Every team in the NFL gets bruised with injuries by the end of the season. The Vikings were on their third quarterback and lost their star rookie running back. The Texans went four and twelve and have a QB injury to excuse themselves. The Packers lost Aaron Rodgers for several games at a key juncture during the season. The Cowboys were without their star running back late into the season and even lost pro bowl left tackle Tyron Smith for a few games. The Seahawks were without a number of core defensive starters throughout the season; including Seattle mainstay Richard Sherman. The Colts haven’t had Andrew Luck since Obama was in office.
The Eagles had some injuries as well. They lost possibly the best left tackle in football, Jason Peters half way through the season. They lost super QB Carson Wentz late in the season. They had no right beating more experienced teams in the postseason. Scrappy Atlanta was supposed to beat them in dramatic fashion with a Julio Jones touchdown to close the game with 00:00 on the clock. The “better on paper” Vikings should have beaten Philadelphia with an arguably stronger defense and a much hotter (at the time) Case Keenum at QB.
And then the Eagles faced the Final Boss of the NFL. Bill Belichick and forty year old Tom Brady’s Patriots. The Patriots themselves were dealing with injuries. Wide Receiver Julian Edelman, linebacker, Dont’a Hightower, two top performers from seasons past were out. Even Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Butler had been benched because of illness..?
Ultimately the Eagles variety of weapons and mature play of Nick Foles proved too much for Belichick’s defense. Some point to Brady’s last minute fumble as a key point for the Patriots’ loss. I don’t see that. I see a defense that allowed forty-one points and expected their forty year old quarterback to still win them the game. That’s not reasonable. You can’t reliably win games like that. Brady did his job that game. Nick Foles did his job that game too. Maybe even better than Carson Wentz would have done. Ultimately the Eagles didn’t beat the Patriots because they signed LeGarrette Blount. They beat the Patriots because they found a way to build quality depth. Their backup tight ends are better than most teams’ starting tight ends. They lost their starting left tackle and still had the best offensive line in football. Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman deserve all the credit for building this roster, and for transforming Nick Foles into a Super Bowl MVP.
Gridiron Seasonal 