When the 2025 NFL season gets started, the Philadelphia Eagles understand they'll have a target on their backs. Being that they are entering the season as the most recent Super Bowl Champions, they know they are likely to get every team's best shot.
Dallas Goedert and several veterans on the roster don't want to get overly confident. While they know they have the talent to make a deep run and hoist the Lombardi trophy, the Eagles want to maintain their trademark underdog mindset.
The veteran tight end recently revealed the Eagles reached out to the legendary quarterback Peyton Manning to "pick his brain" on how to stay motivated throughout the year, knowing you're the champs. Manning offered a unique story about what he did in the past.
"He would make fake quotes and put them in the locker room because nobody was saying that they were bad or they beat them," Goedert said. "So he put, 'My receiver can't get off a press.' He would put that in his receiver's locker. [The receiver would say], 'Are you serious, he said that?!' It's just finding different ways to keep yourself motivated when the negative isn't coming at you."
Manning had a career that spanned from 1998 to 2015. He had stints with the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos, winning a Super Bowl with each organization.
Throughout his career, Manning was a multi-time Offensive Player of the Year, Pro Bowler, All-Pro, NFL MVP, and a one-time Super Bowl MVP. As a former first-overall pick, Manning entered the league with high expectations, and surely met them as he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
While the Eagles might have to search to find bulletin board material to stay motivated this year, it won't take long to find what they are seeking. Since the Eagles made the run to accomplish their first Super Bowl in 2017-2018, they were famously considered underdogs, despite being the top seed in the NFC.
The Eagles might look a lot different since that underdog team, but they have reasons to carry the same mentality. Since the start of the Jalen Hurts era, the Eagles have struggled to be considered true contenders to the public. They used that as fuel this past season and ended the year on the highest note possible. Soon, we'll see if Manning's advice goes to good use.
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This story was originally published June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM.