Brian Westbrook’s goal while playing in the NFL was to have a Hall of Fame career. And while he has not yet been selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he’s considered one of the best players in Philadelphia Eagles history. PopCulture.com got a chance to speak to former Eagles running back, and he revealed his best NFL memory.
“Playing in the Super Bowl,” said Westbrook, who’s a member of the Eagles Hall of Fame as well as the Eagles 75th Anniversary team. “We were able to play toe-to-toe with Tom Brady and [the New England Patriots]. We had one too many turnovers. For us, having three turnovers in that game and that game being decided by three points, that’s the nuts and bolts of the game right there.”
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Westbrook and the Eagles took on Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX back in 2005 (for the 2004 season), and Westbrook was a big reason for the team’s success. He was named to the Pro Bowl that season after recording 1,515 total yards (812 rushing yards and 703 receiving yards) and nine total touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl again as well as the All-Pro First Team in 2007 after posting 1,333 rushing yards 771 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns. He played one season with the San Francisco 49ers (2010) and finished his nine-year career with 6,335 rushing yards, 3,941 receiving yards and 71 total touchdowns, making him one of the most versatile running backs during the 2000s.
“That was the goal,” Westbrook said when talking about being one of the best players in Eagles history. “The best thing for me was to go out there and just work my butt off during practice and in the offseason and allow the games to fall where they may. … My goal was to be an NFL Hall of Famer. I got the opportunity to play at a high level for quite some time there in Philadelphia. and it was special to me.”
Westbrook’s success on the field has led to a longtime partnership with Crown Royal. This season, Westbrook and Crown Royal are encouraging fans to take a water break while they are tailgating and partying while watching their favorite team play. Westbrook is also working with Crown Royal and its Purple Bag Project, a mission dedicated to packing 1 million care packages in Crown Royal purple bags to troops serving overseas by the end of the year.
“The Purple Bag project is one of the biggest projects Crown Royal has done,” Westbrook stated, adding that the care packages include essentials for troops. “That’s special to me. We just had Veterans Day. It’s time that we recognize what our military continues to do for us. They continue to protect us. They continue to fight for our rights, and they allow us to operate in a world without having that concern of any types of threats out there. They deserve all the credit and anything they need from us.”
