USA
This article was added by the user . TheWorldNews is not responsible for the content of the platform.

Eagles’ Core Four relishing what may be last chance for second Super Bowl title

The best way for the Eagles’ Core Four to delay thinking about the possibility of divorce is to throw a five-year anniversary party.

Of the 33 active NFL players who have played at least 127 regular-season games without changing teams, four have been Eagles teammates since 2013: Defensive end Brandon Graham arrived in 2010 and was joined in three successive years by center Jason Kelce, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and right tackle Lane Johnson.

One subplot to the visit from the 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Championship game is that it could be the final home game at Lincoln Financial Field for multiple members of the Core Four, all of whom are looking to delay decisions on their futures by recapturing the Super Bowl-bound feelings they first felt on Jan. 21, 2018. They have combined for 17 Pro Bowl and eight First-Team All-Pro selections and once were teammates with 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.

Brandon Graham is one of the members' of the Eagles Core Four that won the 2018 Super Bowl together.
Getty Images
Jason Kelce
Getty Images

“When I first got the job here, I wasn’t like other first-year head coaches,” the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni said. “Why I said that was because I had these unbelievable players that have been to the mountaintop, that have played in this league for 10-plus years — two on the offensive line, two on the defensive line. Knowing what it takes to be successful, knowing the wins that they’ve had, that’s obviously a huge advantage for our football team.”

Graham, Kelce and Cox rank fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively, in games played in franchise history. All three are playing under their fourth head coach (Sirianni took over in 2021) and will be free agents after the season. Johnson, who is further down the list because of injury-shortened seasons, is signed through 2025.

Fletcher Cox
Getty Images
Lane Johnson
Getty Images

“I tell a lot of people, I feel like me and B.G. have been married for 11 years now,” Cox said. “Some of the things he does, it’s just second nature.”

It is fitting, then, that the NFC Championship will be decided in the trenches.

Graham is one of four Eagles pass-rushers with double-digit sacks for a defense that recorded 70 in the regular season and fell just short of an NFL record. Cox remains a factor against the run — and will face arguably the NFL’s most versatile back, Christian McCaffrey.

On the other side, Johnson likely will draw Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa, who lines up against the right tackle on about 60 percent of snaps. And Kelce will have his hands full with Arik Armstead.

“Maybe three years ago … it was on my mind quite a bit,” Kelce said. “I’ve learned now that I don’t know when that last game is going to come, so maybe I think about it a little bit less. It’s always a chance that that’s going to be the situation, but you just try to think about the game and focus on taking in the moment and being 100 percent there. It’s hard enough doing it that way. It’s going to be a lot harder if you’re not focused.”

The Yankees built a Core Four that won five championships together, but it’s easier to keep a nucleus together in MLB than in the salary-cap-governed NFL. None from among Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada or Andy Pettitte retired on top. But a second championship is a possibility for some Eagles.

“I’m soaking it all up one day at a time,” Graham said. “I’m more so trying to finish the deal on this season. We’ll talk more as that goes, but I’m trying to stop time as much as I can.”