Chris Long. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM )
Chris Long went from playing on one of the worst teams in football to playing a huge part in the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history down, 28-3.
Chris Long had an outstanding football career. He was an All-American at Virginia who went No. 2 overall to the then-St. Louis Rams in the 2008 NFL Draft. After eight years of playing for a bad NFL franchise, Long signed with the New England Patriots in 2016. During his one year in New England, he played a different role than he was used to but ended up a Super Bowl champion.
“The first Super Bowl was awesome, down 28-3, historic comeback, my first Super Bowl ever,” said Long to FanSided‘s Mark Carman on behalf of Emergent Biosolutions – Narcan. “By that point in the season, because I was a 3-technique and I was undersized and kind of just plug-in wherever I could, and I was a sub-rusher on the outside, the first half of that game…I barely played.”
“We were down the whole time. So I’m sitting there, ‘I’ve been waiting my whole life for the Super Bowl. We’re getting out ass kicked.’ I’m about to pull a hamstring running into the locker room because I’m so cold. In the second half, we close the distance. I had a number of good snaps in the second half. And I was like, ‘I’d love to get back in a situation where I’m playing 40 plays a game.”
Long would leave New England after one year as a Super Bowl champion, only to face his former team in the Super Bowl next year in Minneapolis. He won his second consecutive Super Bowl as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles over the Patriots in Super Bowl 52. Long retired after the 2018 season as a two-time Super Bowl champion and as a Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient.
Chris Long spoke with FanSided on behalf of Emergent Biosolutions – Narcan.