By Kevin Manahan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Philadelphia Eagles -- mocked for their choice of head coach and ridiculed for a history of postseason failures -- have overcome devastating injuries, critics, skeptics and Las Vegas odds to reach the NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Sure, the Vikings had their miracle. So what? The Eagles have had more than a dozen this season.

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Tim Hawk | For NJ.com

Here's the kicker ...

The Eagles' kicker when the season started was ...? It's OK, we'll wait for you to remember. (Insert "Final Jeopardy" music here.) Answer: Who is Caleb Sturgis?

But he suffered a hip injury on opening day, was placed on injured reserve and has remained there. Meanwhile, Jake Eliottt – a fifth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017 who was signed off the street – has made a bunch of crucial field goals, including a 61-yarder to beat the Giants.

Who knew the NFL's most valuable Elliott would be the guy who abuses footballs, not (allegedly) women?

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James Lang | USA TODAY Sports

The best handoff for the Eagles since Piscarcik

History shows that when an NFL teams loses its starting quarterback, it's time to make cremation arrangements for the season. (Nobody asked you, Jeff Hostetler. Put your hand down.)

And when the Eagles lost Carson Wentz – likely the MVP leader – with a shredded knee with a month left in the regular season, suddenly a 10-2 record was as worthless as a Rich Kotite autograph.

But backup Nick Foles, signed for two years and $11 million – went 2.5-1 over the last four regular season games and beat the favored Atlanta Falcons in a divisional playoff. All the while, Eagles fans couldn't decide if he was Saint Nick or Ain't Nick. Sunday, they hope he's Nick at Nite.

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Matt Rourke | AP

Me and Julio down by the end zone

The Eagles beat the favored Falcons, 15-10, in a divisional playoff by making a last-minute goal-line stand.

The Falcons took three shots at wide receiver Julio Jones, one of the best in the game, and ended up with three incompletions.

Stat line on that: Fate 3 passes defensed.

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Bob Leverone | AP

Teach me how to Dougie

The Eagles came this close to hiring Ben McAdoo. (Read that sentence again so it sinks in.)

Instead, they hired a former buddy, Doug Pederson, who was called by one NFL analyst "less qualified to coach a team than anyone I've ever seen in my 30-plus years in the NFL." (We hope you sent Pederson a Hallmark and chocolates, Mr. Lombardi.)

Pederson is 32-20 in the regular season, 1-0 in the postseason, and he is one of the best offensive schemers in the league.

And for all the Eagles fans who cried, "Oh, my God, why did we hire him?" The football gods have provided the answer.

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Matt Rourke | AP

Leading the league in steals

When I was a kid, I hated the Mets, loved the Yankees. So, I traded any Tom Seaver baseball cards for the likes of Horace Clarke and Celerino Sanchez. (That's why my 401k is still underfunded.)

The Eagles’ trade for running back Jay Ajayi was as big of a steal.

After the trade, he Dolphins leaked that Ajayi was a cancer in the locker room. Cancer? Nah, he’s actually a Gemini, and what a pair he’s been with LaGarrette Blount.

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Tim Hawk | For NJ.com

Eagles have met their deductible

Jason Peters tore his ACL and MCL in October, and a lot of teams would have been shaken by the sight of their best offensive lineman being carted off the field, but the Eagles shrugged it off.

Even more evidence that the Eagles are a team of fate: They successfully replaced him with a "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle: Halapoulivaati Vaitai.

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Tim Hawk | For NJ.com

... and then some

What's that, you say? It's not enough that a team lose its kicker, star quarterback and top lineman? You want more misery?

OK, then let's talk about linebacker Jordan Hicks, who went down in the same game that Peters went down.

Who knew that when a voice from heaven said, "Hicks will lead them!" it meant a bunch of guys from West Virginia?

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Tim Hawk | For NJ.com

Sproled out on the grass

What? You still want more? OK, running back and punt returner Darren Sproles was lost for the season, too. The gods literally took an arm and a leg, but the Eagles kept winning.

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Bill Streicher | USA TODAY Sports

Credit karma

So, how did one of the NFL's all-time snake-bitten franchises get such good vibrations?

The Eagles have a guy who's playing for free. Unpaid intern and defensive end Chris Long is donating his entire base salary, roughly $1 million, to benefit educational charities in his hometown of Charlottesville, Va., plus NFL cities in which he's played: St. Louis, Boston and Philadelphia.

It's always better to give than to receive (except when you're talking about a second-half kickoff).

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We all need to buy 99 year old Millie Wall a screwdriver for blessing the #Vikings with her presence!!! (That IS her drink of choice!) #Skol pic.twitter.com/DCIYHQeZNi — Kent Erdahl (@kenterdahl) January 15, 2018

Dear Millie ...

We're all touched by the story of Millie, the 99-year-old Vikings fan who has been promised Super Bowl tickets by commissioner Roger Goodell.

Sorry, Millie.

First, there's that home-field Super Bowl curse. You can (U.S.) Bank on that happening again.

Second, if you think Goodell ever did anything good for old people, ask retired NFL players who are still waiting for their concussion settlement money.

And third, Goodell gets paid on the bottom line. Do you think he'd give you free tickets if he really thought the Vikings would reach the Super Bowl?

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Paul Sancya | AP

Go fourth and prosper

During the regular season, only the Green Bay Packers (28) went for it on fourth down more than the Eagles (26).

The Eagles converted 17 times for 65.4 percent, third-best behind New Orleans (80) and Jacksonville (76.9). The Vikings are 1 for 7 on fourth down, fewest attempts in the league.

For the Eagles, gambling isn't a vice. It's a virtue.

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Abbie Parr | Getty Images

Stink, stank, stunk

The Eagles picked a good year to go on a winning streak, because every other team in the division underperformed badly.

The Giants, after saving the Eagles by hiring Ben McAdoo, rolled a stink bomb into their locker room and eventually had to fumigate the front office.

The Cowboys struggled, thanks to a six-game suspension of running back Ezekiel Elliott.

And the Redskins were too busy debating how much they're willing to pay Kirk Cousins.

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James Lang | USA TODAY Sports

A fistful of wins

Despite being in the center of the anthem protest storm, the Eagles remained focused on the field, thanks to leadership by Malcolm Jenkins, one of the protest leaders.

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Tim Hawk | For NJ.com

Immaculate receptions

C'mon, who doesn't think the football gods are at work here? Agholor went from an overanxious basket case to 62 catches, 768 yards and eight touchdowns. Those eight TDs tied for eighth in the NFL.

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Brad Penner | USA TODAY Sports

The Lord is my shepherd

Even the masks are divinely inspired, because we know ... "All dogs go to heaven."

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