With today's absolutely crushing and gut-wrenching news about Carson Wentz suffering from a torn ACL, it has left Eagles fans everywhere trying to salvage every last scrap of hope they have left somewhere deep within themselves to continue on to hopefully get that Superbowl parade that has forever eluded the city. Nick Foles, a QB who has been relegated to a backup the last few years certainly doesn't instill a ton of confidence... at least not in the same universe Carson Wentz does. However, all hope is not lost. The Eagles are still a viable contender. Anyone who says otherwise, well, I'd question their football knowledge. Are they the favorites anymore? I don't think so, but the favorites don't always win. Especially in a sport like the NFL.
All of the talk today has been about Nick Foles, and rightfully so. He will be the man under center leading the team the rest of the way. Foles is a big key, but the most important aspect of this Eagles team in getting that Lombardi Trophy will come down to the defense. "Defenses win championships" is a cliche that doesn't always ring true. I think complete teams win championships. But it's impossible to ignore the overwhelming success elite defenses have in the NFL Playoffs. We see it every single year. Put an elite offense up against an elite defense and the defense usually wins. Superbowl XLVIII: the NFL's best Seahawks defense going up against the league's best Broncos offense. Seahawks blow the doors off the Broncos 43-8. John Elway vowed after that game to never see a defense that poor again, so two years later the suddenly defensive-oriented Broncos owning the best defense in the league face the NFL's top offense of the Panthers. The Broncos defense dominated the game and totally shut Carolina down all game. The Broncos, now built around their defense win the Superbowl 24-10. To say Peyton Manning was a shell of his former self is putting it lightly. He was one of the worst QBs in the NFL that season and was basically used as an apparatus to hand the ball off and occasionally throw a wobbly pass to an open receiver. Defenses rule the NFL's postseason and the Eagles have the makings of an elite defense.
With a dominant defensive line and an improved secondary, for the Eagles to get to Minneapolis in February, the defense is going to have to keep games low scoring, punish QBs, and force turnovers to give a suddenly less dangerous Eagles offense more chances to score points. Nick Foles does not have to be Carson Wentz, and thankfully so, because he can't be Carson Wentz. He doesn't have the talent or the physical tools to do so. He just needs to be accurate and take care of the football, and hope the defense keeps the pressure off of him to worry about having to play beyond his means. The Eagles defense dominates at home, so home field advantage throughout will be huge. Great defenses always start up front, and there is no front 4 in the NFL I trust more than the Eagles.
Unfortunately, we've seen some cracks in the foundation the last couple of weeks. Missed tackles, poor angles to ball carriers, etc. Those are teachable and can be cleaned up. We haven't seen much of that all season, I have confidence those will get fixed. But this team has stepped up all season long. The "next man up" mantra is not just a cliche, it's a lifestyle for them. They live it in their preparation and they live in in their play. We saw that in spades last night when Trey Burton steps in for Zach Ertz and had a monster game. This time is different. An entire unit needs to step up and dominate to keep those parade hopes alive. They certainly have the talent. They've shown they have the character. Now they just need to go out and do it. With a couple more wins the Eagles will lock up home field advantage throughout. Then, to quote the late, great Jerome Brown: "They brought the house and we brought the pain."
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