Lincoln Financial Field was Rockin' Hours Before Kickoff

The Eagles hope to feed off the energy the home crowd will supply and ride that into Super Bowl LVII with a win over the 49ers in the NFC title game

PHILADELPHIA – Rockin’ was a popular word this week at the NovaCare Complex, where the Eagles prepared to play the San Francisco 49ers with the winner advancing to Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz. in two weeks.

Rockin,’ as in Lincoln Financial Field will be rockin’ on Sunday.

“Our crowd inspires us,” said head coach Nick Sirianni on his final media availability on Friday. “Our crowd makes it difficult for the opposing team with how much communication that has to happen in this great game. And they’re hostile, they are hostile.

“I knew that as being an opposing coach coming here how intimidating it can be. So, they’ll make life difficult, there's no doubt for this team that's coming in here because of who they are as fans and it's going to be loud.

“We'll feed off that and it's going to be energetic and it's going to be, you know, everything that I've ever seen on TV as far as the NFC Championship game that happened a couple years ago here.”

Even hours before kickoff, the parking lots surrounding the stadium were rockin’ with tailgating fans preparing themselves for the title game.

This is what the Eagles worked hard for during the regular season, the right to host a game of this magnitude.

“(The Linc crowd) rocks regardless,” said rookie Jordan Davis on Friday. “Here in Philly, it's head and shoulders above the rest. Definitely excited to play in front of the crowd. This is what we work for, to get that No. 1 seed. So, playing in front of them, we’ve had them riding with us all the way. We can’t look too forward but they’re always great to have.”

The crowd brought it in last week’s win over the New York Giants in the divisional round and they brought it five years ago when the Eagles last hosted the NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings.

“It was everything I expected and a little bit more,” said tight end Dallas Goedert about the crowd against the Giants. “You know, the Philly fans have been great ever since I've been here.

"You know the Philly fans make away games feel like home games a lot of the time so I knew it was gonna be rockin' but when I got in there, it exceeded my expectations a little bit."

In the title game from five years ago, the Vikings that year, like the Niners this year, were seeded second and had the league’s top-ranked defense. It didn’t matter. Philly swamped Minnesota that day, 38-7.

The crowd could be the difference in this one, like it was then, especially with San Fran starting a rookie quarterback. Rookie QBs are 0-4 in title games.

“It’s like our 12th man, not to bite off Seattle’s swag, but that’s like our 12th man,” said Davis. “Really when the crowd gets into it, we get into. It can throw off the offensive adjustments, throw off the calls, they can’t hear, we might get a false start.

"So, when the crowd’s rocking we’re rocking, and when we’re rocking the crowd’s rocking, so we definitely feed off each other.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.