Philadelphia Eagles: Trey Burton gives LA’s Philly Special a thumbs down

The Philly Special might just go down as the best trick play in NFL history, so much so that teams across the NFL have been ripping off the Philadelphia Eagles‘ signature play for years now.

The New England Patriots have run the play, as have the Dallas Cowboys, and, in 2022’s iteration of the Super Bowl, the Los Angeles Rams pulled the play out of their expansive bag of tricks in an attempt to get a first down on a crucial third-and-5.

Needless to say, it didn’t go well.

Darrell Henderson Jr. took the handoff and ran wide left only to hand off the ball to Cooper Kupp, who attempted to pass the ball to a wide-open Matthew Stafford on the right sideline.

The results? The ball sailed over Stafford’s head, and the Rams had to kick a field goal.

Was the play call good? Honestly, yeah, if Cooper was a better passer, the Rams might have just tied the game up right then and there, but that execution? Well, let’s just say original Philly Special quarterback Trey Burton wasn’t too impressed.

No Philly Special will be as sweet as the Philadelphia Eagles’ version.

Trey Burton originally came to the University of Florida as a quarterback.

Mind you, by Year 2 of his time in Gainsville, he was moved off the ball, playing everything from fullback to H-back, wide receiver, and even running back, but at his heart, you just know Burton was always looking for an opportunity to show he could still complete a pass if his number was called.

That opportunity came in Year 4, when then-head coach Doug Pederson put together a modified flea-flicker off of an outside zone in his playbook, and Nick Foles called for the play on the game’s brightest stage.

Needless to say, it worked pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Burton took the handoff from Corey Clement much like Cooper Kupp did from Darrell Henderson, and he put the pass right on Foles’ hands for an easy score on fourth-and-goal. Fans celebrated, the announcers loved it, and the play became so signature that Bud Light built a statue of the conversation between Foles and Pederson outside of the Linc.

Needless to say, SoFi isn’t about to land a similar statue, as Sean McVay’s call came up a dud, and Burton let them know about it.

A triple thumbs down. You know, sometimes the simplest tweets are the most entertaining.

Will we ever see Trey Burton on an NFL field again? Only time will tell. He hasn’t taken an offensive snap since 2020 when he reunited with Frank Reich in Indianapolis and may soon retire now that he’s on the “wrong side” of 30. But if Burton does make it back into the league, maybe with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022, you’d best believe he won’t botch a throw like Cooper Kupp did in the Super Bowl, as he has a reputation to uphold in addition to his responsibilities as a do-it-all special teamer/move tight end/occasional power rusher.