PHILADELPHIA — “Congratulations,” I said to Jason Kelce after the Eagles’ season finale.
“Yeah,” he said, turning, a frown drawing down the sides of his beard. “Probably the [crappiest] way to win and clinch first place in the NFC you could imagine. Try not to let today and the past couple of weeks detract from that.”
Kelce’s anxiety reflected the anxiety that festered in Philadelphia for two whole weeks. He was 23 years from being born when the 1964 Phillies collapsed, a gutting series of events that traumatized generations of Philadelphians, most of whom have no idea why they’re traumatized.
The Eagles’ postseason slogan is, “It’s a Philly Thing.” Waiting for the other shoe to drop is, indeed, a Philly thing.
The town probably will worry about whoever wins Sunday’s other divisional matchup, whether it’s San Francisco or Dallas. That worry might be warranted.
But hope should dominate. The Eagles are the best team in the NFC. They should play in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz.
Concern that the Eagles might not get there will be warranted.
Any concern about Saturday never was warranted. But, given the history of Philly sports failure, doom seemed imminent.
So many things had gone so well for so long.
The Eagles enjoyed the No. 1 seed and the bye that came with it, thanks largely to the No. 2 defense in the league that got them off to a 13-1 start. Their MVP quarterback returned for the season finale. Even the stud right tackle wasn’t injured as badly as we first thought.
But after two late-season losses and a lackluster performance in the finale, so many things could have gone wrong ... right?
Wrong.
The Eagles scored touchdowns on four of five first-half possessions, led 28-0 at intermission, and won, 38-7.
They let everyone know that they are, as they have been all season, the best team in the conference.
But oh, what might have been.
Wasted worry
Nick Sirianni might get out-coached again. Sirianni was, indeed, flat-footed in his playoff debut as a rookie head coach last season at Tampa Bay. But this time, it was rookie Brian Daboll whose team entered with no pep and no plan.
Jalen Hurts’ shoulder might fall off. It didn’t. Hurts missed Games 15 and 16 with a sprained right shoulder, and he told Fox Sports his joint was not 100%, but he showed no ill effects. He finished 16 for 24 with two touchdowns and a 112.2 passer rating. He threw a 40-yard bomb and a 16-yard TD pass on the first series of the game and ran it in from 5 yards on the fifth series. He ran nine times for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Lane Johnson’s abdomen might rip open. It didn’t. He played with a torn belly muscle, but he dominated at right tackle, once again the best player on the best line in football.
Jonathan Gannon, architect of the defense, might call a timid game. He didn’t. The Eagles blitzed on the second play of the Giants’ second possession and forced an interception.
Shane Steichen might choke. Steichen’s balanced play-calling helped transform Hurts from a second-year question mark into a third-year MVP, and he might forget how he did that. He might even avoid Boston Scott, the little Giant killer. He didn’t. The Eagles scored touchdowns on three of the first four series. They ran 18 times and passed 10. Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston Scott finished with 232 rushing yards on 35 carries.
Scott capped the fourth drive with a 3-yard TD run, his 11th TD in nine career games against them.
Deep sigh of relief
It’s hard to fault a fan base that saw the Eagles leave Veterans Stadium with a 27-10 upset at the hands of Tampa Bay in the NFC championship game after the 2001 season.
Hard to blame a city that saw the Sixers choke away a second-round playoff series to Atlanta two years ago.
Hard to question the questioners who saw the top-seeded Flyers flop in the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
It would have been harder to live with an upset at the hands of a 7 1/2-point underdog — your closest division rival, whom you’d already beaten, badly, twice in 2022.
Certainly, Philadelphia let out a deep sigh of relief Saturday night. Most fans in their heart of hearts, expected that.
They just didn’t expect it to happen at halftime.
