Brandon Graham will have "super" moment returning to Minnesota

Neither Eagles DE nor his teammates, will let returning to site of Super Bowl LII distract them from Week Six game vs. Vikings

Super Bowl memories reside around every corner inside U.S Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

If each nook and cranny of the building could talk, it would have a tale to tell of how the Eagles won the biggest game in franchise history there, putting a crimp in the dynasty plans of the favored New England Patriots by capturing a thrilling 41-33 victory on Feb. 4, 2018.

From terrific touchdown catches by Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz and Corey Clement to the other-worldly performance from quarterback Nick Foles, the MVP of the game who out-dueled Tom Brady that day. Then there was the greatest play in franchise history turned in by defensive end Brandon Graham, who slid inside to defensive tackle late in the game and made a strip-sack of Brady in the final two minutes that led to a field goal that put the Eagles up by eight.

There are still 30 members of that championship roster who will return to Minnesota to play the Vikings on Sunday.

The stakes aren’t near as high this time around – heck, Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings is just regular season game in Week Six of the season. It’s still big, though, with both teams sitting at 3-2 and trying to stay at the top or the top of their respective divisions.

And that is a reason some of those players didn’t want to get into those memories, because Sunday’s game is the first of three straight road games the Eagles will play.

“Hell no,” said safety Malcolm Jenkins. “We’re trying to win this game. It’s not a time to reminisce and be sentimental and all that stuff. It’s time to get ready to play. It’s going to be a physical game. That’s where our mind will be at.”

Added cornerback Rassul Douglas, who was a rookie then and played only on special teams in the big game: “It ain’t the same. It’s not a Super Bowl. If it was a Super Bowl and we were going back to Minnesota, then, yeah, but this is just a game.”

One of the biggest differences – aside from the stakes - between the Super Bowl and Sunday will be the crowd.

Though Eagles fans are known for traveling well, the crowd will be primarily made up of Vikings fans. At the Super Bowl, the crowd was probably 60 percent Eagles fans and 40 percent Patriots fans.

“We all know the feeling, and I’d be lying if I told you that wouldn’t cross my mind, not one bit, because that’s where we won our world championship,” said defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. “That field is one I’ll always remember, but at the same time, you have to look at taking the next step forward, moving forward, and knowing that we have a different opponent, a tough opponent, a really good team that we’re going to play.”

Graham basically echoed Cox’s feelings, but the veteran defensive end said he will “have a moment” when he flashes back to that day, to that win, to that play.

“You know what that memory is, always and forever,” said Graham. “Just thinking about, man, where I was at, what I was thinking about in that moment of stripping that ball and getting that championship and what I did on the field, after the game, it was a cool experience,” said Graham. “We’re trying to have some good times this week, so we have to make sure we go out there and earn it.”