FOXBORO — A backup quarterback trying to lead his team to a Super Bowl title? Yeah, Bill Belichick knows a thing or two about that.
Behind backup Nick Foles, the Eagles responded resoundingly to the naysayers with a 38-7 marauding of Minnesota on Sunday. The first No. 1 seed to ever be an underdog in its first playoff game — let alone its first two — Philadelphia nonetheless managed to reach the Super Bowl for the third time in its history, and the Eagles will try to exact revenge for their Super Bowl XXXIX loss to the Patriots in Jacksonville.
That was when the Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years by beating Philadelphia. They'll try to replicate that feat with another victory over the Eagles in Minneapolis.
Foles was on fire Sunday, looking more like his 2013 Pro Bowl self than the guy who struggled late in the season after replacing the injured Carson Wentz in Week 14. And few know better than Belichick that a backup quarterback doesn't preclude a team from its championship aspirations.
The last quarterback to start a Super Bowl with as few as Foles' three regular-season starts? That would be Jeff Hostetler, who led a Giants team with Belichick as its defensive coordinator past the favored Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.
In fact, there would be a lot of similarities between that game and this one. These Eagles, like those Giants, cruised through the NFC East with a 13-3 record and the NFC's best point differential. These Eagles, like those Giants, lost their franchise quarterback in December to a season-ending injury. These Eagles, like those Giants, pulled an upset in the NFC Championship over a team attempting to make Super Bowl history; just as the Vikings were trying to become the first team to play for the Super Bowl in their home stadium, the 1990 49ers were trying to become the first team to make, let alone win, three straight Super Bowls.
These Eagles, like those Giants, will try to overcome a favorite from the AFC East — an offensive juggernaut led by a future Hall of Fame quarterback wearing No. 12. New England is slated to open up as a 5.5-point favorite, compared to Buffalo's 6.5 in 1990.
Of course, there are some jarring differences, as well — all of which lean in New England's favor. Carson Wentz was a bigger part of Philadelphia's success than Phil Simms was for a defensively dominant New York squad. Jim Kelly and the Bills had literally no Super Bowl experience; the Patriots have a boatload of it, and nobody in history has as much as Tom Brady.
And Belichick is in New England's corner this time.
But the Eagles' NFC Championship rout of the Vikings was a startling reminder that this team is legit. Philadelphia matched the Patriots' plus-162 point differential to lead the NFL. It's the best point differential Belichick and Brady have seen in a Super Bowl since their first victory, over the potent 2001 Rams. (The Pats have only played four postseason games against teams with point differentials that strong; they're 3-1 in those games, with a loss to the 2013 Broncos.)
The Eagles' defense may not generate the same headlines as the one from Minnesota they obliterated on Sunday, but Philadelphia ranks in the top five in most defensive categories. Only three teams allowed fewer yards, only three teams allowed fewer points and nobody allowed fewer rushing yards. Most teams didn't even try to run the ball against the Eagles; still, despite seeing the second-most pass attempts against them this season, Philly ranked seventh in yards per attempt through the air.
The Eagles have allowed only one quarterback to throw for more than 210 yards since Week Seven.
Since back-to-back shootouts with the Rams and Giants in early December, Philadelphia has held its last four opponents to a total of 33 points.
While Foles is a backup, he has more pedigree than your typical backup — more than Hostetler or Doug Williams or even Brady did as backups who led their teams to titles. A ridiculous 27-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio under Chip Kelly led him to the Pr Bowl in 2013. He owns a winning record in his career, and he showed Sunday that he's more than capable of putting points on the scoreboard against a good defense.
Foles has plenty of help at the skill positions. Old friend LeGarrette Blount and old rival Jay Ajayi form one of the best backfield tandems in the game. Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and tight end Zach Ertz all had more than 700 yards receiving; the Rams and Saints are the only other teams with a trio that productive in the passing game.
The only team better in the red zone this season was Jacksonville.
Blount and Chris Long will each be playing in their second straight Super Bowl — against the team they won it with last season.
After a 16-year drought in which the NFC and AFC's top seeds didn't meet in a single Super Bowl, this year will mark the fifth time in the last nine years it's happened. The underdog has won the previous four of those meetings, including the Pats' victory over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.