Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 454: 453 Dark Horse Contest Chapter 454: 453 Dark Horse Contest In past years, the miracle of a single football team could shock the entire League.

This year, two teams both crafted fairy tales, staging Cinderella runs that upended the entire landscape, so it’s no wonder the NFL has been turned inside out and upside down.

However.

One has to ask, how exactly did the Philadelphia Eagles achieve their redemption?

The team’s rise during the season had all eyes fixed on the sophomore quarterback Wentz, who was even leading the regular season MVP odds by a wide margin; it goes without saying that when Wentz was ruled out for the season, especially at the critical juncture nearing the playoffs, the fiery passion of the Philadelphia Eagles froze instantly into ice.

Yet, in their darkest hour, the Philadelphia Eagles found solid footing, displaying the depth of a mature team, and accomplished a turnaround relying on two weapons.

First, backup quarterback Nick Foles, an unexpected asset.

This quarterback, selected in the third round at the eighty-eighth pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012, had an entirely average career with no standout moments, generally regarded as a qualified backup quarterback, and that was that.

In his third year of his rookie contract, the Philadelphia Eagles chose to trade him to the St.

Louis Rams, and from that point on, Foles began a wandering career.

After being laid off by the Kansas City Chieftains at the end of the previous season, he returned to the Philadelphia Eagles to be Wentz’s backup, completely overshadowed by Wentz.

After Wentz tore his ligament and was ruled out for the season, Foles showed his adaptability, rapidly adjusting to Pederson’s tactical system, taking command in a crisis, and in the last three games of the regular season, he played the role of the emergency captain effectively, giving a solid performance that led the Philadelphia Eagles to finish with two wins and one loss.

And amidst a chorus of doubts, he pulled off a sensational act in the playoffs, perfectly emulating the divine performance of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Flacco’s 2012 season, leaving the confidence-filled Minnesota Vikings’ defensive group dazed and searching for their teeth on the field.

The Philadelphia Eagles swept their opponents, assertively clinching the National Conference championship and proudly advancing to the Super Bowl.

This situation, this scene, inevitably woke the sleeping memories of the entire League from eighteen years prior—
In the 1999 season, a player named Kurt Warner, an undrafted player who was overlooked until he got his chance to start in the NFL for the first time due to an injury to the starting player at the age of twenty-eight, managed, in his first season starting as the St.

Louis Rams’ quarterback, to complete a series of feats including winning the regular season MVP, Super Bowl MVP, and becoming the Super Bowl Champions.

To this day, Warner remains one of the NFL’s most legendary Cinderella figures; he is also the last player in NFL history to win both the regular season MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same season.

Previously, everyone was saying that the Minnesota Vikings backup quarterback Keenum was writing a Cinderella story, hoping to inherit Warner’s mantle; little did they know, with a turn of fate, it was found that the true successor of Warner should be none other than Foles.

Indeed, in the world of competitive sports, there’s never a shortage of miracles.

So.

Foles, once laid off by the Kansas City Chieftains and returned to the Philadelphia Eagles as a discarded player, is now about to lead the Philadelphia Eagles into the Super Bowl final to face the Kansas City Chieftains, another topic that people relish discussing.

Clearly, facing the Kansas City Chieftains once again, what performance Foles will pull off is also a major highlight.

Second, the Defensive group, the steady metronome.

Ignored, forgotten, underestimated, and overlooked, but always playing the superhero at the crucial moments, the Defensive group rose to take control of the game after Wentz was out for the season, ensuring the Offensive group could charge forward without any concerns, leading the Philadelphia Eagles all the way into the Super Bowl finals.

In the 2017 season, when people talked about the rise of the Philadelphia Eagles, the focus was often on the offense—
Pederson’s dazzling and crisp on-the-spot offensive tactics, the sophomore quarterback Wentz’s all-around transformation and growth, dispelling the gloom and injecting new vitality into the team, showing a completely different face.

But.

The real professionals knew that, like the Kansas City Chiefs, the Eagles showcase a visually pleasing, flowing offense with bold moves, which certainly catches the eye; but according to the data, what helped both teams break through to the Super Bowl were the Defensive groups.

As mentioned before, when discussing the defensive powerhouses of the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings were the first to come to mind, followed by the star-studded Pittsburgh Steelers, which allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to hide behind the limelight and quietly play the tiger posing as a pig.

This season, only four teams in the League had a total defensive yardage loss under five thousand yards:
The Minnesota Vikings, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and…the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the team’s overall defensive rankings, the Philadelphia Eagles were fourth in the League, even superior to the sixth-ranked Pittsburgh Steelers, although their pass defense was tenth.

Their rush defense, however, was second in the League.

Moreover, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Red Zone defense was ranked fourth in the League.

This means that the team often brought out its strength and tenacity in key confrontations.

That is the fundamental reason the Philadelphia Eagles continued to hold their heads high and marched into the Super Bowl after Wentz was out for the season.

In the upcoming Super Bowl showdown, the Philadelphia Eagles’ ground defense and the Kansas City Chiefs’ ground offense will inevitably engage in a fierce clash, which will undoubtedly be a major highlight.

In the second week of the regular season, the Philadelphia Eagles underestimated Li Wei’s abilities, failing to effectively contain his ground running; meanwhile, Pederson stubbornly focused on passing offense, almost completely neglecting the ground game.

As a result of these issues, the Eagles ended up losing a well-set game.

In this rematch, it’s obvious that the Philadelphia Eagles won’t make the same mistakes.

How Pederson will lay out offensive tactics to compensate for the absence of Wentz and deceive Reed’s defense, and how he will design the defensive strategy to limit Reed’s offensive plays, particularly limiting Li Wei based on his season performance?

At the same time, the Kansas City Chiefs are unlikely to rest on their laurels.

How Reed will avoid the mistakes made by the Minnesota Vikings in the National Conference finals to restrict Pederson’s offense, and how he will break through Pederson’s sturdy defense with versatile offensive tactics will be a key matchup.

Because of their familiarity, even to the extent of having similar styles in some ways, the on-the-spot performance of both teams will even more determine the outcome of the match.@@novelbin@@

As previously mentioned, from the Pro Bowl and All-America First/Second Team rosters, it’s evident that neither the Kansas City Chiefs nor the Philadelphia Eagles rely on star tactics for victory; their success so far cannot be separated from the strength of the entire team.

Even the players who performed spectacularly did so on the basis of the overall excellent team performance, further highlighting the unique charm of Football as a sport.

From different perspectives and to varying degrees, both teams are underdogs; at the start of the season, neither was seen among the championship contenders, but they both fought through the brambles to reach the Super Bowl stage—
Who will ultimately emerge as the ultimate dark horse will also be the final mystery of the 2017 season.