January 25, 2018
Sunday was kind of magical. I've never played this far into the postseason, and winning the last game sent us to the Super Bowl. It's exciting, but at the same time, and excited as I am, we have one more game to finish what we've been working all year for. Everything we set back in training camp, and even back [further] in OTAs, is right in our grasp.
It's magical, but at the same time, there's still work to be done. One more game.
Rate yourself on Sunday's game. You had a hell of a game, possibly your best game this season in the biggest game of your life.
There was some good things out there, and there were some things that I can improve on. That's the type of guy that I am. I think as a unit, the offensive line definitely played well. We protected [quarterback Nick] Foles and we imposed our will in the run game.
When did you have a sense that you guys were in control?
After they scored [on the opening drive], we went back on the field. When the defense scored [Patrick Robinson's 50-yard pick-six], that sparked us up, and we rolled from there. I would say it was the second time when we went on the field.
You seemed to know what the Vikings were going to do before they did it. You guys knew some tells, didn't you?
There's different signs from different defenses as far as things like that. But as far as knowing exactly what's going on, I mean that's almost virtually impossible, but there are different signs to tell what they're going to do as far as a defense set up.
Can you talk about the play of Big V [left tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai] and how he's improved?
He did have a hell of a game. He completely locked up Everson Griffen, a Pro Bowl-caliber player who's had a hell of a season in his own right. But as V went on with the season, he's gotten better and better as he's gained more experience. He probably played his best game, locking down Griffen and it was awesome to see.
What kind of a statement do you feel the Eagles made against Minnesota?
Going into that game, they picked us underdogs again and that added fuel to the fire. The message we sent was that we weren't respected a lot, man. We were the underdog and we set the message that it doesn't matter what position or who we're playing, we hang with anybody. Not just that, but we can win against anybody, and go from there.
Now you have the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots up … You guys are underdogs again, but I think there isn't much difference between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots - with the obvious exception of Tom Brady, which is a big exception.
That's a difficult question to answer, to be honest.
Do you feel that you can play with them?
Oh yeah. Without question. Without a doubt. We can play with anybody. I don't think that's even a question at this point.
What's on your mind?
With one game left in the season, and it's the biggest one, I want to take a moment to thank the fans for supporting all season. With this team being so close-knit, putting in all of that time in OTAs and in training camp, and [I'm thinking] of the guys who were obviously guys who were as important as the guys who were healthy and did go down, Chris Maragos, Jordan Hicks, Jason Peters, [Darren] Sproles, and obviously [Carson] Wentz. Those guys were leaders in their own right.
These were guys who were key players for us, and obviously, there are the guys who when they went down, stepped up and really showed out. They were just as important as the guys who went down. They played lights out, and I respect them as well. It's been an awesome year. We obviously have one more left. Our goal is to hoist a Lombardi Trophy, man.
I just wanted to take the time to voice that. We've been through a lot. We hung close and leaned on each other. Going into this last game, we're going to keep doing what we've been doing all year. There will be no difference.
