Super Bowl: Ten facts about the Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith runs a route against the Giants during the first half of an NFL divisional round playoff game on Jan. 21 in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
1. The Eagles were founded in 1933 when a group headed by Bert Bell purchased the bankrupt Frankford Yellowjackets and replaced them when Bell secured the NFL rights for a team in Philadelphia. The Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers merged franchises during the 1943 season because both teams had lost many players to military service during World War II. Unofficially, they were called “The Steagles.”
2. After winning three Division III national championships as a player at Mount Union, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni started his NFL coaching career in Kansas City as an offensive quality control coach under Todd Haley and wide receivers coach under Romeo Crennel. He was not retained when Andy Reid took over as head coach in 2013. Sirianni will face Reid in Super Bowl LVII.
3. The Eagles scored a franchise-playoff-record four rushing touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game win over San Francisco and now have 39 rushing TDs this season (including the playoffs) — the most ever in a single season (the 1962 Packers had 37).
4. DeVonta Smith could make history if the Eagles win Super Bowl LVII. That would make Smith the fourth player to win the Heisman Trophy, a college football national championship and a Super Bowl. Smith would join Tony Dorsett (Dallas Cowboys), Marcus Allen (Los Angeles Raiders) and Charles Woodson (Green Bay Packers).
5. Smith and Jalen Hurts were teammates at Alabama and won a national championship together in 2017. They’ll now get a chance to win a Super Bowl together.
6. Do you know who introduced Sirianni and Hurts? Brian Daboll. It's a decision the Giants coach may regret after the Eagles beat Big Blue three times this season, including 38-7 in the Divisional Round. Daboll, Hurts’ former offensive coordinator at Alabama, was the Bills OC at the time when he made the introduction at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. Sirianni was the Colts OC.
7. Eagles center Jason Kelce, 35 and in his 12th season with the team, is the older brother of Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. They will become the first brothers to face each other in Super Bowl history. Their father, Ed, said he was grateful they both play offense because it “probably rules out any fist fights” on gameday.
8. Philadelphia had a franchise record 70 sacks in the 2022 season, with Haason Reddick (16), Javon Hargrave (11), Josh Sweat (11) and Brandon Graham (11) leading the way.
9. Miles Sanders set career highs in rushing yards (1,269) and rushing touchdowns (11) this season. Despite this being just his fourth season in the NFL, Sanders already ranks eighth in franchise history in career rushing yards (3,708). His nickname, Boobie, comes from similarities with the primary character in “Friday Night Lights.” “I knew it was bad,” Sanders said, “when my Mom started calling me Boobie.”
10. Ron Jaworski, who was Philadelphia’s starting QB in the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance against the Oakland Raiders during the 1980 season, finished his 15-year NFL career with Kansas City in 1989.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
