It looks like the Philadelphia Eagles have mastered the delicate art of trolling.
It may be a new NFL season, but that didn’t stop the Eagles from bringing back a play you might remember from the Super Bowl earlier this year to troll the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl champions’ first game of the season on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons 18-12 by ripping a page from the Patriots’ old playbook.
The trickery savvy-Eagles ran the play the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady couldn’t complete in the Super Bowl in February, leaving quarterback Nick Foles wide open to catch the pass.
Fans online noticed that Thursday night’s third quarter play was similar to the iconic Philly Special of football lore when Foles caught a touchdown pass from Trey Burton.
But that wasn’t it.
The move was actually almost identical to the Patriots’ play in the second quarter of Super Bowl 52. Of course, there was one key difference. Foles caught the ball. Brady did not.
The Eagles coach Doug Pederson confirmed the “Philly Philly” was actually the failed trick play the Patriots attempted in a post-game interview.
“It’s where we got it from. We just put different people in the game,” he told Bleeding Green Nation.
But in case there wasn’t enough proof you’d seen the Patriots fail to pull this off before, Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson removed all doubt, and let people know exactly how he felt in the process.
It wasn’t just a comical move; it also worked in the team’s favor at a crucial time. The Eagles gained 15 yards on a third down in Falcons territory, and Jay Ajayi scored with a short touchdown run.
Victorious trollers.
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