The Super Bowl is just a mere couple days away. Nothing else should be taking up the space of the Philly Sports Stat of the Week this week other than Super Bowl 57. Well, I’ll talk about Super Bowl 57 a little bit. Other than that, this week’s PSSOTW is about three facts from previous Super Bowls the Philadelphia Eagles were apart of. 

With that being said, there will be no honorable mentions this week because being in the Super Bowl triumphs that. I’m sure everyone will understand and is not losing sleep over not reading those with the Super Bowl on the horizon. 

Some thoughts on Super Bowl 57

The Eagles are heading into the game with no playersl listed as doubtful or out on the injury.  Only a few things to be concerned about, health-wise, which is rare for a Super Bowl team. The Eagles need to do their best to protect(!) Jalen Hurts and hope that Lane Johnson as well as Landon Dickerson hold up. The team’s are very evenly matched.

Both teams have the same record at 14-3. Both teams averaged almost thirty points per game, Kansas City averaged 29.2 and Philadelphia averaged 28.1. The Chiefs are currently on a winning streak of seven in a row. I am no analyst but when looking at the game it is crystal clear that game will be won in the trenches. Two of the top defensive lines in the league will square off. We’ll find out if Haason Reddick and the Eagles are truly the best defensive line like their total team sack number of 70 from the regular season. Or we’ll see if Chris Jones and the Chiefs can play like the number one spot in the most important game of the year.

Fact #1: The Philadelphia Eagles have turned the ball over 9 times in their 3 Super Bowl appearances.

That sounds like a lot, right? That’s three turnovers per game to be exact. Philadelphia committed four turnovers in the 27-10 SB15 loss to the Tom Flores led-Oakland Raiders, committed four turnovers in the 24-21 SB39 loss to the Bill Belichick led-New England Patriots, and committed one turnover in the 41-33 SB52 victory over those Belichick and Tom Brady-led Patriots. Comparatively speaking, at least the Eagles are currently tied with the Buffalo Bills for turnovers in the Super Bowl. Oh wait my mistake, I meant the Eagles tied just that 1993 Buffalo Bills that made the Super Bowl. Our former friend Frank Reich was the main contributor to the turnover column. Reich threw two interceptions and two lost fumbles, three fumbles total. 

Fact #2: Wibert Montgomery is the Eagles’ leader in scrimmage yards in Super Bowls by one yard 

Wilbert Montgomery, one of the greatest Eagles running backs, only holds that record by one measly yard. Montgomery logged 135 total yards, 44 rushing and 91 passing, in his performance in SB15. Montgomery was a back ahead of his time just by looking at his stats. A true dual threat and the only sign of life from the Eagles offense in that game. What are the odds that a guy that went undrafted to the Eagles in his rookie year of 2017 and a true franchise legend are in the same statistical company? Not high but hey, it happened. I know all Eagles fans are equally as thankful for both running backs. 

Fact #3: Donovan McNabb had more passing attempts than Nick Foles in the Super Bowl

Donovan McNabb attempted 51 passes. Nick Foles attempted 43 passes. McNabb completed 30 passes. Foles completed 28 passes. If you didn’t know who played when and only followed the current passing-centric (borderline addicted to hucking the pigskin) NFL of the 2010s, who would you say played when? Conventional logic would say that McNabb played in Super Bowl 52 and Foles played in Super Bowl 39. Obviously, it was the other way around but the irony of that to me is interesting. The fact that McNabb was a franchise QB but wasn’t entirely reliable and Foles was basically walking Disney sports movie special with his storybook narratives adds to the stat. In their respective Super Bowl, one guy wanted to be the man and the other guy just played like the man. 

That’s it. We’re back in 2023 and you’re reading this on your iPhone, Samsung, Android, iPad, laptop, or maybe your Tesla. Can they use other websites on that big tablet screen they call a GPS? The more important question, do Tesla drivers listen to and read Corner Pub Sports? Those odds are certainly akin to the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles’ odds to win their first Super Bowl. Anyway, everyone stay safe and enjoy the Super Bowl and the final game of the 2022 NFL Season. Where did the time go?! I’ll sign off with a classic line which is basically a greeting phrase in Philly and that’s, Go Birds!