Lane Johnson enjoyed the ride as the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl. The offensive lineman believes that enjoyment isn't something his opponent can claim.
Johnson took some head-on shots at the New England Patriots last week during an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast.
"I just think that 'The Patriot Way' is a fear-based organization," Johnson said, via NESN. "Obviously, do they win? Hell yes, they win. They've won for a long time. Do I think people enjoy and can say, 'I had a lot of fun playing there'? No, I don't. That's just the God's honest truth.
"They're successful, but when they go to interviews, they act like expletive] robots. Hey, stop being a [expletive] head. We can be cordial for a little bit. You only get to do this job one time, so let's have fun while we're doing it. Not to be reckless, but I'd much rather have fun and win a [Super Bowl than be miserable and win five Super Bowls. But hey, it is what it is."
There is no question the Eagles enjoyed their underdog status in the run to the Super Bowl LII victory. Then held an epic parade to culminate the fun.
Bashing "The Patriot Way" isn't necessarily new, even if Johnson didn't sugarcoat his thoughts as most have in the past. Just as surely as some ex-New England players would agree with Johnson, we're certain we could find many longtime Patriots who would argue winning multiple Super Bowls is plenty fun.
It's easy from the outside to criticize the Darth Vader-like control Bill Belichick holds over the Patriots organization. It's also proven to be the most successful team in sports over the last 17 seasons.