by The Philadelphia Eagles will make their fourth Super Bowl appearance on Sunday when they face the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Philadelphia had been on top of the NFL world for most of the season. The Eagles won their first eight games and then went on to win the NFC East and earn the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Philadelphia dominated the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers en route to the Super Bowl and has a tough challenge to face in the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes.
It won’t be easy, but former Eagles star running back Brian Westbrook is very confident Philadelphia will fly back east with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in hand.
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, #36, runs for a touchdown after catching a screen pass during the game against the Minnesota Vikings on January 4, 2009 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. (Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
“I’m very confident. I love the way this team has been built. I love the way this team has played together all season. They’ve done something from the start of the season to now that you just don’t see.” very often,” Westbrook explained in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
“You’ve seen the team continue to improve, but at the beginning they were solid and you’ve seen a lot of different things. You’ve seen games where you had to run the ball offensively to win and dominate the team.” offensively like that. The short passing game has won games, taking shots downfield have won games, defensively they have won games. They’ve made changes, and they’ve made differences on the defensive side of the ball. They won soccer games in many different areas. It is difficult and very rare that you see teams dominate opponents throughout the season. And in that way, this team just did a great job of putting the pieces together to have one successful game after another this season.”
The emergence of Jalen Hurts has been one of the catalysts for the Eagles’ success.
Before he suffered an injury, Hurts was in the MVP conversation. He was making plays with his arms and legs and finding AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith on a regular basis. Sure, the injury dampened the conversation, but his numbers from 2021 to 2022 speak for themselves.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, #1, speaks to the media during opening night of NFL Super Bowl LVII on Monday, February 6, 2023 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. (Adam Bow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Hurts had 3,701 passing yards and 22 touchdown passes. He only had six interceptions. On the ground, he was the team’s second-leading rusher with 760 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He is the first quarterback in NFL history with at least 10 rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons.
He managed to cut through all the noise and scrutiny to produce one of the best seasons the Philadelphia quarterback has had in recent memory. Westbrook told Fox News Digital that he didn’t think any of those outside conversations were a factor.
“I don’t know if the noise bothers him at all,” said the Eagles legend. “I don’t know if Jalen Hurts minds people saying something about him. He’s a guy who has a chip on his shoulder and has been a playmaker throughout his career, college, high school and NFL , and he just goes out and plays. That’s what you really want from a quarterback: go out and play your game and understand that your game is enough. He’s been able to produce with his legs, with his arm.
“He’s a much better leader than he is as a player and he’s a very good player. It’s been amazing to see his development from last year to what he’s been able to do this year. Last year, he was limited in a lot of different things, but this year there has been no holes in his game. That speaks to his resilience.”
Philadelphia Eagles Brian Westbrook, #36, runs against the San Francisco 49ers in Philadelphia. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Hurts will be one of the few players to make their first Super Bowl appearance. Some guys like Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox were on the 2017 team when Nick Foles and Doug Pederson were managing the team.
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This year’s iteration has a few new faces, but the goal is the same.
Westbrook himself only played in one Super Bowl; unfortunately for him, it turned out to be against the greatest NFL player of all time, Tom Brady.
“Well, it’s going to be a long day,” he told Fox News Digital when asked what advice he would have for guys who have never been there before. The game is going to feel like it’s going to take forever to arrive. And then when you get to the game, it goes fast. I always take a deep breath, look around, make sure I understand the environment and the magnitude of the game, and then go out and play football.
“You guys have already played 18-19 football games this season. You’ve been playing football your whole life. This is another football game. It’s the biggest football game and probably the most important and impactful football game you’ve ever played. But it is, when you get down to it, blocking and tackling, catching and running. And if you can do those things the right way at a high level, you have a chance to be a Super Bowl champion.”
Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, #36, runs the ball during the game against the New York Giants on December 7, 2008. (Brian Garfinkel/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
Westbrook hopes he’ll get a chance to bring Philadelphia fans some grown-up snacks in case the Eagles get past the Chiefs on Sunday. He partnered with Bud Light for the company’s “Bring Home The Bud Light” campaign. Fully equipped Bud Light trucks will head to Kansas City and Philadelphia to prepare for the possible parties. Fans also have the chance to win free Bud Light by tweeting #easytoenjoy and #sweepstakes to enter their party contest.
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The former NFL player said he was allowed to “help load the truck” and “drive the forklift” to load the Bud Light and seemed pretty sure Philadelphia would be in a Super Bowl parade.
