The Philly Special is a perfect example of why Doug Pederson is a great head coach

There were a lot of awesome plays from the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night. But the Nick Foles touchdown reception (think about how crazy that sounds) stands out as one of the most memorable.

After the game, Doug Pederson coined it “The Philly Special.” Watch it again below:

This play is a perfect example of what makes Doug such a great head coach.

A lot of coaches would be too conservative there and take the field goal.

A lot of coaches would be basic with the play call even if they DID decide to go for it.

Doug Pederson isn’t a lot of coaches. He’s aggressive and creative. And it pays off.

One of the best things about The Philly Special is how the Patriots tried to run a similar play earlier in the game. New England had Danny Amendola throw to Tom Brady, who dropped it. Let’s see a replay.

After Doug ran The Philly Special, I couldn’t help but think back to last season’s first Eagles-Cowboys game. The Cowboys attempted a wide receiver pass in that matchup. Then, not long after, the Eagles had Josh Huff throw deep to Jordan Matthews. It didn’t work out, but I love the idea behind stealing an opponent’s trick play to use it against them.

It reminds me of how Pederson isn’t afraid to call back-to-back screens, like he did in the Eagles-Falcons game. That’s part of what makes the Eagles’ offense so hard to defend. Pederson is constantly keeping his opponents guessing. He’s playing chess while other NFL head coaches play checkers.

It’s such a joke he didn’t win Coach of the Year.

The Philly Special will live on as a great moment in Eagles franchise history. In honor of Doug’s ballsy call, here’s a t-shirt commemorating the play. [CLICK HERE to get yours.]