Philadelphia Eagles: Road to Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Arizona | NFL News

The Philadelphia Eagles were fastest out of the blocks and barely looked back as they powered through the rest of the field to reach Super Bowl LVII in Arizona.

In just his second year as head coach Nick Sirianni guided the team to their first 14-win season in franchise history, improving on the team’s 9-8 record in the 2020 campaign.

Awaiting them on their fourth Super Bowl visit will be a familiar face in former head coach Andy Reid, who leads the Kansas City Chiefs into their third Super Bowl in the last four years.

Here, we take a look back on the Eagles’ road to Super Bowl LVII…

What went right?

The Eagles’ roster looked the big bad bully coming into the season, and the big bad bully they were in every department as they justified Championship chatter early by flying out to an 8-0 start on the year.

A prosperous marriage between third-year quarterback Jalen Hurts and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen proved a defining factor in spearheading an Eagles offense that flaunted one of the league’s most creative multi-layered schemes as they delivered an RPO, read-option clinic.

Offseason business, meanwhile, boomed as the blockbuster trade for wide receiver AJ Brown generated instant reward in the form of a difference-making primary target, and the free agency additions of edge rusher Haason Reddick and cornerback James Bradberry, along with the trade to acquire safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, helped bolster one of the deepest and most potent defensive units in the league.

Week Two produced a statement day as Sirianni’s side blunted the Minnesota Vikings’ purring offense to win 24-7 behind a career day for Hurts through the air and a commanding performance on defense, before sacking Carson Wentz nine times and seeing Hurts throw for 300 passing yards for the second successive game in a 24-8 victory over the Washington Commanders.

In Week Eight, the Eagles reached 7-0 to level their franchise-best start to a season in 2004 with a 35-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brown catching three of Hurts’ four touchdown passes on the day, while Philly sacked Kenny Pickett six times.

The might of the Sirianni-Steichen run game was underlined in Week 12 when Hurts and Miles Sanders contributed over 100 rushing yards apiece towards a 363-yard performance on the ground in a 40-33 win over the Green Bay Packers. By Christmas Eve the Eagles had secured their playoff berth while carrying a record of 13-1, before going on to seal the No 1 seed in the NFC with victory over the New York Giants on the final day of the regular season.

What went wrong?

Not much. One of few minor hiccups arrived in Week 10 when the Eagles’ perfect start came to an end by way of a 32-21 defeat to the Washington Commanders, during which Terry McLaurin starred with eight catches for 128 yards, while Brian Robinson Jr wore down Philadelphia in the ground game.

It came on the back of Houston Texans rookie Dameon Pierce rushing for 139 yards on the Eagles in further pointing towards bubbling concerns over Jonathan Gannon’s run defense, which ranked 31st in the league in rush EPA (expected points added) over the opening 10 weeks of the campaign.

The loss of rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis did not aid matters up front, prompting Howie Roseman to sign veteran free agents Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph in the wake of the Commanders defeat as two big-bodied blockades with which to solidify the interior of the Eagles’ defensive line. Philadelphia would improve to 11th in rush EPA over their remaining eight games, notably shutting down Jonathan Taylor (84 yards), Aaron Jones (43 yards), Derrick Henry (30 yards) and Saquon Barkley (28 yards) and allowed them no better than 3.8 yards per carry from Week 11-14.

The job of locking down the No 1 seed also hit a late, but minor, snag down the stretch when a shoulder injury to Hurts saw him miss the Eagles’ Week 16 and 17 games, which ended in defeats to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints behind Gardner Minshew at quarterback.

Star names

Leading arguably the most complete roster in the NFL is quarterback Hurts, whose leap from his first year as starter in 2021 to MVP contender in 2022 has been the face of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl campaign.

Hurts was drafted with the 53rd overall pick in 2020 as an intended insurance option to sit behind Carson Wentz, only to have since shrugged off doubts over his passing talent by glossing the known threat of his mobility on the ground with pinpoint splash plays downfield as the architect of the league’s third-ranked passing offense.

He finished the regular season 306 of 460 passing for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns to six interceptions, leading the league in touchdowns and passer rating from throws of 20+ yards while also rushing for 760 yards and 13 scores from 165 carries.

