My story with the NFL: part three

The first Eagles' games under Foles' command were more complicated than it was supposed to be. The team has some troubles to beat the NY Giants and the Oakland Raiders (both teams ended the season with a loser record), and for the last game of the season, the staff decided to play without the starter players against the Dallas Cowboys, and they won the match (0-6). Due to the incredible season of the Eagles, with fourteen victories and only three defeats, the team ended like the best team of the National Conference, securing to play the Divisional Round of the postseason. Nevertheless, the forecast was not in favour of the Philadelphia team and not many people (except the fans) gave chances to the Eagles to transcend in the postseason.

The Divisional Game was against the Atlanta Falcons, and it was tough to watch because it was a game with few points but also with high doses of drama. The team has complications to reach the red zone during all match, and it was until the third period of the game when the Eagles returned to the lead, with a field goal, and for the last quarter they scored another field goal to put the score in 15-10.

The end of that game must be one of the most dramatic endings that I have ever watched. The Falcon's offence reached the goal zone getting into yard number two. In their last play, they threw the ball to Julio Jones, one of the best receivers in the NFL, but he was not able to catch it because of the great defensive work of Jalen Mills. The game ended and the result surprised many people because Atlanta was the favourite to win the game, even when Philadelphia had reached the best record in the Conference. The Philadelphia players were aware of that fact, then, at the end of the game, some of them celebrated the victory using dog's masks: the underdogs had been born and were hungry of glory.

The next match was against the Minnesota Vikings, and Philadelphia was not the favourite to win the Conference. Vikings came from an incredible victory that was mostly the result of the mistakes that New Orleans Saints committed in the game than because of a good performance of Minnesota's team, but many "experts" openly said that Vikings would reach the SuperBowl game before playing against the Eagles. The Philadelphia underdogs had another chance to shut up the mouth of their critics.

The beginning of the game was not what the Eagle's staff expected. Minnesota scored a touchdown in its first possession and Philadelphia was unable to answer immediately. When Vikings appeared controlling the match, a defensive play changed the course of the entire game: after the defensive end Chris Long hit Case Keenum arm, Patrick Robinson watched the ball and returned it for a touchdown and tied the game. What came after that play was a festival for Eagles' fans.

The offensive team, directed by Foles, supported by its receivers and running backs, and protected by its offensive line, practically destroyed Minnesota's SuperBowls aspirations before finishing the second quarter, which ended 24-7. The defence also did a great job, avoiding Minnesota to score again in the game, forcing three turnovers and tackling opportunely. The match finished 38-7, and all of us (the Eagles fans) was so happy about the result and the team performance.

Personally, that game cleared my doubts and fear about the capacity of the team; as Doug Pederson said after Wentz's injury, Philadelphia Eagles had shown being a highly resilient team, able to surpass all the adversities. We did not have the Darren Sproles' experience in the backfield, but we had LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement to move the chains running and receiving; Jason Peters was not in the offensive line, but it was also able to protect the quarterback against the rival defences; Jordan Hicks was not in the field to command the defensive team, but Chris Long, Fletcher Cox and company were there to make the contrary offensive; and we also had lost our MVP, Carson Wentz, but we had Nick Foles to move the team and to show what this group was able to reach. We had lost key players during all the season, but we had no lost the team.

The Eagles were again in the SuperBowl after thirteen years, and the game was against the New England Patriots, the mighty team of the last decades according to the media experts. There is no need to say what team was the favourite to win the trophy. The winning history of Tom Brady and the Patriots move the balance in favour of New England, but I was sure that Philadelphia would not be in vain in the Superbowl. I had faith in that team that was able to reach what most people thought was impossible for them.

If you want to read the next part, click here

If you desire to read the previous part, click here


*** If you find some mistakes on my writing, please comment it. In my first post, I explain why I might be writing incorrectly***

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