The Eagles have super culture, their past Super Bowl winners say

This Nick Sirianni-coached team keeps on winning and has shown it can overcome adversity, and whether it's in the locker room or on the team plane, the Eagles are enjoying each other.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh, Javon Hargrave (center) and Fletcher Cox (right) talk on the bench as they rest in the first quarter as the Eagles play the Titans at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pa.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

by Jeff McLane

Published Dec. 10, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ET

The Eagles’ return trips after road victories this season have all been festive, but the flight back from Indianapolis was particularly jubilant. Players vibed to Brandon Graham’s musical choices as receivers and cornerbacks playfully quarreled, and then a veteran player pulled out a large bottle of red wine he smuggled aboard.

“After most wins, it’s mostly like that, but that one was special,” tackle Jordan Mailata said. “I don’t think many people slept. Even if you weren’t drinking, you were up celebrating or talking or arguing about something.”

The Eagles had rallied to beat the Colts, 17-16, in a game that just as easily could have been lost. Coming off their first defeat, who knows if the season might have been derailed had they succumbed in consecutive weeks.

So there was a sense of relief on the team charter to Philly, from coaches and executives in first class all the way back to economy and the largest — and most important — portion of the Eagles’ traveling party.

The best teams are not necessarily the most talented. They aren’t always the best coached. But they all have to be equipped to overcome adversity because over the course of a 17-game season — and in the postseason — there will be some.

The 2022 Eagles have nearly a dozen players who have experienced winning a Super Bowl. Eight were on the squad five years ago that brought Philly its first Lombardi Trophy. Two more arrived last month when free agents Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph were signed off the street.

Nearly every one who was asked said they felt a vibe from the 11-1 Eagles similar to the championship-winning teams they were on. They cited the obvious tangible reasons for being successful, but each cited the importance of the culture fostered by coach Nick Sirianni that emphasizes connectedness.

Because when there has been adversity thus far, the established bonds between players has kept finger pointing to a minimum, most notably in Week 4 when the Eagles spotted the Jaguars a 14-0 lead.

“Nobody flinched,” Graham said. “Everybody was like, ‘When are we going to get started?’ Normally, people start ... complaining. And then you can’t get out of it. There’s a toss-up every time, and you don’t know until you know.

“This team definitely looked good in training camp. You can have an idea in the preseason games. But until it counts, you don’t know if there will be little bickering on the sidelines. And we weren’t hearing it.”

There was even public grousing last season. Fletcher Cox, for example, made it clear early on how displeased he was with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s scheme. But the roots planted by Sirianni — to borrow the metaphor the coach used when the Eagles were at their nadir — would hold firm even following setbacks.

The Eagles’ return Sunday to the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants offers a reminder. Jalen Hurts had his worst performance as a starter just over a year ago. Asked about how far the quarterback has come in the year since, Sirianni recalled a photo of Mailata comforting Hurts that now hangs at NovaCare Complex.

“I thought what an unbelievable picture of teammates being there for each other in a time of a very tough spot,” the coach said.

“That just speaks to the type of guys we have. That just speaks to the type of team we have.”

Loving being here

The Eagles have lost only two games since — in the playoffs to the Buccaneers last January and to the Commanders last month — which has made connecting all the more possible. But there is an obvious chemistry that exists among the group general manager Howie Roseman assembled for 2022.

To veteran leaders like center Jason Kelce, tackle Lane Johnson, and Suh, there’s an alchemic blend of young and old. Each position room has one or two established voices that make sure standards are met.

“It’s going to be matched each and every day here, whether it’s a top guy like Fletcher or [fellow defensive tackle Javon Hargrave holding younger guys like Jordan [Davis] or Milton [Williams] accountable,” said Suh, who won a Super Bowl with the Bucs two years ago. “A young guy or a new guy may have a mistake here or there, and an older guy who’s been here longer will step in and say, ‘All right, this is what you’re doing, and this is how we do it.’”

But there isn’t an obvious division between the age groups. Johnson said the revelry on flights is a shared experience between classes and position groups, even if he and Kelce, as the old heads, don’t join in as often anymore.

Graham said players are spending more time in the playroom attached to the locker room — there are billiards, ping pong, shuffleboard, foosball, air hockey, and video games — and that they’re staying longer in the day.

