MINNEAPOLIS — Leave it to Carson Wentz to select the most appropriate word to describe what he is feeling as the Eagles take on the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
“This is a little bittersweet,’’ Wentz said.
How could it not be? Wentz lifted the Eagles on his shoulders — the quarterback was probably the front-runner for NFL MVP — but crumbled when he tore his ACL on Dec. 10, ending his season and ushering in the Nick Foles backup plan. Foles got the Eagles here, and Wentz will watch Sunday from the sideline at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“It’s definitely different, just knowing the extent of the injury and how long it’s going to take to get back,” Wentz said. “But our team’s been rolling, and it’s been so cool to see everybody elevate their level of play week in and week out to get this far, and overcome all of the injuries that we’ve had. Three of our five captains are on injured reserve, but here we are. We’re in the Super Bowl.”
Eagles coach Doug Pederson invited former Packers quarterback Brett Favre to talk to his team the day before the Super Bowl. Pederson was Favre’s backup quarterback in Green Bay some 20 years ago.
“He and I stay in touch,’’ Pederson said. “We are great friends. We were teammates together for eight years. I figured since he was going to be in town to ask him [if he would talk to the team]. He’s going to stop by the hotel and visit with the guys on Saturday morning.’’
Foles sounded fired up by Favre’s visit, saying, “Any time we have the opportunity to listen to someone like him speak, I’m excited to listen.’’
Strange but true: The Patriots have not scored a point in the first quarter of their seven Super Bowl appearances with Tom Brady as their quarterback.
Brady has a problem with that statistical, historical analysis.
“There is a little caveat to that, in my opinion,” Brady said. “In 2007, it was our first drive of the game and it just happened to be the first play of the second quarter.’’
Indeed, in that game against the Giants, the Patriots scored their first points on a Laurence Maroney 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, competing a 12-play drive.
“I’d love to score 21 points in the first quarter if we can,” Brady said, “but obviously this [Eagles] defense is going to make it really tough for us.”
Jim Schwartz, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, said he had an “aha’’ moment when trying to stop Brady.
“Gosh, it’s been for such a long period of time,’’ Schwartz said. “I know one play that’s really affected my coaching since, I think it was 2002 [when] I was with the Titans. We were playing them on a Monday night game down in Tennessee, we had a pass rush on, they were in empty [backfield formation] and he stepped up under center and ran a quarterback sneak from like 8 yards out for a touchdown, because he saw that opportunity.”
Brady’s run was New England’s only score in that game, a 24-7 Tennessee win.
“That’s affected my coaching ever since and I’m always aware now of when that opportunity exists, sometimes the greatest lessons are learned when you paid the heaviest price in something,” Schwartz said. “You don’t think of Tom Brady for his mobility, but he certainly made us pay on that one.’’