“No doubt in my mind, it will happen again.”
“2nd and 2.
“UH-OH!
“Brady gets hit! The ball is out and the Eagles have it!”
To many in the Philadelphia area, the words of Al Michaels and Chris Colinsworth echo in perpetual memories that bring us all back to intense emotions. Pure ecstasy and relief radiate from the actions of a football team breaking a 52-year curse. We all know the moment the game felt secured. It was the biggest play in Eagles history made by a man from Michigan. It wasn’t Earl Thomas and it wasn’t Jason Pierre-Paul as many fans yearned for on a night in April of 2010. It was an eight-year vet, who fought through immense criticism with unflappable positivity and clutch play. As Tom Brady sat in horror, birrift on the turf at his loss-sealing blunder, a new legend was made in Midnight Green. That man was Brandon Graham.
It is hard to put into words what Brandon Graham has meant to the Eagles. When ranking all-time Eagles BG is not in the top 5. For that matter, he is probably not even in the top 10. However, he is THE Philadelphia Eagle. No player has better represented what it means to be a Philadelphia Eagle. Positivity, commitment, leadership, hard work, honesty, winning, and a bit of trash talk. No player has represented these skills better. If you were to pick one player to speak to a neutral person or opposing fan to try and convince them to fall in love with the Philadelphia Eagles, you would send Brandon.
No man has played more games for the Eagles, 218 games over 15 seasons to be exact. On a team with long time, franchise stalwarts like Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox, and Lane Johnson, Brandon Graham suited up more than any of them, more than any Eagles player ever. Even Lane Johnson, who will play 3 more seasons, will not catch him. Graham is also 3rd all-time in sacks in Eagles history behind only the greatest of all time, Reggie White, and elite pass rusher Trent Cole. There was a time when this run he went on felt completely impossible. As Graham alluded to this past week in his retirement speech, the first few years were dark. People viewed him as a bust and it was only highlighted by the Thomas and Pierre-Paul picks directly behind him. It felt like Graham might not even finish out his rookie contract in Philadelphia. However, with an ever-present optimism and openness to the city, Graham won this city over to spend a career 5x longer than that of an average NFL career, and he did it all in one city. He did it on and off the field, becoming a gigantic presence in the community.
As the first paragraph of this article talked about, Brandon Graham has the most important accolade. He won a Super Bowl, with the Philadelphia Eagles. Something that until the clock hit zero, felt unfathomable. He made the biggest play in Eagles history to secure it. What a crazy and beautiful story. The craziest part though was that the story had seven more chapters. Over the next seven seasons Brandon would capture his first Pro Bowl appearance and continue to be a great contributor to this team. They would even make it back to the Super Bowl, coming up just short to the Chiefs in 2022. To start 2024 he let the media know this would be his last year. A season that appeared derailed for Graham as he tore his triceps in a week 12 win over the Rams. While that should have been a season-ending injury, Graham found a way to get back…for Super Bowl 59. Graham would play and tear his triceps again, but that pain would be masked by a dominant victory, beating the Chiefs 40-22. Brandon Graham, a 2x Super Bowl Champion. The Eagles, 2x Super Bowl Champions. Take yourself back ten years ago to 2015, try to even fathom that thought. What felt impossible is somehow becoming the norm and it is Brandon Graham, combined with some tremendous teammates who have made that possible. This franchise had made the Super Bowl twice in its history before 2017. They have since made it to three and won two over the past eight seasons. Graham is one of four players (Rick Lovato, Lane Johnson, and Jake Elliott) who has been along for this ride. While we hope to see many more players join that category in the coming years, it is Brandon who is one of the founding members.
So Thank you, Brandon Graham. Thank you for flipping the script on Tom Brady and giving Philadelphia the storybook ending it always deserved. Thank you for your warm and inviting presence. Thank you for everything you gave on and off the field. Thank you for powering through and changing the unwarranted narrative surrounding you out of the draft. Thank you for dapping my family and me up at the parade. Thank you for all the leadership you’ve provided to countless young guys. Thank you for gutting it out and being a part of an unbelievable second Super Bowl Trophy. When you came to Philadelphia, I was a high school kid who thought a Super Bowl may never be achievable. Today, I am a married man who now knows that winning a Super Bowl in Philadelphia will always be feasible because I saw you do it twice. Thank you 55.