Great job, everybody. Oh, you must be Big Tom, huh? I know where he comes from. I like that guy. You get the hat? That's good.
Thank you.
Well, thank you very much, everybody. It's an honor to be with this incredible group of champions, great team, and we're thrilled to welcome everyone to the White House, a special place and to celebrate the Super Bowl 59 champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. And that was a special day. That was a big one, but the Eagles have turned out to be an incredible team, an incredible group with a fantastic coach and coaches.
And having you at the White House is very, very special and important and we appreciate you being here. And I think what we're going to do is on occasion, when we have a really great championship team, we bring them over to the Oval Office after we're finished and they get a chance to look at some incredible real estate.
And we have a little present for each and every one of them, and it's a terrific present, so we're going to do that for this team, OK? And we'll do that. We'll walk down to the Oval Office and who knows, one of them may soon be sitting in that seat. You know? They become famous and we sure as hell know they're good athletes.
No, they have to have some other ability and they do and we'll see what happens. But I especially want to recognize the Eagles owner, chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Lurie. Where is Jeffrey? Jeffrey? Where is Jeffrey? Where is he? That's right. He's my neighbor. He's right. And he's a good neighbor, as well as your general manager, Howie Roseman.
Howie? Howie? And your spirited coach, Nick Sirianni. You are a spirited guy. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Nick. Well, you know, a lot of people they doubted -- well, they always doubt championship teams and then they become championship teams. They never doubt them again. But Nick proved the doubters wrong and brought the Vince Lombardi Trophy back to Philadelphia, and convincingly. Ae also have to recognize the Eagles' head of security.
And now this is a guy they say, he loves Trump. This is a guy, and I had Saquon give him a big beautiful hat last night because I've been hearing about this guy, he likes Trump. His name is Domenico DiSandro, Big Dom. And he's sort of a legend. Come here, Dom. Come here. Say a few words. I hear this guy's just -- come on.
I just like to say thank you. We're honored to be here. Thank you, President Trump and that's it, Go birds. Thank you, guys. [Inaudible]. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. He's a big part of the team. That's what I hear. But I want to thank, also, some incredible talent and Representatives for our country. Pam Bondi is here. She's doing such a great -- good job on television this morning, too, Pam. She's incredible. Lori Chavez-Deremer, secretary of labor, Scott Turner, HUD. Hello, Scott.
You're doing good. I want to thank you all for being here. Senator Dave McCormick. David, thank you. Good. Come on up here, David. Come on. Representatives Rob Bresnahan, Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan McKenzie, Dan Musser, Burgess Owens, Lloyd Smucker, GT Thompson and Jeff Van Drew. And we have a lot of other Congressmen here, but I have no idea who they are because I can't see you in all these people, but I apologize.
See, they'll never speak to me again now. They'll be angry, but I just don't know who you might be right now. As well as Pennsylvania attorney general, Dave Sunday. Thank you, Dave. Good job, Dave. And treasurer, Stacy Garrity. Thank you very much. Thank you, Stacy. We have a lot of great politicians out there.
For Eagles fans, the road to this day has been long, but the journey has been well worth it, I would say. Jeffrey, that was a great journey for you, huh? It was great for you and for everybody else and it's a -- look at the size of this guy, these guys. When we walked up, I said, you know, you just stay here a little bit.
I'll walk up in front of you, because I didn't want to get anywhere near the size of you, and the greatness as a player too, I can tell you. Two years ago, the Eagles came incredibly close to football immortality and Super Bowl 57. You remember that game? But after a hard-fought game, you suffered a really heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs by just three points.
It looked like you had the game. This past year, the Eagles were determined to get it back and get it back, they did. The season started off slow, but you soon caught fire with your great coach inspiring you and you got the ball to your superstar running back, who I met yesterday. And I want to tell you, he's a handsome guy, but I wouldn't want to tackle him, Saquon Barkley.
Where is Saquon? Where is he? [Inaudible] offer him a ride on Air Force One. He's great. I got to know him a little bit. I offered him a ride on Air Force One because I was coming down and usually, they say no, no, I don't think so. He said, I'll take it, sir, and he loved it and we loved being together.
He's a great, young guy and an incredible football player. Saquon had a season for the ages running behind the most powerful offensive line in the NFL, featuring -- that's true, huh? That's pretty -- that's what they -- it's a big group. We're going to introduce them. Jordan Mailata. Where is Jordan? Come here, Jordan.
Thank you, Jordan. He's a big people. Landon Dickerson. Where is Landon?
Thank you, appreciate it.
Six-time pro-bowler right tackle, Lane Johnson. That's Lane. Six time, wow? That's pretty good. How is he? Is he better than you guys? Sit time pro-bowl. Wow. That's pretty good. In How is he? In week nine against Jacksonville, Saquon performed football magic while racking up a total of 119 yards, 99 yards, almost 200 yards, two touchdowns.
In the second quarter, he caught the ball dodged two tacklers and then hurdled backward over another diving defender, sending him flying through Saquon's legs. You remember that one? I said, oh, that's a dangerous play, but he doesn't care about danger on the football field. And by the way, I have to tell you something.
I was with the Giants and the head coach and some people and I said, do anything you have to, but don't lose Saquon. They lost Saquon. That was not good. I called that one. That was an easy one to call because he played damn well for the Giants. I can tell you that, but he made the right decision because it is a team sport and he has great people in this team.
