The Eagles: How They Got Here
i
he Eagles were 7-9 last year in the first season under coach Doug Pederson — hardly an iqpressive start
to his tenure with proqising quarterback Carson Wentz also in his rookie season with Philadelphia.
Expectations were low enter-
ing 2017, with many experts
projecting the team to be
around the .500 mark yet
again. But some strategic ros-
ter moves in the offseason
proved to be instrumental in
helping the Eagles make the
2016 season a distant memory.
KEY ADDITIONS
Veteran running back
LeGarrette Blount and defen-
sive end Chris Long joined the
Eagles after winning Super
Bowl rings with the Patriots
last year.
“I chose the Eagles for the
reason of me fitting in really
good here, having a champi-
onship run, having a banner
season,” Blount told the
Associated Press after he
signed. “And they’re a really
good team. They’re a really
good team before I came. I just
want to fit in.”
The Eagles also added
receivers Alshon Jeffery and
Torrey Smith, and traded for
defensive tackle Tim Jernigan.
The moves didn’t gain a lot
of media attention but quietly
set the Eagles up for a success-
ful campaign with Wentz lead-
ing the squad in his second
Carson Wentz went down with
season.
a torn ACL in week 14 of the
NEXT MAN UP
regular season, the Eagles
Quarterback Nick Foles has turned to Foles to pick up the
proven the importance of hav- slack.
ing a quality backup quarter-
He delivered.
back in today’s National
Foles will now try to become
Football League. When starter the first backup quarterback to
MR.SCHULiZ / WIKIMEDIA / CREAiIVE COMMONS
win a Super Bowl since Tom
Brady in 2002.
UNDERDOGS
On Jan. 22 — the day after
the NFC and AFC title games,
The Westgate SuperBook in
Las Vegas installed the Patriots
as 5-and-a-half-point favorites
in Super Bowl LII. That’s noth-
ing new for the Eagles. They
were the first No. 1 seed in NFL
history to be underdogs in
their opening playoff game but
came away with a win over the
Atlanta Falcons.
The Eagles also were three-
point underdogs in the NFC
title game against the
Minnesota Vikings. Now the
underdog masks sported by
many fans throughout the
playoffs will be in full force for
Super Sunday.
2018 BIG GAME pg 3