If Eagles fans have proven one thing over the years, it's that they're willing to boo anyone and everyone, and they proved that again on Thursday when they BOOED THEIR OWN TEAM.
Yes, you read that correctly, the Eagles got booed by their own fans, and yes, it happened on the same night that the team raised its Super Bowl LII banner. Only in Philadelphia does the defending Super Bowl champion get booed in its home stadium.
Although the night started off as a celebration, it quickly turned into a disaster after the Eagles played an ugly first half. During the first two quarters of the game, the Eagles had almost as many total yards (68) as they did penalty yards (66). Near the end of the first half, the Eagles had one last chance to put a drive together, but coach Doug Pederson decided to have Nick Foles kneel the ball to run out the clock. Although you could argue that Pederson was being merciful by not making anyone watch anymore of the first half -- it was really ugly -- that's not how Eagles fans viewed it.
After Foles took a knee, thousands of frustrated fans showered the team with boos.
nickr83: I think most people watching, outside of Falcons fans, would share the same sentiment as these Philly fans watching the ugly 1st half of a new NFL season. #NFLKickoff #ATLvsPHI NBC Sunday Night Football: Atlanta Falcons at… https://t.co/o1ijISkHon pic.twitter.com/9ifDzR3R2r
— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) September 7, 2018
If the defending Super Bowl champ is being booed on their home field two quarters into the 2018 season, there is no hope for anyone.
The good news is that Eagles players didn't seem to take any offense to the boos and that's because their fans are always booing something. For instance, here is a short list of things they were booing during the game.
By my count Eagles fans are on pace to boo everyone in the stadium tonight.
— John Breech (@johnbreech) September 7, 2018
So far, fans have booed:
*The refs
*The weather delay
*The Falcons
*The Eagles, because they booed their own team.
And also Cris Collinsworth #Eagles #ATLvsPHI #Falcons https://t.co/F1jsJlheWZ
It's a good thing Eagles fans got all of their boos out in the first half, because there wasn't much for them to boo in the second half. After trailing 6-3 at halftime, the Eagles came back to pull off an 18-12 win.
After an ugly first half, Pederson made sure to spice things up in the second half. One of the biggest plays of the game came in the third quarter when the Eagles ran "Philly, Philly," a trick play they stole straight from the Patriots.
And when we say "stole straight from the Patriots," we mean it. After the game, Pederson admitted they jacked the play straight from the Patriots. Here's a look at the play the Eagles ran on Thursday compared to the play that the Patriots tried to run in the Super Bowl.
The Patriots' play from the Super Bowl vs. the Eagles' play tonight pic.twitter.com/dhJKUpBlDs
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) September 7, 2018
That pass play from Nelson Agholor to Nick Foles went for 15 yards on a third-and-5. Eagles fans definitely weren't booing after that play.
Although Eagles fans will likely be booing things for the rest of time (here's a look at when they booed Santa and eight other incidents), there's a good chance we won't see them booing their own team again in 2018.