When Alshon Jeffery signed a one-year deal to join the Eagles this past offseason, he probably thought the team had a decent shot of making a playoff run.
But did he really think they'd be in the Super Bowl?
"Didn't I say it?" Jeffery answered on Thursday, bringing about some chuckles. "I said it before I came here, didn't I?"
Well, yeah, he did.
Last January, just after his Bears finished with a dismal 3-13 record, Jeffery proudly guaranteed "we'll win a Super Bowl next year." That declaration was met with laughter and plenty of raised eyebrows.
This November, when asked about that bold prediction, Jeffery clarified ... kind of — "I never said a team."
True.
NFL
And on Feb. 4, after having never played in a playoff game before this run, Jeffery and the Eagles will face the mighty Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Jeffery made that prediction way before he even knew where he'd land this season, but he doesn't think it's crazy that it might come true.
"Nah, man, I believe in what I say," Jeffery explained. "You gotta speak it into existence. I believed in it. It's that simple. I just believed in it, man.
"Coming here, I just knew. Coach (Doug) Pederson, he even said it before the season started. He made a few comments about this was going to be a special year, we got a special team, compared us to some of his Packers teams."
Jeffery has played a major role in the Eagles' run to the big game. He had two touchdown catches in the NFC Championship Game. And although his numbers weren't staggering this year, he was the Eagles' best receiver and was rewarded with a multi-year deal that will keep him in Philadelphia through 2021.
While Jeffery will face the Patriots, their impressive resume and the greatest quarterback of all time in his first Super Bowl, he doesn't seem intimidated.
"They put on they're pads just like us," he said. "I don't care who it is, Tom Brady, it don't really matter who's the quarterback."
Even after making that bold prediction over a year ago, Jeffery said he never felt any pressure to make it come true.
He just believed it would.
"We believe in one another, no matter what anyone says about us," Jeffery said. "We're going to stick together. We believe in each other and we're going to do whatever it takes to get the job done."