Adrian Fedkiw
As the minutes in the fourth quarter ticked down, Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie came down to the sideline to dance with the players. The 70,000 rabid fans in attendance started doing the “SKOL” chant, but replaced the word SKOL with Foles. Doug Pederson was doused with Gatorade.
Nobody saw this coming a month ago and two weeks from now, the Eagles have an opportunity to write the greatest underdog sports story of all-time.
And we could potentially be seeing a changing of the guard in the NFL too.
Nick Foles threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns against statistically the best defense in the NFL and the Eagles routed the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 to book their trip to the Twin Cities and Super Bowl LII to take on the mighty Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
THE EAGLES ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!! pic.twitter.com/hbdiG1JhvL
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
The Eagles will be underdogs again, the Patriots have opened as a -5.5 favorite.
Foles was 26-of-33 and the Eagles were a magnificent 10-of-14 on third down. Pederson was a step ahead of defensive mastermind and Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer all night. Philadelphia RPO’ed the Vikings to death in the first half, which plays to Foles’ strengths of not making him go through progressions. It got him into a rhythm and as the confidence built, Pederson became more and more aggressive with his play-calling.
The Eagles hadn’t converted a 3rd-and-10 or longer since Carson Wentz suffered his torn ACL, but Foles was able to work the pocket and hit Ertz to move the chains on this 3rd-and-10 late in the first quarter.
Great job by Foles to work the pocket, step up in it and hit Ertz to move the chains on 3rd-and-10. Eagles RPOing Vikings to death right now, Foles looks sharp and confident. Great blitz pickup by Clement too on that play too. pic.twitter.com/MqbB0IRMnr
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
Check out this beauty where Foles stepped up into the pocket, pump faked and found Ertz again to convert a 3rd-and-8.
Foles looks like a completely different QB, Doug Pederson has done a hell of a job getting him ready for the postseason. pic.twitter.com/0oQabYn1h3
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
Then the playbook began to open up and Foles launched this 53-yard touchdown to Alshon Jeffery, who beat the ageless Terence Newman on a double move, late in the first half to stake the Birds to a 21-7 advantage.
Foles to Jeffery for a 53-yard touchdown!! pic.twitter.com/jeSC11bjvn
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
The Vikings then went three-and-out and Pederson became so confident in Foles that he let him drive the ball 60 yards in the first half’s final 29 seconds and the Eagles added three before the break to make it 24-7.
Take a knee, huh. Eagles get 3 more points before half to make it 24-7. A dominant half of football, 30 more minutes!! Doug Pederson has Vikings' defense completely on their heels. Defense getting after Keenum on 3rd down, which is being set up by run defense on 1st and 2nd down. pic.twitter.com/enNu5sJ92U
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
The trickery came out in the second half and Foles dropped this dime beautifully into the waiting lap of Torrey Smith on a flea-flicker for a 41-yard score.
This is the 27/2 Nick Foles pic.twitter.com/WzfvBv56Lg
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
And finally, we see Foles get flushed to his right before flipping this 42-yard completion to Nelson Agholor along the right sideline.
Foles flushed to his right and flips a perfect pass to Agholor in stride along the right sideline pic.twitter.com/EiXjtyn5NL
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
It was the 27/2 Nick Foles.
But how can we get this far into the recap without bringing up the sheer dominance of the defense. They put up just as many points as the Vikings did. Case Keenum turned the ball over three times, including this 50-yard pick-six by Patrick Robinson, who was able to haul in the Keenum lollipop after Chris Long came off the edge with pressure.
When you pressure and get to Keenum inside the pocket, he throws lollipops. Chris Long brought the heat and Patrick Robinson just took one of those lollipops 50 yards to the house!! pic.twitter.com/FmepauElzD
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
Keenum was pressured more than any quarterback in the NFL this season, while the Eagles cause the most to opposing signal-callers. Minnesota led the NFL in third down conversion rate and rushing attempts. When the Vikings struggle to generate traction in the running game on first and second down, that’s when they falter. Keenum was able to move the chains early and Minnesota scored on its opening drive, but continuously being put in 3rd-and-longs wound up being a disaster for the Vikes. Derek Barnett essentially came unblocked when a tight end was late coming across the formation to block him and Keenum fumbled the ball with Minnesota driving deep into Philly territory trailing by seven with three-plus minutes to go in the second.
Derek Barnett with the strip-sack!! Minnesota tried to bring a tight end across the formation to block him, not a good idea. pic.twitter.com/0BOZExrJLl
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
And even when Keenum was put in more manageable third down situations, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz dialed up the right blitz, like this one with Malcolm Jenkins coming off the edge.
Schwartz brings Jenkins off the edge on 3rd down and Keenum's pass into the flat is incomplete. Schwartz has brought more heat on 3rd down the last month and it's paid dividends. pic.twitter.com/X1MsS5YCiq
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
The duo of Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen were held to under 100 yards, combining for 11 receptions and 98 yards. Ronald Darby blanketed Thielen all night.
Darby all over Thielen on 2nd-and-goal and 4th-and-goal pic.twitter.com/NEh6AU20Jj
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) January 22, 2018
New England booked its trip to Super Bowl LII earlier in the day with a comeback 24-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game. The Eagles met the Patriots the last time they reached the Super Bowl following the 2004 season, with New England winning its third title in four years with a 24-21 victory.
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