By Anthony Cardone
“Brady under pressure. Escapes the sack. Launching one to the endzone…jump ball…Gronk is there….broken up…..time runs out…..and for the Philadelphia Eagles, the long drought is over…finally!” is what play by play announcer Al Michaels said, putting it in the books for the Eagles.
Super Bowl LII was a game to remember between the Eagles and Patriots. No one thought so after looking at the matchup of a five-time Super Bowl champion against a backup quarterback. So you’d think it would be an easy matchup.
The Eagles once again shocked the world Sunday night, and quarterback Nick Foles was the centerpiece. After the game started and the teams traded field goals, Foles started his memorable night with a 34-yard touchdown to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. At the end of the first quarter, safety Malcom Jenkins laid out Patriots wideout Brandin Cooks to end his night with a concussion.
Starting the second quarter, running back LeGarrette Blount barreled in with a 21-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 15-3 lead. But we’ve all seen this story happen before. Midway through the second with a 15-6 lead, Nick Foles got picked off at the 10-yard line, and the Patriots were in business.
Led by Chris Hogan, James White finished off the drive with a 28-yard run to the end zone.
Foles, however, punched back. After a 55-yard pass to Corey Clement to put them in field goal range, the Eagles got down to the one yard line to have them make the most memorable play in Eagles history. On fourth down, tight end Trey Burton lobbed up a pass to Nick Foles, who caught it in the end zone for the touchdown. The Eagles had a 22-12 lead at the half, but this game was far from over.
The Patriots came out firing with an entire drive all to Gronkowski that took three minutes to score a touchdown. It was 22-19. A little while later, Foles answered back with a touchdown to Clement to make it 29-19. Brady would follow up with another to make it 29-26.
With nine minutes to go, Brady chucked up a ball in the end zone to Gronk again for his second touchdown, taking the first lead of the night. Foles had eight minutes to make his comeback and take time off the clock, and that’s exactly what he did.
After a 75-yard drive and a huge fourth-down conversion from Zach Ertz, there was 2:21 remaining in the game. Ertz finished the drive on a slant route in the end zone to take the lead right back, making it 38-33. Brady had two minutes and one timeout to work his magic.
On the second play, Brady was sacked for the first time in the game by Brandon Graham, fumbling the ball for the Eagles to recover. Jake Elliot hit a field goal to make it 41-33, but it was still not over for Brady.
However, he only had one minute and no timeouts. Brady got to midfield for one more play with nine seconds remaining. He chucked up a Hail Mary to Gronk in the end zone, but it was broken up.
The Eagles had won their first Super Bowl. Nick Foles won the MVP after passing for 373 yards, four touchdowns and that one receiving touchdown. In the loss, Brady broke the record for most passing yards in a single postseason game with 505. It was the most yards in a Super Bowl ever. The backup quarterback had beaten the greatest of all time.
