The 2017 NFL season has finally come to a close. We started out with 32 teams competing for the coveted Lombardi trophy. On Sunday, one of those 32 teams was left standing, as the world champion. The Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles faced off in a battle for the ages. A rematch of the 2005 Super bowl, where the Eagles were defeated by the New England Patriots. The same result was expected, but sometimes things are not as they seem. New Year, New story. A Cinderella Story.

What was expected to be a defensive battle, turned out to be an offensive shootout. A shootout, that featured gunslinger Tom Brady taking on Nick Foles. Although, Brady outdueled Foles in the passing game, Foles was not far behind. While Brady passed for 505 yards and 3 touchdowns, Foles had 373 yards and 3 touchdowns. And in the end, Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles were the ones who left the field victorious.

This came as a surprise to many people. That the Eagles and a backup quarterback beat the “Goat” at his own game. But should it have been?

Sure, Brady has five Super Bowl wins, and three MVPs under his belt, but that is the past. All that matters is the present. And presently, The Eagles are the best team.

The Eagles faced adversity all year. This was not the first time they were doubted. When the season began, the Eagles were predicted to go 7-9, missing the playoffs. The Eagles shocked everyone when they started the season off, 1-1, and then went on a 9 game winning streak, thanks to the leadership of their sophomore quarterback Carson Wentz.

That winning streak would follow with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Eagles would win the next game against the Los Angeles Rams, thus clinching the NFC East, but not without suffering the loss of Wentz, who was on his way to becoming the NFL MVP of the season.

When Wentz went down with a torn acl, all hope seemed lost. But the Eagles never gave up. They had a plan in place. They looked to their backup quarterback to carry the load. Foles, who had not played a down in almost a year, began to take snaps under center for the rest of the regular season. He led the team to two out of three losses, to finish up the regular season.

Those two wins were just enough to earn the Eagles a first round bye and home field advantage for the playoffs. The Eagles faced the sixth seed Falcons in the divisional round. They were expected to lose. But they fought and clawed their way to a victory, in a defensive battle.

They advanced to the NFC Championship, where they faced the Minnesota Vikings. Once again, they were underdogs. But they didn’t let that faze them. The offense put up 31 points on the second ranked defense, and went on to win 38-7, thus advancing to the Super Bowl. Where they played..you know who. The New England Patriots.

Of course they were underdogs again. It seemed as if all of the NFL experts bet against them. Well, they shouldn’t have. Because you know the saying. A dog’s gotta eat. And these dogs ate. They ate Goat.

They defeated Brady and the Patriots 41-33, thus capturing their first title for the city of Philadelphia. Underdogs no more. Now, they are the top dogs Here we are only a week later, and the Eagles are still looked at as underdogs.

Power rankings were released for the 2018 season. And guess who is number one. The Patriots. Not the eagles, who just defeated them, and are expected to return all of their starters.

The Eagles are number two. Insulting much? Maybe. But the eagles have rolled with that underdog mentality, even going as far as wearing dog masks and selling merchandise to promote being underdogs. And they have made the best of it.

So, bring on the 2018 season. Let them prove the doubters wrong again. Because they love being the underdogs. They wouldn’t have it any other way.