The minute that Carson Wentz went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 14 of the regular season, the Eagles were destined to play the role of underdogs in any postseason game they played with his backup Nick Foles in the starting role at quarterback. Even when Philadelphia clinched the top seed in the NFC to guarantee that it would have home field advantage throughout the playoffs, the word out of Las Vegas from the folks that set the betting odds for the games confirmed this notion.
Last Saturday against Atlanta in the Divisional Round, the Eagles used their bruising ground game combined with some high-percentage pass plays to score just enough points (15) to win that game to move to 14-3 on the year. The real credit goes to a defense that held the high-powered Falcons’ offense to 281 total yards and more importantly to just 10 points on the scoreboard. I would expect head coach Doug Pederson to rely on the exact same game plan to launch the Birds into their third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
Apparently, there was a run on dog masks this week in advance of this Sunday’s NFL Championship matchup against the Minnesota Vikings after Lane Johnson and Chris Long donned a dog face for the postgame celebration at Lincoln Financial Field in last week’s win. The entire team appears to relish the role of underdogs which can be a powerful motivational tool when you have the talent to fully utilize this high level of emotion on the field of play.
I am not discounting what the Vikings have been able to accomplish this season with an identical 14-3 run through their first 17 games, but I would also be quick to point out the way they won their Divisional Round matchup against New Orleans on a miracle 61-yard touchdown with no time left on the clock. Some football experts might suggest that this improbable victory gives Minnesota an edge in momentum coming into Sunday’s game as a three-point road favorite. I would suggest that the memory of how the Vikings blew a 17-point halftime lead while getting completely outplayed in the last two quarters of that game has to creep into this team’s suddenly fragile psyche.
The biggest edge that Philadelphia has in this conference title showdown along with playing the role of underdog is the game being played at the Linc. Other than a garbage loss to Dallas in Week 17, the Eagles have been dominant on their home field all season long. There is a reason why earning the top seed in the conference carries so much weight in the NFL playoffs.
My guess is that Minnesota gets too caught up in playing the Super Bowl in its home stadium that it forgets that it must get there by beating an extremely hungry pack of dogs on the road.
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