AJ Brown has entered seamlessly as Hurts’ primary target after the Eagles acquired him from the Tennessee Titans as part of a blockbuster trade during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He spearheaded the team with 1,496 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns with 17 yards per catch from 88 receptions, finishing sixth in the NFL with 548 yards after catch. He formed one of the league’s most potent receiver tandems with former Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, who recorded 95 catches (team-high) for 1,196 yards and seven scores.

The Eagles’ dominance has been partly built on supremacy in the trenches by way of an offensive line made up of left tackle Jordan Mailata, left guard Landon Dickerson, future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce, right guard Isaac Seumalo and also Canton-bound left tackle Lane Johnson.

Beside providing the clean pocket in which Hurts has taken significant strides as a passer, the quintet have consistently ploughed the lanes through which Miles Sanders and Hurts have led one of the league’s most sophisticated and creative running games.

They also happen to boast one of the fiercest defensive fronts in football, punctuated by Haason Reddick with his 16 regular season sacks to go with 41 pressures and 13 hurries in a unit that ranked first against the pass. Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham all, meanwhile, racked up 11 sacks apiece, while Fletcher Cox grabbed seven to contribute to the team’s league-high 70, which has increased to 78 since the start of the playoffs.

Playoff push

REPORT: Giants 7-38 Eagles – Divisional Round

The Eagles marched in from their first-round bye and issued a firm denial to the prospect of a fairytale New York Giants playoff run as they routed Brian Daboll’s team 38-7 to remind all of their firepower on both sides of the ball. Steichen’s offense amassed 268 yards and three touchdowns on the ground behind an offensive line that allowed zero sacks or pressures, while Gannon’s defense swarmed Daniel Jones with five sacks and eight quarterback hits to limit the Giants’ offense to just 13 first downs and 227 total yards. Philadelphia had led 28-0 by half-time before cruising to victory in the second half to book an NFC Championship Game meeting with the San Francisco 49ers.

REPORT: 49ers 7-31 Eagles – NFC Championship

A battle of two footballing beasts had promised so much, only to be blunted by an early injury to 49ers third-string quarterback Brock Purdy, whose miracle unbeaten run as the final pick of the Draft was effectively ended by an elbow injury suffered during a hit from Reddick on San Francisco’s first drive of the game.

He was replaced by fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson, who has spent time with 14 teams in his 15 years in the league, as DeMeco Ryans’ Niners defense fought hard to keep their team in the game by forcing three straight punts until Christian McCaffrey’s 23-yard run levelled the score at 7-7 with eight minutes left in the half.

It seemed to spark the Eagles’ offense into life as they found the endzone twice before the break, including a Boston Scott run to punish Johnson’s lost fumble. Things worsened on the first drive of the second half when Johnson was knocked out of the game with a concussion, Purdy re-entering the game under center but clearly unable to throw as the 49ers sought to stay alive with their run game, to no avail.

From there the Eagles strengthened their grip without needing to get out of second gear, adding to their score while stifling a limited 49ers playbook to see out a 31-7 win.

Super Bowl pedigree

The Eagles have previously reached the Super Bowl on three occasions in their history, most recently at the end of the 2017 season when they lifted the Lombardi Trophy for the first time.

Led by back-up quarterback Nick Foles the Eagles denied the New England Patriots a second successive Super Bowl crown with a thrilling 41-33 win in Minneapolis, Brandon Graham saving the only sack of the game for the defining moment when he stripped Brady of the ball with two minutes to play and the Eagles up 38-33.

Prior to then the Eagles, coached by Andy Reid, had been beaten 24-21 by the Patriots at Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005 as Donovan McNabb threw three interceptions while New England wide receiver Deion Branch was named MVP with 11 catches for 133 yards.

The franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance was at the climax of the 1980 season when they suffered a 27-10 defeat to the then-Oakland Raiders in New Orleans after quarterback Ron Jaworski was intercepted on three occasions, marking a Super Bowl record at the time.

Watch Super Bowl LVII – Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles – live on Sky Sports NFL and Main Event from 10pm on Sunday February 12