One of the most interesting matchups of Super Bowl LII had nothing to do with the actual X’s and O’s on the field.

Instead, it was a battle of two entirely differently cultures.

On one hand, you had The Patriot Way: a system designed to sacrifice individuality in exchange for reaching ultimate team success.

On the other hand, you had the fun-loving Eagles, who planned group celebration touchdowns and let their personalities show.

We obviously know how things turned out. It took a close, hard-fought effort but the Eagles ultimately overcame adversity and dethroned the dynasty that was favored to win yet another title.

One Eagles player, Lane Johnson, took Philadelphia’s championship victory as a way to show that the Patriots’ model doesn’t have to be the only way to win big in the NFL. He went as far to call the Patriots a “fear-based organization.”

Not surprisingly, Johnson drew criticism for his comments about one of the league’s most successful franchises. But it’s difficult to say he was really off the mark when you consider all the dysfunction happening in New England.

ESPN’s in-depth reporting from January revealed how there’s a lot of tension in that organization. It didn’t stop there. There were rumors about Rob Gronkowski retiring early because he wasn’t happy anymore. Tom Brady, meanwhile, has been uncharacteristically absent from OTAs as he “pleads the fifth” when asked if Bill Belichick truly appreciates him.

In more recent news, former Patriots player Cassius Marsh said he “hated” his time in New England and “it made [him] for the first time in [his] life think about not playing football because [he] hated it that much.”

Some have tried to detract from Marsh’s comments by saying he wasn’t that good of a player anyway. Well, one player who IS pretty good and has experience in a Patriots-style system once also felt the same way as Marsh did.

Speaking after Eagles OTA practice on Tuesday, Pro Bowl guard Brandon Brooks talked about how playing for Belichick protege Bill O’Brien — who was employed by the Patriots from 2007-11 — with the Houston Texans was ... well, not enjoyable.

“It’s crazy that people haven’t known this,” said Brooks. “It’s been this way for like a decade. You’ve seen— Reggie Wayne did it. He retired. He went there [to the Patriots] for a training camp and retired. Shit is not fun there. I was under the same regime in Houston [with O’Brien]. I almost retired. Shit was miserable, every day. Every day.”

“I came in [as a rookie] under [Gary] Kubiak, who was just an older version of Doug [Pederson], then I went to O’Brien, who was Belichick, and then I came back to Doug, who’s like Kubes, so for me, man, shit was great. Like, I cannot tell you how much better this is than it was down there. Like, it’s just night and day. What does [Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland] say? Happy workers make more productive workers. When you’re not having fun, man, those grinding, those hard-ass nosed days ...”

Brooks got cut off by fellow Pro Bowler and All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson.

“All the media wants to talk about is rings,” Johnson started. “Rings. I’m going to get this ring and never wear it one day. I’m going to put it away in a box. The only thing you’re going to remember from your playing days, you’re not going to remember the scores. You’re going to remember the people you played with and how you felt. And that’s the truth.

“All these guys talking about ‘I’ll take the rings.’ OK. You can have your rings. You can also have f***ing 15 miserable years.”

A lot of people might question how miserable 15 years can be if they involve a number of world championships, such as the ones the Patriots have amassed. At the same time, they’re not the ones going through the daily grind of being absolutely miserable.

There’s a case to be made it doesn’t HAVE to be like that. Players can enjoy themselves AND win too. That’s clearly a message that Doug Pederson instilled in an Eagles team that just won the Super Bowl. And though he never got past the Divisional Round in Houston, Kubiak ultimately won a world championship with the Broncos using an approach that Brooks compared to Pederson’s style.

This isn’t to say one method lends to more success than the other. It’s quite possible both styles can be effective. But they do come with concerns. Right now, we’re seeing the grind of The Patriot Way taking a toll. That doesn’t suddenly mean New England is going to be a bad team. But one does wonder if/when the drop off is coming, and if it could be accelerated by the culture of some players being absolutely miserable.

“The New Norm” is a phrase that’s been used a lot by the Eagles this offseason. They even hung up a big poster with those three words inside their team facility at the NovaCare Complex. Perhaps part of the new norm is establishing a culture that leads to the kind of sustained success the Patriots had minus the baggage that we’re starting to see come out. That’s the hope, at least.

Included below is the entire conversation with Brooks and Johnson from Tuesday afternoon.