Three Eagles MVPs from Wild Card Weekend, plus five things I think about the Birds

Presenting The 60-Second Eagles Review, where we relive each 2018 Eagles game in no more than a minute, complete with a weekly trio of Birds MVPs:

Find previous recaps on Bleeding Green Nation right here.

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Five things I think about the Birds

1. I think Doug Pederson would be a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate if the award took into consideration the playoffs. Even if the Eagles don’t advance past the Divisional Round, the fact they’ve gotten to this point, even as defending champions, is a true testament to Doug’s voice in Philly. This was a club left for dead weeks ago, and now they’ve upset the once-unstoppable Rams, upset the division-champion Texans and upset the NFL’s best defense — all without their star quarterback and big defensive pieces (again).
2. I think Jason Peters and Nigel Bradham are also deserving of MVP honors from Sunday’s Wild Card win. The former helped render Khalil Mack all but useless during the game’s most important moments, whereas Bradham seemed to be all over the field when the Eagles defense clicked the most and set an early tone against the Bears in the first half.
3. I think I liked the fake “Philly Special” two-point call, even if it didn’t work. I didn’t like the timeout beforehand, but the play itself? As soon as Nick Foles walked up to the right tackle, memories of Super Bowl LII flooded the mind, and Wendell Smallwood did his very best to get that ball up and extended. Not bad, in my book. (Obviously we might be talking about it differently if Cody Parkey makes his kick, but that’s not reality, is it?)
4. I think Cre’von LeBlanc is quietly putting on a show out there as the nickel cornerback. Avonte Maddox got roasted a few times on Sunday but has otherwise been a ball-hawk, while Rasul Douglas has also stood his ground lately. Yet LeBlanc, a guy whose name most Eagles fans would not have recognized a few weeks ago, might be the steadiest of the bunch. Hats off to him for working — and owning — the middle of the field against Chicago.
5. I think Eagles fans should actually be pretty confident in Doug’s strategy entering this Saints game. Will New Orleans be hard to beat in the dome? Heck yes. But something tells me Pederson will not hold back in the creativity department this week after getting embarrassed by Sean Payton and co. earlier this year. Again, that doesn’t mean an Eagles win is guaranteed or even likely, but I’ve got a feeling Philly’s going to come out swinging.