This post is NSFP: Not Safe For Patriots.
In the third quarter of the Falcons vs. Eagles game on Thursday, Doug Pederson needed a way to wake up a dead offense in a 6-3 game. So he went to the oldest trick in the book: throw Nick Foles the ball.
But was it even better than the Philly Special? This looks a lot like the play that Tom Brady dropped in the Super Bowl seven months ago.
The play immediately woke Lincoln Financial Field up, and the drive ended in the first touchdown of the 2018 season.
They did it again?
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2018
YES!
Nick Foles is catching passes. 🔥
Philly Special: Part II #ATLvsPHI @Eagles pic.twitter.com/Gct9Yt4h3O
If you want a reminder of Brady's drop (of course you do), here you go:
that should look familiar https://t.co/jeTaakVEEP
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) September 7, 2018
Remember, on Philly Special in Super Bowl LII, Foles acted like he was changing the play on the right side of the offensive line when the ball was directly snapped to the running back. On Thursday, the sequence went just as it did on the Patriots' failed play, with one key exception: Foles catching the ball.
As you can imagine, Twitter finally lit up. The play was a much-needed jolt to what had been of a slog of a game that had the disadvantage of being delayed due to weather.
Nick Foles career receiving stats: 2/2, 16 yards, 1 TD, 2 Philly Specials. 🐐
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) September 7, 2018
Inject the Philly special into my veins forever.
— Nicki SUPER BOWL MVP Foles (@TJHOshie) September 7, 2018
Philly Special 2: Electric Boogaloo
— Couch Correspondent 🦅 (@notkerouac) September 7, 2018
2 Fast 2 Philly Special
— Jawn Gonzalez (@_JohnGonz) September 7, 2018
this is exactly what someone who was going to call Philly Special again would say pic.twitter.com/aclKzAmkNX
— Matt Ufford (@mattufford) September 7, 2018
Imagine letting Nick Foles run the philly special on you after he did it in front of 50 million plus for the SB
— PUBLIC B. ENEMY (@BryanTNR) September 7, 2018
PHILADELPHIA: We’re gonna spend the first half playing some songs from our new album
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) September 7, 2018
CROWD: (boos lustily)
PHILADELPHIA: ok fine here’s Philly Special
Sure, the play call was literal fan-service, but sometimes you just have to do more of the same to do something different.
The pressure is now on Pederson to have his quarterback catch a pass in every game this season. Otherwise, the Eagles might see themselves get booed back to the locker room a few more times this year.