The Eagles - and Nick Foles - are headed into new territory.
One of the undercurrents of this most-unexpected season that sees the Birds playing a Wild Card game at home Saturday night is the breaks they have gotten along the way.
Now make no mistake, this team is good, and they have a fantastic coach with an innovative system that has changed just about everything involving the NFL regimen, from training to diets.
But the Birds also have been lucky. Hey, the guy who said he'd rather be lucky than good was right. In this case, the Eagles have been both good and lucky.
They played the Packers without star QB Aaron Rodgers, who returned to the lineup Sunday and pulled off a miracle finish to propel Green Bay into the playoffs.
They got the Lions and their high-flying offense in a near blizzard at the Linc, conditions that sent star running back Reggie Bush to the sidelines with a hamstring problem.
Their rematch with the Cowboys for all the marbles Sunday night in Big D featured Kyle Orton, as opposed to Tony Romo, at quarterback. Oddly enough, Orton played very well, right up until the moment he did his best Romo imitation by throwing a critical interception that sealed the Cowboys' fate just when it seemed they might be pulling off a come-from-behind victory.
The Eagles will get no such break Saturday night vs. the Saints.
Instead, they will face a legitimate superstar in New Orleans QB Drew Brees. Nick Foles will peer across the field and see the QB he would like to be.
The Eagles and Foles will need to pick up their game considerably. In particular, if they can't put any more pressure on Brees with their defensive front than they did against Orton, it could be a long night.
The prescription for victory in this game just might be something that Kelly does not especially like to do. The Eagles should control the clock - and keep Brees and the Saints offense off the field - by running the ball with a steady diet of LeSean McCoy.
The breaks are over for the Eagles. Now comes the hard part. We're about to find out exactly how good Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy and Chip Kelly are.
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