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    Eagles Fly: The Underdog Philadelphia Eagles' Historic 2017 Championship Season
    Eagles Fly: The Underdog Philadelphia Eagles' Historic 2017 Championship Season
    Eagles Fly: The Underdog Philadelphia Eagles' Historic 2017 Championship Season
    Ebook164 pages2 hours

    Eagles Fly: The Underdog Philadelphia Eagles' Historic 2017 Championship Season

    By This is Philly

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    About this ebook

    In Super Bowl LII, the Philadelphia Eagles triumphantly capped off one of the most improbable runs in NFL history by knocking off the vaunted New England Patriots, and captured their first Super Bowl win in franchise history.

    Eagles Fly: The Underdog Philadelphia Eagles' Historic 2017 Championship Season takes fans through the exhilarating ride that was the 2017-2018 season, from Carson Wentz playing at an MVP level and leading the team to nine straight wins, to Wentz's devastating late-season injury, to Nick Foles stepping in and helping the franchise finally win that elusive first Super Bowl. Featuring thrilling stories and photos from This is Philly, this commemorative edition takes fans from the Week 1 win against Washington all the way through a night that Eagles fans will never forget in chilly Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII. This keepsake also features in-depth stories on fan favorites' Wentz, Foles, Malcolm Jenkins, Vinny Curry and more.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTriumph Books
    Release dateFeb 7, 2018
    ISBN9781641250764
    Eagles Fly: The Underdog Philadelphia Eagles' Historic 2017 Championship Season

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      Book preview

      Eagles Fly - This is Philly

      Andrew Mills

      Contents

      Super Bowl LII vs. New England

      From Backup to Big Time

      Carson Wentz

      Eagles at Redskins

      Beer for Everyone?!

      Eagles at Chiefs

      Eagles vs. Giants

      Malcolm Jenkins

      Eagles at Chargers

      Eagles vs. Cardinals

      Brothers in Arms

      Eagles at Panthers

      Eagles vs. Redskins

      Eagles vs. 49ers

      Vinny Curry

      Eagles vs. Broncos

      Eagles at Cowboys

      Eagles vs. Bears

      Doug Pederson

      Eagles at Seahawks

      Eagles at Rams

      Nick Foles

      Eagles at Giants

      Eagles vs. Raiders

      Eagles vs. Cowboys

      The Blueprint

      NFC Divisional Playoff vs. Atlanta

      NFC Championship vs. Minnesota

      Lori M. Nichols

      Introduction

      By Kevin Manahan, Sports Director

      Many years ago, in the dusty basement of the Philadelphia Library – the nation’s first library, mind you – a poorly paid clerk was logging some of the city’s claims to fame: The nation’s first newspaper? Check. The first zoo? Check. The first hospital and medical school? Check. The first general use computer (which weighed 27 tons, by the way)? Check. The first American-made piano? Check.

      He paused.

      The first Super Bowl championship?

      He called out: Super Bowl? Anybody?

      No response.

      He dialed the Eagles – collect, of course – because the city was on a tight budget.

      We’re working on it, came the answer from a coach named Joe Kuharich in 1968.

      No Super Bowl championship yet, the clerk noted in his ledger.

      And every year after that, a clerk in the Philadelphia Library would call the Eagles (because that first clerk likely has passed by now, may he rest in peace).

      Still working on it, came the answer from Jerry Williams, Ed Khayat and Mike McCormack.

      I’m burned out trying, said teary Dick Vermeil.

      "You really don’t expect me to win one, do you?" said Marion Campbell.

      Don’t call me again or I’ll slug you, said Buddy Ryan.

      It’s 3 o’clock. I’m playing golf. Leave a voicemail, said Rich Kotite.

      Still trying, said Ray Rhodes.

      I give up, said Andy Reid.

      We’ll give it another shot next season, said Chip Kelly.

      No, you won’t, said Jeffrey Lurie.

      And, in 2015, the exhaustive and desperate search began for the man who finally could deliver what no man could in 50 years of Super Bowls – an Eagles championship. (Historical note: In a city known for, uh, questionable political ethics, folklore says Philly’s first documented no-show job was polishing the Eagles’ Lombardi Trophy.)

      The Philadelphia Eagles take the field for Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots in Minneapolis. (Andrew Mills)

      Word went out to all corners of the football world: The Eagles need a new head coach. Again. Experts were consulted. Prayer candles were lit. Sports talk radio callers submitted their résumés. Small children wearing Jaworski jerseys were sacrificed to the football gods.

      (OK, we made the last one up, but you get the idea.)

      In the end, after seemingly no one else (who was qualified) wanted the job, Doug Pederson was hired. Google searches soared: Who is Doug Pederson? To end the misery that began when LBJ was president, the Eagles had hired a guy who looks like everybody’s Little League coach, a career backup quarterback, a former Eagles player and a protégé who had learned everything he knew as a coach from – oh, God, no! – Andy Reid.