This unforgettable display of athleticism will soon be seen in highlight reels and you've seen a lot of it. I've seen that game numerous times. They play it over and over. It was an amazing game, the final game. And little bit surprising that either team would have won by so much, but ultimately, Saquon rushed for more than 2,500 yards in the regular season and playoffs combined, an NFL record.
Think of that, all those years and he was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year. That's pretty good, Saquon. His golf isn't quite as good. [Audience chants "MVP"]
So I want to congratulate him, what a guy. Complimenting Saquon's historic season was an incredible year from star quarterback Jalen Hurts, and he really played a -- he had a great season and a great game, finished with 32 touchdowns on the year, turning in one stellar performance after another, terrific guy and a terrific player.
On defense, the Eagles finished the regular season with the fewest yards allowed per game, thanks in large part to talented young stars like safety Reed Blankenship. Where's Reed? Come on up here?
How's it going?
How are you?
Great. Nice to meet you. It's a honor.
Do you want to say something? Come on, say something. Look at this guy.
I don't have a lot to say, but go birds, even in D.C. So thank you.
Congratulations. Congratulations.
Thank you so much.
And on defense, the Eagles finished is really legendary because I think probably it's been one of the greatest finishes in football history. In week 11 against Washington, Reed had 10 tackles overall and an interception in the fourth quarter to seal the win. It was a big one. That was a rough game for the opposing team.
That's one of those that you don't sleep very well, but you guys came back and you did an incredible job just to get through. The Eagles ended the regular season at 14 and three, with only three playoff games standing in the way of the Super Bowl in New Orleans. After beating the green Bay Packers in the first game, the Eagles won a close one against the Los Angeles Rams.
All good games. Then in the NFC Championship Game against Washington, Saquon took his very first handoff for a 60-yard touchdown and then added another touchdown minutes later. And Saquon is a good golfer, but he's a much better football player in case you had any thoughts of doing something else, Saquon.
Soon, thanks to 55 points on the day, the Eagles punched their ticket to a Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs. And you know what happened. It was an incredible game, a little surprising, but right from the beginning, in the first quarter of the big game, which I was there; I watched in person.
I was there along with Taylor Swift. How did that work out [Laughter]? How did that one work out? The Eagles scored a touchdown on their signature play, the tush push, you know what that is. Or -- I hope they keep that play coach. I don't know, right? You know, they're talking about getting rid of that play.
I understand they should keep it. What do you think, Saquon? I like it, you have guys like this pushing you around a little bit. I like it. It's sort of exciting and different. I would like to see something done. I'd like to go back to the regular kickoff. However, we don't like that kickoff where nobody's moving.
The ball's in the air, nobody's moving, but I won't ask the coach or Lane or any of the people about that. But as a fan, I don't know, I'm not sure, Jeffrey, or some of the people -- they call it the brotherly shove, you know, the other -- meanwhile the ferocious Eagles defense pressured the Chiefs offense on almost every snap, causing six snaps -- sacks and three turnovers including a phenomenal interception return for the touchdown by a spectacular rookie, Cooper DeJean.
Come on up here, speak to the people, you got to be pretty fast. Good job. Cooper made the play of his life, and he did it on his 22nd birthday. Wow, you're a young guy, huh [Laughter]? A short time later, a touchdown pass right before halftime and another one in the third quarter helped put the game on ice.
And at the final whistle, the green and white confetti rained down on the scoreboard, it was 40 to 22. And I think maybe the Eagles themselves were surprised, but boy, they played great. They looked unbeatable. It was a great moment for an incredible group of people. Throughout their extraordinary season, the amazing group of warriors -- and that's what they are.
They're really modern-day warriors -- inspired the world with incredible spirit, athletic dominance and exceptional teamwork. And you made the Eagles fans everywhere really very proud. Whether you're an Eagle fan or not, they were proud to watch a team of such great power and dominance. And you really have a whole life to lead.
And you can say you've done it, you've done something that very few people are able to do. We've seen a lot of great teams, Lane and coach. We've seen a lot of great teams, but they don't ever get to where you've already gotten. And you're a young guy to be a coach. I'd like to be his manager right now [Laughter]. I'd like to be -- if I pick up my little 10 percent for doing nothing [Laughter]. So, I want to congratulate once again and let me just say fly eagles fly, right?
And with that, I want to bring up one of the great offensive linemen, really of all time. When you're a six-time All-Pro, that's really something. And Lane Johnson, come up and say a few words. Congratulations, you're really something special. Thank you.
Move this up a little bit. Thank you, Mr. President, for allowing us to be here, sending us the invitation. What an incredible year it was for us, really having the chance to play the team that we lost to a couple of years before and come through. But I want to thank Mr. Lurie just -- for creating a championship organization and culture.
Howie Roseman putting the time in, everybody on the coaching staff. Just what a wonderful season it was and we're not done. We're ready for another round. So, thank you all and go birds.
Coach, would you like to say something?
Yes, sir. Yeah, thank you, Mr. President, for having us here. And we also appreciate the endorsement for the tush push [Laughter]. We really appreciate that. And go birds
Jeffrey, maybe you could say a few words, you've done an amazing job in putting this team together come on up. Thanks.
Thank you. Thanks, Mr. President. It's truly an honor to be here. I remember as a little boy, the championship teams that came to the White House, and I never dreamed we'd be able to have a team and be as good as this. And this was a dominant team with incredible culture. Everything we all believe in as the best human values, selflessness, humility, teamwork, talent, discipline, everything that we all strive for, this team incorporated.
So, thank you for the hospitality today and go birds.
That's great. Thank you. Wow. Whoa. That's pretty good. Thank you. Wow, that's beautiful. He's going to help.