Philadelphia Eagles Inside 11: Super Bowl Edition

Jan 25, 1981; New Orleans, LA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski (7) looks to throw against the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV at the Superdome. The Raiders defeated the Eagles 27-10. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Another year in the books, another Super Bowl champion, another long offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles without a Lombardi Trophy to look at.

The 49th Super Bowl in NFL history was played Sunday. Think about that. In all 49 of those games, the Philadelphia Eagles have played in two of them.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots have won four times since the turn of the century, and lost in two other games.

Ouch.

But while the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t exactly “there” on Sunday, there were moments that resonated with Eagles fans. Here are some Eagles-related thoughts on Super Bowl XLIX.

1) We’ll start at the end, because that’s how this game will be remembered forever. With Marshawn Lynch in the backfield and the ball at the 1-yard line, Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks decided to pass. The ball left Russell Wilson‘s hand and was intercepted by the Patriots, bringing an end to a classic Super Bowl and giving the title to New England.

There are a lot of reasons Seattle chose to pass, and some of them are quite valid, but how many of my fellow Eagles fans had the same two words come out of their mouths when that went down.

“Andy Reid.”

2) Really, it was a very Reid-ian quarter by Carroll and the Seahawks overall. Look back at their possessions in the fourth that preceded New England’s two scoring drives.

– Seattle ball at its own 36, leading 24-14, with 14:17 to go: Lynch run for two yards, Lynch run for one yard, Wilson pass (sacked), punt with 12:10 remaining.

– Seattle ball at its own 20, leading 24-21, with 7:55 to go: Wilson pass incomplete, Lynch run for five yards, Wilson pass incomplete, punt with 6:52 remaining.

That second possession was the killer for Seattle. Two more runs and you bleed the clock down to around five minutes to play. I suppose the flip side is that these mismanaged possessions gave Seattle time for its final march, but still, all of the failed passing plays had a very “Andy Reid” feel to them, didn’t they?

3) Patrick Chung registered one tackle for the Patriots. He’s going to get himself a Super Bowl ring. This is the same guy who couldn’t cover a patch of grass effectively with the Eagles. Unbelievable.

4) Doug Baldwin caught one pass for three yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl. The Seattle receiver promptly engaged in a disgusting celebration that involved simulated defecation. He got a 15-yard penalty on the play. Classy. In the Super Bowl. That’s how clueless this guy is.

Oh, and this is the same guy who earlier this season hauled in 97 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles.

The difference, as it always is now with the Birds, is in the secondary. New England has one. The Eagles do not.

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5) I didn’t see a single Chip Kelly Tostitos commercial, which made me sad. Almost as sad as the rest of the commercials, which were incredibly depressing.

6) Did anyone else find it baffling that Bill Belichick didn’t call a timeout after Seattle’s first goal line play? Had the Pats called timeout the clock would have stopped with about a minute to go. As it was, has Seattle scored they would have left New England with fewer than 20 seconds to get into field goal range. This clock management reminded me of, well, it reminded me of Andy Reid.

7) Speaking of Andy Reid, did you know the Kansas City Chiefs were the only team to defeat both the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots this season?

8) Watching Russell Wilson evade pass rushers made me covet a mobile quarterback. Watching Tom Brady step up in the pocket and deliver key strikes late in the game made me realize mobility isn’t necessarily a difference-maker in itself.

So, is Marcus Mariotta > Nick Foles? Foles’ skills more closely match Brady (obviously). You can apparently win with that, as the Patriots have demonstrated four times now. Maybe giving up the farm for Mariotta isn’t a great idea.

9) If “big people beat little people” as Chip Kelly suggests, how would our coach explain Julian Edelman. He’s 5-feet-10-inches and does not possess blazing, breakaway speed, yet he had 972 yards receiving this season and, if not for Brady, would have been a Super Bowl MVP. The guy had nine catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, one rush for seven yards, three punt returns for 27 yards and even had a tackle on one of Brady’s interceptions.

Not bad for a little guy.

10) With this Super Bowl marking 10 years from the last time the Eagles played for ultimate glory, I took a look back at the box score from that night in Jacksonville. What I found surprised me, especially in comparison to what we saw Sunday.

2005 – Philadelphia Eagles, 17 rushes for 45 yards

2015 – New England Patriots, 21 rushes, 57 yards

2005 – Donovan McNabb, 30-for-51, 357 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT

2015 – Tom Brady, 37-for-50, 328 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT

The biggest difference, really, was the fourth quarter of each game. New England entered the final 15 minutes of Super Bowl XLIX trailing 24-14. The Patriot defense pitched a shutout and gave Brady time for two methodical drives. New England also generated the only turnover of the quarter, the now epic final interception.

Back in Super Bowl XXXIX the Eagles and Patriots were tied at 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter. New England had started a drive on its own 15 late in the third quarter and marched all the way to the end zone, making it 21-14 with 13:49 to go.

The Eagles’ next possession went nowhere and they punted to the Patriots. Brady drove them to a field goal that made it 24-14 with 8:43 left.

On the next Philadelphia possession, McNabb hooked up with Terrell Owens for 36 yards to the New England 36. On the next play he was picked off by Tedy Bruschi with 7:20 left in the game.

After getting a stop, the Eagles got the ball back at their own 21 with 5:40 to go. This is the much-discussed drive of too much time/vomit. McNabb moved the Eagles 79 yards in 13 plays, and the Eagles scored on a 30-yard pass to Greg Lewis with 1:55 remaining.

In reality, this drive that consumed too much clock and supposedly lost the Super Bowl lasted less than four minutes. McNabb converted three third downs to keep it alive.

Reid decide to try an onside kick that failed, giving New England the ball at the Philadelphia 41. The Eagles got the ball back at their own 4 with 46 seconds left and no timeouts. McNabb’s prayer pass to L.J. Smith on third down was intercepted by Rodney Harrison.

To me, the Eagles lost the game when McNabb threw the pick with 7:20 to go. Had the Eagles even gotten a field goal out of that drive, everything changes. But hindsight is 20/20 and the game is history. But man, the Eagles sure were close.

11) So, the question is how close are the Philadelphia Eagles today? On NFL Network last night after the game, Deion Sanders named Dallas and your Philadelphia Eagles as his favorites to reach Super Bowl L (I refuse to write “50”).

I’d like to believe him, but time will tell. The Eagles have some holes to address and they need to make a firm decision at quarterback. With a complete overhaul of the secondary and pledge of support to Nick Foles, I think it’s possible. If they go all in for Mariotta, we need to adjust expectations and realize that to do that they can’t possibly fill their other holes. At that point, best-case scenario puts them two or three years away.