      Doug (freakin’) Pederson! Heck, there hadn’t been this much whining in Philadelphia since the great Cheez-Whiz shortage. And after the Eagles went 7-9 in 2016 with a rookie quarterback named Carson Wentz, the phone rang again.

      Philadelphia Library calling.

      Call me back in a year, Pederson said. I’ve got a good feeling.

      Certainly, the players believed.

      From the beginning, he always asked us if we are ‘just interested or are we committed?’ tackle Lane Johnson said. A lot of guys say they want to do a certain thing, they want to win games, they want to do this. But he asks us what are we going to do to prepare for it?

      In short, what are you willing to do to win a Super Bowl?

      And from September to December, Pederson took the Eagles on a magical ride with Wentz, the Ginger Messiah. They ripped off victory after victory, overcame injury after injury, won over skeptics by the millions. (We’re looking at you, Michael Lombardi.)

      With their first Super Bowl victory as a franchise in 2018, the Eagles went from underdogs to top dogs. (Tim Hawk)

      On opening day, they lost their kicker, but signed a kid off the couch who made clutch kicks and nailed a team-record game-winning field goal from 61 yards. They lost one of their best offensive linemen, but plugged in another. Lost a star linebacker and a running back who also returned punts, but kept going.

      Wentz, the leading candidate for NFL MVP, made big play after big play, escaping sure sacks and leaving pass rushers with empty hands. Philly hadn’t seen this many whiffs since Steve Carlton. Eventually, even jaded Eagles fans climbed about the bandwagon.

      Pederson shocked his critics – with guts. Fourth down? Going for it. Fouth-and-goal? Going for it. Need a quick TD? Here’s a flea-flicker I first drew in the dirt when I was 9.

      And then it happened: The Eagles, just a month from the playoffs, put a cast on Wentz’s knee – and a black armband on a season that had looked like it would be The Year.

      Oh, football gods, would this curse ever end?

      The offense was handed to backup quarterback Nick Foles. Hospitals treated thousands of Eagles fans who broke their legs jumping off the bandwagon.

      But Pederson didn’t panic. He shoved Foles into the cockpit and talked him down. The landing strip? The parking lot of the Mall of America in Minneapolis. Foaming the tarmac were Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

      To make history, Pederson – after winning two playoff games with the Eagles as historic underdogs – would have to outcoach the greatest coach in Super Bowl history and outfox the greatest quarterback in Super Bowl history – guys who had more jewelry than Liz Taylor’s estate. The Eagles – the NFL’s historic laughingstock and 0-2 in Super Bowls – would have to beat a legendary franchise hoping to stock up with one more championship.

      So, the Eagles slipped on their dog masks and won the biggest game of their lives in the craziest game of their lives, 41-33 – and it didn’t end until Tom Brady’s Hail Mary was batted like a volleyball and finally landed in the end zone at 0:00.

      The Eagles are champions! And Philly, the greased utility pole capital of the United States, rejoiced. As the players made confetti angels on the U.S. Bank Stadium field, firecrackers exploded in nearly every neighborhood. Fans streamed into the streets with tears streaming down their cheeks.

      Was this real?

      Zach Ertz, who made the game-winning touchdown catch, smiles with the Lombardi Trophy. The tight end led the Eagles in receiving yards for the 2017 season. (Andrew Mills)

      How could it be? Because the stat sheet was insane: Foles threw three touchdown passes and caught – yes, caught! – another on a gimmick play called The Philly Special. He threw for 373 yards to earn the game’s MVP award. And the winning TD came on a controversial TD by tight end Zach Ertz, who bobbled the ball at the goal line, invoking the catch-or-no-catch rule that, frankly, no one understands.

      I don’t know what would have happened in Philadelphia if they had ruled that not a touchdown, Ertz said.

      Luckily, we didn’t have to find out.

      So, to capsulize: The Eagles won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback (who nearly retired) on a night when Tom Brady threw for 505 yards and three TDs.

      Is there any doubt this was a team of destiny?

      Everything that we’ve done to get to this point, it’s amazing, Pederson said. Everyone counted us out. But I have a great staff, great players and we have great fans. Our fans have waited a long time for this. I’m so excited to be part of this, to bring a Lombardi Trophy back to Philadelphia. I can’t wait to get back and celebrate with our fans.

      The Eagles will be loved and revered and showered with confetti by the NFL’s most maligned fan base – forever to be known as the first Eagles team to win a Super Bowl.

      Cry, Eagles, Cry … tears of joy.

      So when that clerk calls this week, chances are, Pederson won’t hear his cell phone ringing over all the screaming and shouting.

      The Eagles have won their first Super Bowl championship.

      Hey,

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