The Philadelphia Eagles, who have been unfancied throughout their playoff run this season, will be in a familiar position going into Super Bowl LII. They start as -5.5-point underdogs against the New England Patriots for the game on 4 February – that’s the biggest spread by Las Vegas bookmakers since the Arizona Cardinals faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.

The Cardinals lost that game but the Eagles players cared little for history or bookmakers after crushing the Minnesota Vikings in Sunday’s NFC Championship game. “I know [we’re underdogs],” Eagles tackle Lane Johnson said after the game. “Hey, Tom Brady. Pretty boy Tom Brady. He’s the best quarterback of all time, so, nothing I’d like to do more than dethrone that guy.”

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Many expected the Eagles to fold after they lost their starting quarterback, Carson Wentz, towards the end of the regular season. But his back-up, Nick Foles, was excellent on Sunday – he threw for three touchdowns as the Vikings were dispatched with ease. “I just think you’ve got to keep going at it,” Foles said. “And we all believe in each other. I’m blessed to have amazing team-mates, amazing coaches. Everyone here that’s a part of the Philadelphia Eagles organization is first class.”

The last time the Eagles reached the Super Bowl, in the 2004 season, they also faced the Patriots. The game ended in a 24-21 victory for New England but Johnson said he hopes things will be different this time around.

“For what they did to us in 2004, to get payback, there would be nothing sweeter than that,” Johnson said. “I remember watching that game when I was 14 years old. I was hoping the Eagles would win. Just coming up short, you could feel the pain, and you could also feel the passion of what this city wants. And we’re here, so it’s right at our fingertips.”

Sailing team (@sailingt3am) #Eagles fan wrecked by a pole #SuperBowl #superbowlbound #PhiladelphiaEagles pic.twitter.com/GsQLXEiqdr

Earlier on Sunday, workers in Philadelphia had greased light poles to avoid celebrating Eagles fans climbing up them. That didn’t stop wild scenes in the city as the team clinched their Super Bowl place. There were no reports of serious incidents of misbehavior, although one fan had a very painful meeting with a pillar as he ran besides a train.