PHILADELPHIA >> The Eagles are embracing their humbling underdog role as casually as a No. 1 seed can.
They don’t view the sixth-seeded Atlanta Falcons, who they oppose in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs Saturday, as those solid three-point favorites your basic sports books are touting these days.
On the other hand, it’s impossible not to notice that the Eagles are in the awkward position of being the first top seed to be an underdog since the NFL’s last realignment in 2002. It’s as if they did something to be ashamed of.
Leave it to Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to add a little perspective.
“I mean, the game’s going to start 0-0,” Schwartz said Monday. “That stuff makes for good talk and TV. A lot of people have a lot of programming to fill. But all year, I have no idea if we’ve been favorites or underdogs. It’s not going to change now. The game is going to be about preparing well.
“The game is going to be about executing on Saturday. And the teams that do that, the best are going to win. Not the team that got picked by the most number of analysts or experts or what the simulation games say or any of that stuff. That has zero bearing on the game for us.”
The Eagles aren’t naïve. They realize the negative point spread is largely a product of the season-ending injury to quarterback Carson Wentz. But when you ask players which is worse — the bomb cyclone winter storm impacting their routines or the lack of respect shown by the oddsmakers — the answer is a no-brainer.
“We’ve been the underdog ever since ‘11’ went down,” cornerback Jalen Mills said. “And we just found a way to win regardless of whether it’s offense helping the defense, defense helping the offense or special teams coming into play. We’ve just got to go out there and play our best.”
Eagles defensive end Chris Long knows the Falcons more intimately than the Eagles’ coaching staff does, having beaten them in the Super Bowl as a member of the New England Patriots last February. You find yourself nodding in agreement three seconds into his analysis of running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones.
“They’re just fast,” Long said. “I mean, they’re a fast football team and they’ve got skill everywhere. When you have two running backs that combine for 1,500 yards and a bunch of touchdowns, a Pro Bowl quarterback, the best wide receiver in the league probably, and really good complementary pieces around them and an offensive line that’s been together for a while … And they play hard. Coach (Dan) Quinn does a good job of getting those guys to play super-competitive.”
For Long, the talent and the coaches are the challenge, the motivation, the reason to be. The point spread? He made reporters laugh at the absurdity of using it as a rallying call.
“Nobody in the media has ever actually affected the outcome of a game,” Long said. “No fan has ever actually affected the outcome of a game. None of that stuff matters. What matters is how we execute. And we’ve got to get ready to play a hell of a football team. And it’s going to take our best.
“Whatever people are saying on the outside, it really doesn’t matter. What would it sound like if I came in here and I was like, ‘Man, I wasn’t that motivated for this playoff game, but I just found out we were underdogs, and nobody picked us on ESPN?’ That’s just not the way we think.”
The Eagles don’t need to think too much right now. Thinking that they can do exactly what they did in their 24-15 win over the Falcons last year at the Linc would be a mistake, as their opponent has a new offensive coordinator in Steve Sarkisian, who’s begun finding his groove with Ryan and the offense, and some interesting additions like 346-pound nose tackle Dontari Poe.
Thinking this is different than other games — only with more tempo and physicality — also would be a waste of time.
To make the point, Schwartz borrowed a line from the motion picture “Hoosiers,” minus the fictional picket fence game-winning play.
“The only thing that changes this week is it’s single-elimination,” Schwartz said. “It’s still going to be a 60-minute game. Still going to be 10 yards for a first down. I mean, we can get Gene Hackman to come in and measure (the distance to the rim) and make sure it’s 10 feet. There’s a reason that that scene in “Hoosiers” runs so true to people because the point was, hey, this is the same as the other games that we’ve played.
“You can’t play out of character. You can’t try to do too much both as a play caller and as a player. You have to trust what got you there.”
The Eagles have been underdogs and favorites, winners and losers this season.
But mostly, they’ve been winners.
And that, not the point spread, has them one win away from playing for the NFC championship.
