Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles salutes team-mates after NFC Championship win
Wednesday 24 January 2018 16:07, UK
Nick Foles hailed his 'amazing team-mates and coaches' after the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 in the NFC Championship game and progress to Super Bowl LII.
The Eagles embraced being labelled underdogs as they prepared to face the Vikings and will do so again in two weeks' time when they face the New England Patriots in a rematch of Superbowl XXIX in 2004, which the Patriots won to seal a third Lombardi trophy in four years.
No Eagle sums that tag up more than Foles who replaced injured starting quarterback Carson Wentz six weeks ago.
"I just think you've got to keep going at it," Foles said.
"We all believe in each other. I'm blessed to have amazing team-mates, amazing coaches. Everyone here that's a part of the Philadelphia Eagles organisation is first class."
Foles' sentiments were echoed by his team-mates.
"I don't think many people had us in the Super Bowl before the season started," Eagles center Jason Kelce said.
"When the injuries started piling up, people didn't have us there. When Carson Wentz got injured? Doubt anyone had us pencilled in. We made it. We're a team in every way. It feels so great, man."
Eagles coach Doug Pederson heaped praise on quarterback Foles.
"I'm so happy for Nick and the offense," he said. "For Nick, everything he's been through and battled, he stayed the course and we all believed in him. We're going to the Super Bowl, we're going to the stinkin' Super Bowl."
While many of the Philadelphia players are anticipating their first experience of the Super Bowl, defensive end Chris Long and running back LeGarrette Blount will prepare for a Super Bowl trip for the second successive season. The pair were both part of the Patriots team which beat the Atlanta Falcons last year.
"I'm excited to be going for a Super Bowl with this group of guys," Blount said. "I love this team. My team-mates are the greatest. We stick together through everything and rally around each other. We have one more to go."
The defeated Vikings players admitted the pain of falling one game short of the Super Bowl would take some time to ease.
Just one week on from the joy of their walk-off touchdown victory against New Orleans in the Divisional round, they suffered heartbreak when one more win would have seen them become the first team to play a Super Bowl in their own Stadium.
"I'm going to take this feeling, bottle it up and make sure it doesn't happen again," Vikings quarterback Case Keenum said.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer reflected on his team's defeat and gave credit to the Eagles for the way they played.
"Credit to Philadelphia, they got after us pretty good and we didn't do enough good things," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.
"I'm still proud of my football team with the way they worked all year. The way they went about their business. The way they competed all year and tonight we didn't get it done."
