The Philly Special is one of the most legendary plays in NFL history because the Eagles used it against the Patriots in their incredible Super Bowl LII win.
It almost didn’t happen like that.
Nick Foles on his podcast with Chris Maragos, The Mission of Truth, said the Eagles almost ran the Philly Special two weeks earlier in the NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings, which would have essentially wasted it.
“There’s a lot of detail in the book ‘Believe It’ but this is one I don’t think is there,” Foles said. “We were going to run the Philly Special vs. the Minnesota Vikings and Doug called the play.”
But Foles said he played most of that NFC Championship Game in pain after taking a rib shot early from a blitzing Anthony Barr. While Foles was able to make it through the game and the Eagles won 38-7, that rib pain was one of the main reasons why Foles suggested to Doug Pederson to hold the call.
The Eagles almost ran the Philly Special early in the fourth quarter during the NFC Championship Game when they already had a 24-point lead.
We were already up, I think, 31-7, something like that,” Foles said. “I talked to Doug and I was like, ‘ah, we don’t need it. We’re up by so much, let’s not waste it.’ But in reality, another reason was I was worried about turning and running out and trying to catch the ball. I didn’t know if I would be able to lift my arm up and turn and catch it because of the rib shot earlier in the game.
NFL
Instead, the Eagles called a play that put Alshon Jeffery in motion and Foles hit him in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass that extended the lead to 31 points and gave us the final score of 38-7. Foles said that watching that touchdown play back, he can see just how stiff he was from the pain.
So it’s a good thing Foles took a rib shot early in that game. Because if Foles felt fine the Eagles might have run the Philly Special two weeks too early.
“It almost happened and it was one of those moments honestly it probably does happen if my ribs aren’t killing me,” Foles said. “Because it would have just lit the Linc on fire. It was already insane. Obviously, the Philly Special became a legendary play. I’m glad we didn’t use it then.”
Yeah, Foles isn’t alone. Who knows what would have happened if they had.
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