“People are just loving being here,” Graham said. “You see that guys aren’t quick to get out of here. Everybody is still in the back chilling.”

Because of the pandemic, reporters haven’t been in the Eagles’ locker room since 2019, but the character of a team can be conveyed in the moments in between practices and meetings. This collection has its share of stars, but Pro Bowlers like receiver A.J. Brown or cornerback Darius Slay are among the most down to earth on the roster.

Brown often is a willing and available interviewee and as affable as they come. Slay has similar characteristics. He can be the class clown, but there’s also a ruminative side. On recent Fridays, he walked around with servings of his wife’s banana pudding for his teammates.

Everyone has a role, and everyone has seemingly bought in. Guard Isaac Seumalo has rebounded from a season-ending foot injury a year ago and is having arguably his best season. Few outside the building have paid notice. But he doesn’t mind.

“I’m very happy being the last guy the media wants to talk to or being in any sort of spotlight. These three especially,” Seumalo said, pointing toward Mailata’s, Kelce’s, and Johnson’s stalls, “they take the spotlight. Just ‘cause I don’t like to do it doesn’t mean I can’t. But I’m very locked in, especially when in the building. I’m no frills.

“But I know when game day comes, we all got to work together anyways.”

Britain Covey is about as wholesome as NFL players come. He not only looks the part, the Mormon has never drank a drop of alcohol. But when he had his best game as a punt returner last week and reporters engulfed him afterward in the locker room at Lincoln Financial Field, several nearby teammates endearingly teased him.

They knew the rookie had been struggling. Everyone does, even at the professional level.

“There are only a handful of people in the world that can relate to it, and it’s your teammates,” Covey said. “That’s what’s so unique about this profession: Who can relate to it, genuinely, on this scale? And that’s why guys are so happy for each other.”

Bigger the dog

Joseph got his ring with the Giants in 2012. They sneaked into the playoffs, upset the 15-1 Packers in the divisional round, and toppled the mighty Tom Brady-led Patriots in the Super Bowl. He knows the mindset of the underdog and how the Eagles can’t get complacent.

“The bigger the dog you are, the bigger the target you have on your chest,” Joseph said. “Right now, every week we have that target. We’re the best team in the league. Everybody want to cut a branch off.”

The Eagles can clinch a postseason berth with a win or tie against the Giants. They also can get there if the 49ers and Seahawks lose Sunday. They have an outside chance of securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC next week, but a lot has to happen, only slightly less the following week when they travel to Dallas.

Every Super Bowl winner, though, cautioned against looking ahead. Johnson conceded that this year’s arc has felt similar to 2017. Each season had first-month close calls that easily could have altered the trajectory, but the wins mounted and buoyed the teams.

“The previous four years, we had been getting our [butts] kicked early in the season where we had to fight and claw to get back into a playoff spot,” Johnson said, excluding 2020. “But we’ve only grown stronger. Last week [against the Titans] was like the Broncos in 2017, when they came in with like the No. 1 defense, and we beat ‘em good.”

Both were statement wins. The Washington loss, like the one to the Seahawks in 2017, could have sent the Eagles into a tailspin. But they responded in Indy and have won two more since, just like they did five years ago at the Rams.

The Eagles clinched the NFC East in Los Angeles, but more noteworthy was losing quarterback Carson Wentz to a season-ending torn ACL. This team hasn’t yet faced adversity — or injuries — as profound. Kelce didn’t want to entertain the philosophical question of whether this team could attain the same success without Hurts.

“I don’t know. I don’t feel comfortable saying that,” he said. “We have a lot of talent. We have a lot of really good players. Jalen has been such a dynamic piece that makes our offense so unique that the offense would have to change if Jalen wasn’t in there.

“But that would make it even harder.”

A lot has to happen to reach the same heights, of course. Graham mentioned luck and how close the 2017 squad came to early exit against the Falcons in the divisional round. But the longest-tenured Eagle said he feels a similarity between both teams when it comes to the connections in the locker room.

The two-hour flight home from Indy reinforced that belief, Graham said, even though he didn’t imbibe the wine. Neither did Covey, despite some of his teammates’ best efforts.

“They’re like, ‘Let’s give him some wine,’” Covey said. “They just make fun of me because I’ve never drunk in my life. But it’s funny. I love it. It’s so fun to be around.”

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 14 game against the New York Giants on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday