Pederson wants Eagles to embrace being 'the hunted' in 2018

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson still cherishes the team's surprise run to Super Bowl LII, but he doesn't want the same underdog mentality to carry over into the 2018 season.

"I want those guys to remember it, I want those guys to embrace it," Pederson said Tuesday, according to Tim McManus of ESPN. "It's a great motivating factor for us to sort of rip off the dog masks and no longer be the underdog, but be the hunted, have the target on our back."

Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson popularized the dog masks in last year's postseason and even sold merchandise on his website for charity.

Pederson has set the end date for the Super Bowl celebration at 12:01 a.m., June 15 - the day after the Eagles are scheduled to receive their championship rings.

"Honestly, after the ring ceremony, to me, we've put that to bed, we've put that to rest, and we move on to 2018," he said.

The Eagles are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 10.5 projected wins for next season, according to Bovada - half a win shy of the favored New England Patriots.