he threw. The ball was short of Keenum's intended target and landed in the arms of Patrick Robinson, another low-priced free agent signing. Robinson returned the ball 50 yards, crossing the field and calling out his blocks, before getting into the front corner of the end zone.
Just like that, the game was tied.
Foles was asked how much that play pumped up the offense. He responded: "I don't think it just pumped up the offense. I think it pumped up the whole city of Philadelphia. Everyone down Broad Street heard that."
Foles led a 12-play drive that culminated with LeGarrette Blount's 11-yard bulldozing touchdown run up the middle, and the Eagles were in front by a touchdown early in the second quarter.
Then rookie Derek Barnett sacked Keenum when the Vikings were at the Eagles' 16, threatening to tie the game. Barnett, of course, was the first-round pick the Eagles acquired for trading Sam Bradford to the Vikings just before the 2016 season started. Bradford is a backup for the Vikings after missing all but two games during the regular season with a knee injury
The Eagles recovered the fumble with 3:16 left in the half and quickly went to work.
That's when Foles showed that he can throw deep, too. The Eagles faced a 3rd-and-10 from their 47 when Foles stepped up in the pocket and launched a 53-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Alshon Jeffery.
"I seen him in the pocket, like he was moving around," Jeffery said. "It's a scramble play now, and he did a great job finding me."
The celebrations were in full swing after a last-second field goal to end the first half, followed by another deep ball, this one from Foles to Torrey Smith from 41 yards out on a fleaflicker.
Foles' reaction in the huddle when Eagles coach Doug Pederson called that play?
"You just try not to smile," Foles said."
That gave the Eagles a 31-7 lead with 10:05 left in the third quarter.
Foles completed every pass he threw in the second half, going 11 for 11 for 144 yards. The running game, led by Jay Ajayi, was efficient.
It was just a matter of time from there before the Eagles' trip to Minneapolis was assured.
But not before one more touchdown, from Foles to Jeffery from 5 yards out, and a whole lot of dancing and celebrating in the stands.
The Eagles are going to the Super Bowl. And who would have thought Foles would lead them there?
Other than the Eagles themselves.
"No one in the locker room doubted me," Foles said. "Everyone just kept believing, kept working. We kept getting more reps in practice. It's just a rhythm thing. You just have to keep working."
And the Eagles vow they're not done yet against the favored Patriots.
"We just have to finish this thing," said tight end Brent Celek, who is in his 11th season, all with the Eagles, and playing for his first Super Bowl. "I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but we just have to finish this."
Contact Martin Frank at email@example.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.