Philadelphia Eagles Fly to Victory

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons Images

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons Images

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII Sunday (Feb. 4) evening, 41-33.

On a frigid night in Minneapolis, Minn., the AFC’s Patriots and NFC’s Eagles faced off in the NFL Championship at the new U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings.

The game began with a hot drive from the Eagles, who took nearly seven minutes off the clock to kick a field goal. Later on in the first quarter, New England leveled the score, 3-3. With two and a half minutes left, the first touchdown was scored by the Eagles, on a pass from Nick Foles to Alshon Jeffey. The point-after attempt was missed, giving Philly the 9-3 lead.

In the second quarter, Philadelphia’s LeGarrette Blount scored on a 21- yard run, giving them the 15-3 lead. They missed the two-point conversion, and the score remained the same. New England then followed up by scoring nine straight points, on a field goal and James White touchdown from Tom Brady. The score was then 15-12.

Before the half, the Eagles used what may have been the defining play. The “Philly Special” was a direct snap to Corey Clement, who tossed the ball back to pass catcher Trey Burton. Quarterback Foles motioned out of the formation and ran a route. Burton threw the ball to Foles on his route, scoring a trick touchdown with 34 seconds left on the clock.

After a Justin Timberlake halftime show featuring a hologram of the late Prince, the Patriots got the ball back, and turned it on. With only two full minutes off the clock, Brady passed to tight end Rob Gronkowski for a five-yard touchdown to put the score at 22-19, Eagles. Five minutes of gameplay later, Philadelphia’s Clement caught a touchdown from Foles, and the score was then 29-19. Later on in the quarter, New England’s Chris Hogan would catch a 26- yard touchdown from Brady, making the score 29-26 Philadelphia, and setting up the fourth quarter.

An Eagles field goal would extend their lead, 32-26. Another Gronkowski touchdown for the Patriots gave them their first lead, 33-32. With nine minutes left in the game, Philadelphia took the ball and decided the game. On a 14 play, seven minute drive, the Eagles scored a controversial touchdown by way of Zach Ertz catch from Foles. Now giving them the 38-33 lead, the Eagles gave the ball back to Brady and the Patriots. On the following drive, Brady was sacked and fumbled, giving Philadelphia the ball back. Once they tacked on a field goal to make the score 41-33, the Patriots had one last chance.

After a few decent gains, New England’s Brady launched a bomb into the end-zone. Once in the end-zone, the ball bounced around, and hit the turf, which eventually lead to the win for the Eagles.

The game set many records, most notably the highest number of net yards (1,151) for any NFL game, ever. The MVP, Nick Foles went 28/43, passing for 373 yards, three TDs, and one receiving TD. Tom Brady was 28/48, with 505 yards and three TDs.