This is the cover story of the November 17 issue ofGameday Magazine,which can be found at the Lincoln Financial Field Pro Shop as well as Philadelphia-area ACME supermarkets this weekend.

Football is so much more than just a game.

As NFL players, we are truly blessed with the platform that we have. It gives us an opportunity to positively impact others' lives in so many ways, and sometimes those we meet bring us just as much inspiration in return.

Lukas "The Dutch Destroyer" Kusters. Landon Solberg. Lily Walker.

Those are the names of three brave children who have had that type of impact on me. Before each game, while sitting at my locker, I slide three bracelets honoring each of them onto my left wrist, along with my QB wristband. It's a ritual of mine that centers my mind and gives me a brief, simple moment of spiritual reflection. It's a constant reminder of the bigger picture and why I play this game.

I had the pleasure of meeting Lukas, whose bracelet reads "Dutch Destroyer" and "Live Like Lukas," when I was going into my second season in 2017. Lukas, who battled a rare form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, had one wish, and that was to meet me. That was a powerful experience spending time with him. His courage and his strength really struck me emotionally.

Lukas passed away about two weeks after we met, just four days after his 10th birthday. He is buried in my jersey. If that's not a wake-up call to the platform that we have, I don't know what is. It made me realize how fortunate we are to be role models and how we can't take that responsibility lightly.

The second bracelet is for Landon, whose battle with brain cancer ended exactly two months ago Sunday, and it reads "Landon's Light." I got to know Landon and learn about his story through my foundation's Camp Conquerors program in North Dakota, which is a summer camp for children battling physical ailments or illness. I still remember jumping in the water and messing with these kids by knocking them off their paddleboards, and one of them was Landon, who was just having the time of his life. I grew close with Landon's family and invited them to my charity softball game in Philadelphia back in May, and Landon got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.