New England Patriots Chris Long #95 is interviewed on the field after a win against the Atlanta Falcons at Super Bowl 51 on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston. (AP file photo)

Philadelphia Eagles’ Chris Long celebrates with his son Waylon and father Howie Long after the NFL football NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Philadelphia. The Eagles won 38-7 to advance to Super Bowl LII. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

PHILADELPHIA — Chris Long knows all too well what awaits them, everything from Bill Belichick’s meticulous machinations to Tom Brady’s piercing precision in the pocket.

He had walked among them, practiced beside them, watched them, studied them. Long spent the 2016 season indoctrinated in the “Patriots Way,” witnessing the transformative power of a future Hall of Fame coach and quarterback and reaping the rewards of a collective “Do Your Job” mentality.

He already was a humanitarian, but in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Long learned to be a Patriot in more ways than one. And because of that, he knows what awaits his Philadelphia Eagles.

Amid the postgame revelry Sunday night – the singing, the dancing and all of the trash-talking taking place inside a boisterous locker room at Lincoln Financial Field – Long’s past and present immediately came into focus. The Eagles’ reward for manhandling the Minnesota Vikings, 38-7, in Sunday’s NFC championship game is a Super Bowl LII showdown with none other than the New England Patriots, the defending champions and Long’s former team.

For Long, destiny will soon collide with the game’s greatest dynasty.

“Wake up tomorrow, and we’ve got to get to work ’cause I know how good these guys are,” said the Charlottesville native, who signed a one-year deal with the Eagles on March 28, his 32nd birthday, just seven weeks after he and the Patriots stunned the football world with their remarkable second-half comeback against the Atlanta Falcons to win, 34-28, in Super Bowl LI.

It was Long’s pocket pressure that helped push Vikings quarterback Case Keenum out of his comfort zone Sunday. His first-quarter hit on Keenum led to a Patrick Robinson 50-yard interception return for a touchdown, a 7-7 tie and a reenergized crowd. Later, he recovered a fumble on a strip-sack by rookie teammate Derek Barnett.

With Long’s help, the Eagles exorcised their postseason demons and embarrassed the Vikings’ No. 1 defense. And for their efforts, they’ll arrive in Minneapolis, the site of this year’s Super Bowl, as underdogs for a third straight game. In a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX, the Patriots will make their 10th Super Bowl appearance and face a Philadelphia team anxious to hoist its first Lombardi Trophy.

“It’s a blessing, man,” Long said. “I waited a decade to play in the playoffs. I know we’ve got a lot of guys that have never felt this feeling of playing on this stage, in this opportunity. I keep saying, ‘There’s about 100 dudes playing football still at this time of year. In the world.’ At the end of the day, that’s something that you’re very lucky to be a part of.”

Few may give Philly a chance against Brady & Co., but getting here was always the goal. This was the moment Long envisioned for himself and his new teammates when he broached the topic of playing for the Eagles with the team’s executive vice president of football operations, Howie Roseman.

“I called them,” Long said with a chuckle. “I just saw Philly and was like, ‘Man, that D-line. I’d love to be a part of it.’ I just had a good feeling about this team.”

In the Eagles’ locker room, he saw promise. In Coach Doug Pederson, he saw a man worthy of his trust. And Long, in turn, wanted to be more than just a good “locker-room guy.”

“I just wanted to re-prove myself and prove that I can still play,” said the veteran, who spent the majority of his 10-year career with the St. Louis Rams. “A lot of people write you off when you’re older.”

Father Time has yet to catch up to Long. Now, he and teammate LeGarrette Blount, the former New England running back now in Philly, can become the first players in NFL history to win back-to-back Super Bowls by beating their former team.

“It takes a lot of luck to wind up in the right place,” said Long, who signed a free agent deal with the Eagles a week after Blount came aboard. “I could have easily made a different decision. All these guys could have made a different decision in free agency, but they believed in what Doug is building here and the locker room that we have here.”

Many doubted the Eagles on their Super Bowl run, but Long maintained his belief in his locker-room brethren and committed his time and financial resources to his new city. Long gifted his $1 million base salary to charity, donating his first six checks to scholarships at a private school in his hometown and the remaining 10 to educational charities in St. Louis, Boston and Philadelphia.

All the while, he held an unwavering conviction in the Eagles’ potential to be great, even after they lost star quarterback Carson Wentz to a season-ending knee injury and turned to backup Nick Foles.

“I felt like we’d have an opportunity to play on a stage like this. And we’re not done,” Long said. “We have a lot of work to do.”