The Philadelphia Eagles earned their first Super Bowl win in franchise history by toppling the defending champion New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Their impressive playoff run saw them achieve something that has only been accomplished twice before in league history, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Philadelphia won all 3 games this postseason as an underdog, joining the 1980 Raiders and 2007 Giants as the only three teams in the Super-Bowl Era to win the championship by winning every postseason game as an underdog.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 5, 2018
Heading into the playoffs, there were plenty of questions concerning the play of quarterback Nick Foles. Few people outside of their locker room felt he could lead the Eagles to success given that he had limited experience in the postseason with just one career start. Keep in mind, he struggled with consistency in the three regular season games that he played following Carson Wentz's season-ending ACL and LCL injuries.
Foles put that all behind him in the playoffs by completing 72.6 percent of his passes for 971 yards and six touchdowns, good for a 115.7 passer rating. He posted a passer rating above 100 in each game, and in the Super Bowl and NFC Championship game, he recorded over 350 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in each contest.
The 29-year-old's ability to perform at a high level was a game-changer over the last two rounds of the playoffs. That was quite clear in the Super Bowl against the Patriots, as he completed 28-of-43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns while also hauling in a receiving touchdown, which made him the first player in NFL history to record a passing and receiving touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Although it is quite rare for a top-seeded team to be the underdog in three consecutive playoff games, Philadelphia fully embraced it and used it as motivation to perform at a higher level. The aggressive nature of head coach Doug Pederson's game plan, along with his trust in his players, helped the Eagles perform incredibly well against the Patriots. Ultimately, all of these factors, along with their talent across the depth chart, were the formula for postseason success.
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