The Philadelphia Eagles were favored entering their season opener against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, but the home team still had one potential advantage.
The Patriots had a special ceremony planned for ex-quarterback Tom Brady, who returned to Foxboro on Sunday for the first time since his NFL retirement. A host of former Patriots were in the building to celebrate Brady, who brought the crowd to its feet pregame by ringing a bell next to Gillette's newly-renovated lighthouse.
That's a tough environment for an opponent to enter -- but veteran Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham ensured his team was prepared.
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During a speech in Philly's team meeting Saturday night, Graham sent a clear message to his teammates: Don't get swept up in the aura of Tom Brady.
“That was part of my speech last night,” Graham told NESN.com's Greg Dudek. “Just saying, ‘Don’t get all caught up in the hype. He’s going to be back. Honor the GOAT. But at the end of the day, the GOAT can’t help them. All he can try to do is bring some morale for them.
"But other than that, we got to make sure we execute when we’re out there because we know that (Bill) Belichick and them, they got a plan. We got to make sure we execute our plan.'"
Graham's speech apparently resonated, as NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark reported that players had "goosebumps" after listening to the 14-year veteran.
The Eagles clearly weren't daunted by TB12's presence, as they raced out to a 16-0 lead by capitalizing on a pair of early Patriots turnovers. New England made a game of it from there, however, outscoring Philly 20-9 over the final three quarters to give themselves a chance to win late in the fourth quarter.
Alas, Graham's words proved prescient: Brady couldn't help the Patriots on the final drive, as the game ended when rookie wide receiver Kayshon Boutte couldn't get both feet inbounds on a fourth-and-11 pass from Mac Jones with 29 seconds remaining and the ball on Philly's 20-yard line.
The Eagles' victory improved Graham to 3-2 all-time against the Patriots, the most notable win coming in Super Bowl LII thanks in part to Graham's fourth-quarter strip sack of Brady. While New England held its own against Graham and the defending NFC champions, there's still plenty of work to be done in the post-Brady era.