Morning sports update: Eagles’ Foles reportedly had X-rays for rib injury
For the eighth time in the era of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl. The latest trip was clinched in a 24-20 comeback win over the Jaguars at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Here’s a look at a few Super Bowl-related stories:
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, already playing because of an injury to Carson Wentz, reportedly had a rib injury in the NFC Championship:
Eagles’ QB Nick Foles is undergoing precautionary post-game X-rays on his ribs, a team source tells ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, who reports the injury doesn’t appear serious.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 22, 2018
Tom Brady didn’t want to sound ‘arrogant’ in postgame discussion of hand injury: Following a week in which his hand injury was the subject of widespread attention, Tom Brady was asked about it directly in the postgame of the victorious AFC Championship. Brady seemed to admit that his hand was bothering him, but only to a point.
“I think it kind of sounds arrogant to say, ‘Oh, yeah, it bothered me,’ when you have a pretty good game. So I won’t say it.” (ESPN)
U.S. soccer star Julie Ertz found out about her husband making the Super Bowl in an emotional postgame: Julie Ertz, the U.S. women’s national team player of the year in 2017, found out that the her husband, Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, will play in the Super Bowl following the U.S.’s 5-1 win over Denmark on Sunday evening (in which Ertz scored a goal).
As soon as the whistle blew here in San Diego, we had some good news for @julieertz…💚🦅@ZERTZ_86 & the @Eagles are heading to the @SuperBowl! pic.twitter.com/dI5MvG53VR
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) January 22, 2018
Zach Ertz, in the Eagles’ locker room, was emotional after seeing the video of his wife’s reaction:
Zach Ertz overcome with emotion while watching a video of his wife @julieertz watching and reacting to the #Eagles game. pic.twitter.com/MBVhdP2ffA
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffPMosher) January 22, 2018
Patriots are reportedly hopeful Rob Gronkowski will play in Super Bowl LII: Despite being ruled out of the AFC Championship due to concussion protocol, the Patriots remain optimistic that Rob Gronkowski will play in the Super Bowl. (Boston.com)
Eagles fans start ‘We want Brady!’ chant during NFC championship: As their team sprinted to a comfortable win in the NFC Championship, Eagles fans were already “on to New England.” Cheers of “We want Brady” could be heard in the stands:
#Eagles fans continue.
“We Want Brady!!” pic.twitter.com/EJnYaGyIia— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 22, 2018
Richard Sherman defended the hit on Rob Gronkowski in the AFC Championship: Following the helmet-to-helmet hit on Rob Gronkowski, a former Patriots nemesis took to Twitter to offer some context. Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman believes Barry Church’s hit was “the only way” he could have made a play without hurting Gronkowski’s knee. (Boston.com)
Former Patriots opponent Tony Dungy said the calls against the Jaguars were justified:
Don’t know about the Pats only having one penalty but the 6 on the Jags were easy calls. Ran into the punt returner, hit defenseless receiver in the head, 2 obvious pass interference, delay of game. Those are hard to miss. https://t.co/FDtGQdWa5d
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) January 22, 2018
Did the Lakers lose? No, as Jordan Clarkson’s 29 points paced the Lakers past the Knicks, 129-107. Los Angeles is now 17-29 on the season.
Daily highlight: Danny Amendola was hero of the Patriots’ AFC Championship comeback. Here’s a look at his seven catches, including two touchdowns:
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/955319505193873408
