The trick play the Eagles ran Thursday night in their 18-12 opening victory over the Falcons was copied from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's botched attempt in the Super Bowl, coach Doug Pederson admitted.
In the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles ran a play akin to the iconic "Philly Special" that saw quarterback Nick Foles catch a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl 52 win over the Patriots.
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Tight end Trey Burton threw to Foles in the Super Bowl, but on Thursday that job fell to wide receiver Nelson Agholor, whose floated pass was taken for a 15-yard gain.
However, this variation — dubbed "Philly Philly" — was derived from the play that saw Brady drop a pass from Danny Amendola against Philadelphia in the same game in Minnesota.
"It's where we got it from," Pederson said. "It was a play that we had put in for this week.
THAT'S THE PHILLY SPECIAL'S MUSIC #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/JPddGV2wYT
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 7, 2018
Nice throw @nelsonagholor
— Trey Burton (@TreyBurton8) September 7, 2018
"It was a play that was in our third-down menu. We were on the correct hash mark and it was the right time in the game."
Foles was unable to reproduce his Super Bowl MVP display Thursday night as he threw for 117 yards, one interception and no touchdowns in the first game of the 2018 NFL season.
On the "Philly Philly" play, he said: "I mean, it's a good play. This league, there's a lot of great plays, there's a lot of great minds, so when you see something like that, that's unique and it works well, you try to execute it like they do."