PHILADELPHIA – Before the Philadelphia Eagles begin their quest to repeat as NFL champions, they’ll have one more celebration Thursday night.
The first Super Bowl banner in franchise history will be unveiled in front of a sellout crowd that waited seemingly forever to witness the moment. Then it’s on to trying to earn another banner.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson and his veteran players have preached throughout the offseason the importance of moving forward and focusing on the present if they are going to have any chance of becoming the ninth team to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
They will host a tough opponent in the NFL’s 2018 regular-season opener. The Atlanta Falcons were 2 yards away from knocking the Eagles out of the playoffs in the divisional round last season, but Matt Ryan’s pass to Julio Jones fell incomplete in the right corner of the end zone.
“It’s going to be a great night,” Pederson said. “The fans are going to be crazy and they’re going to be excited. It’s going to be great for the banner to be dropped. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.