Eagles news: Doug Pederson says Philly Special is 'a widely-used play'

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has reacted to the Cleveland Browns running the "Philly Special", saying "It's a widely-used play."

The Cleveland Browns pulled out their first win in nearly two years after an impressive comeback orchestrated by rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield over the New York Jets.

This featured the Browns tied the game at 14 in the second half with their own version of the Philly Special play that was pivotal in Super Bowl 52 as Jarvis Landry completed the pass in the end zone to Mayfield. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson voiced on Friday that it is a play that has been widely used around the league, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

“Oh, man, that play has been run a bunch,” Pederson told reporters. “It is a great football play, and it was exciting to see it last night, and for Hue, obviously, and [Browns offensive coordinator] Todd [Haley] to call the play and just the execution of it, of course it went the other direction. It’s great to see. It’s great to see plays like that being used, and it’s a widely used play. When you go back and look at the history of that play, I mean, it goes all the way back, as you saw the report last weekend I think by Sal [Paolantonio], even high school teams are running it. It’s a great play.”

There could be much credence to what Pederson is stating about the play, but it was one that will forever be ingrained in Eagles' history as it was critical in helping the franchise secure their first Super Bowl win. It was a sequence that caught the New England Patriots off-guard and allowed for them to score a pivotal touchdown on fourth down on the goal line in the first half of a tight game.

The Browns also used it at an important part of the game while also putting something that the Jets weren't prepared for on the field as it saw Mayfield be wide open in the end zone. The NFL is a copycat league, which makes the timing of this play so unique as there was no thought of Cleveland utilizing this play in any manner.

It was just an impressive play that has shown that can be a huge factor when used properly by a team in the red zone or any key situation during the course of a game.