Day 12 · 13-3 · Won Super Bowl LII
Five starters took the field for this offense: quarterback, running back, two receivers, and a tight end. How many can you name before the hints kick in?
You remember when everyone stopped believing in Philadelphia except Philadelphia. The Eagles had gone 7-9 in Carson Wentz's rookie season, but by Year 2 everything had accelerated. Philadelphia was 11-2, Wentz was playing like an MVP, and the Eagles looked like one of the best teams in football. Then Wentz tore his ACL diving toward the end zone against the Rams. Four plays later, he stayed in and threw a fourth-down touchdown to Alshon Jeffery before leaving the game for good. Philadelphia won and clinched the division. Its quarterback's season was over.
Everything started with Carson Wentz. Wentz made third downs feel like opportunities to improvise and threw a franchise-record 33 touchdowns in only 13 games. Zach Ertz became his security blanket, Alshon Jeffery gave him the outside target Philadelphia had been missing, and Nelson Agholor finally became dangerous from the slot. LeGarrette Blount and midseason addition Jay Ajayi gave the offense different ways to run the ball, while Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson anchored the line. Fletcher Cox wrecked the middle on defense, Brandon Graham came off the edge, and Malcolm Jenkins gave the secondary its voice. The Eagles had built something deeper than one quarterback. Now they had to prove it.
Philadelphia finished 13-3 and earned the NFC's top seed. But once Wentz went down, nobody treated the Eagles like the conference favorite anymore. Foles struggled down the stretch, and somehow a 13-win No. 1 seed entered its first playoff game as an underdog in its own stadium. Atlanta drove to the Eagles' 2-yard line with a chance to end the season before Philadelphia stopped Matt Ryan's fourth-down throw to Julio Jones. Fifteen to ten. Then Lane Johnson pulled on a dog mask, and the underdog identity belonged to the entire city.
One week later, nobody could doubt Nick Foles anymore. Minnesota arrived fresh off the Minneapolis Miracle and scored on its opening possession. Patrick Robinson answered with a pick-six, and Philadelphia never looked back. Foles threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles scored 38 unanswered points and won 38-7. A backup quarterback who had considered walking away from football was suddenly taking Philadelphia to the Super Bowl against Tom Brady and the Patriots.
One game remained. New England had Brady, Bill Belichick, and five Lombardi Trophies. Philadelphia had Nick Foles. Somehow, Foles never looked like the mismatch. He kept trading scores with Brady until the Eagles faced fourth-and-goal late in the first half. Foles walked toward the sideline and asked for Philly Philly. Corey Clement took the direct snap, pitched it to Trey Burton, and Burton threw it back to Foles standing alone in the end zone. Philly Special. The backup quarterback had just caught a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Brady kept coming anyway. He threw for 505 yards and eventually gave New England a 33-32 lead in the fourth quarter. Foles answered with another drive, finding Zach Ertz for the go-ahead touchdown. Then Brady got the ball again. Brandon Graham finally reached him and knocked it loose. Derek Barnett recovered. Jake Elliott's field goal made it 41-33, but Brady still had one final chance. His Hail Mary fell incomplete. Nick Foles was Super Bowl MVP, and for the first time, the Philadelphia Eagles were Super Bowl champions. That's how people remember the 2017 Eagles. They remember Wentz playing like an MVP until his knee gave out. They remember the dog masks, the demolition of Minnesota, and Nick Foles refusing to look like a backup. They remember the Philly Special, Brandon Graham getting to Brady, and a city finally getting the championship it had waited for. Most of all, they remember the team everyone kept calling an underdog—and the year Philadelphia proved everyone wrong.
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