The NFL is known for being a copycat league, but when the Philadelphia Eagles ran a gutsy fourth-down pass play to quarterback Nick Foles in Sunday’s Super Bowl win, many wondered if that had been done before.
As it turns out, it had.
The 2016 Chicago Bears ran the exact same play against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17, with receiver Cameron Meredith threw the touchdown to quarterback Matt Barkley.
In the Eagles’ 41-33 win Sunday, wide receiver Trey Burton threw the touchdown to Foles to give the Eagles a 22-12 lead just before halftime. The play took guts, given it was fourth down and the Eagles already had the lead.
Both Meredith and Burton were former quarterbacks.
Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich admitted to copying the Bears’ play afterward.
Watch both plays below:
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