THE EAGLES HAVE LANDED
Philadelphia gets first Super Bowl win
EAGLES 41, PATRIOTS 33
Brady, Shmady.
The greatest, most accomplished quarterback in NFL history put forth another Super Bowl performance for the ages, but this time it didn’t matter.
In the largest explosion of offence in Super Bowl history, the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night proved the better team than Tom Brady’s New England Patriots, deservedly capturing the Philly franchise’s first Super Bowl championship, 41-33.
The long-elusive Philadelphia victory thrilled most of the decidedly pro-Eagles crowd at the 21st century’s Midwestern monument to girders and glass, 19-month-old U.S. Bank Stadium.
Quarterback Nick (Nick Who?) Foles headed the list of offensive heroes for the Eagles’ unstoppable offence.
Inexplicably, in just his fourth career playoff game, and only his sixth start since the Eagles’ superstar second-year QB Carson Wentz was lost for the season on Dec. 10 with a blownout knee, Foles played superbly, matching Brady clutch throw for clutch throw throughout, if not yard for yard — and was named the game’s MVP. Brady threw for three touchdowns without an interception and 505 yards. The latter broke his Super Bowl record of a year ago, 466.
Brady said of his three Super Bowl defeats: “They’re all pretty disappointing. Losing sucks. You show up and you try to win. But sometimes you lose, and that’s the way it goes. We never really got control of the game.
“We never really played on our terms. We didn’t make enough plays when we needed to.”
Foles, a sixth-year pro in his second stint with the Eagles, threw a few unwise passes in this gigantic indoor stadium, and got away with perhaps more than his share, but on third downs and, especially, on New England’s side of the field he performed spectacularly. Foles finished 28-of-43 for 373 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception. He also caught a touchdown pass on probably the niftiest goal-line call in Super Bowl history.
The Eagles never trailed until Brady hit his trusted tight end Rob Gronkowski with a four-yard corner lob with 9:22 left.
That gave New England a 33-32 lead, after earlier trailing as much as 15-3 and 22-12 in the second quarter, and 29-19 in the third.
Foles showed steel-spined courage, though, in rallying the Eagles — on what will be remembered as the greatest drive in franchise history — to what proved to be the winning touchdown with 2:21 left. Foles hit tight end Zach Ertz on an 11-yard scoring slant.
Up 38-33, the Eagles went for two and didn’t get it.
It didn’t matter. One play after the kickoff, following an eightyard completion to Gronkowski, Brady was stripped of the ball by fellow University of Michigan alum Brandon Graham, Philadelphia’s leading sacker in the regular season. Rookie defensive end Derek Barnett recovered at the New England 33, with 2:09 left.
After three running plays the Eagles went up 41-33 on Jake Elliott’s 46-yard field goal.
Brady passed the Patriots only as far as midfield in the dying seconds. After Brady’s Hail Mary heave on the game’s last play fell incomplete in the Philly end zone, it was over.
Cannons sounded, and the green-and-white confetti machines went to work.
Many observers (ahem, raises hand) thought this game would be dominated by the defences. Uh, no. Before the end of the third quarter the offences combined for the most total yards in the 52-year history of the Super Bowl, and finished with 1,151: Philly with 538, New England with 613.
Both defences performed awfully in the first half, mailing it in almost as much as Justin Timberlake did at halftime. Alas, defences cannot pre-record their performances, as it sounded like JT did.
Defenders got gashed again in the second half. They left receivers wide open all over the field, flailed meekly at tackle attempts (ProFootballFocus.com counted 10 by the Patriots alone) and made just about every offensive performer look like an all-pro.
But credit each team’s offensive play-callers: Pats offensive co-ordinator Josh McDaniels and Eagles head coach and chief offensive strategist Doug Pederson. Both called masterful games.
Although Brady threw for a startling 267 yards in the first half, Foles nearly matched him — completing 13-of-22 for 215 yards and a touchdown.
Earlier in the second quarter the Patriots dialed up a pass play to Brady, but receiver Danny Amendola threw a bit too high and outside of the slow-footed, awkward Brady who made a poor, stone-handed attempt at the catch.
The offensive fireworks immediately continued following the elongated halftime break.
Each team scored a touchdown on its opening possession, as Brady and Foles kept throwing darts into open receivers’ hands. The difference for Philadelphia is that running backs LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi kept bludgeoning the interior New England defence for huge gains.
The Patriots received the second-half kickoff, trailing 22-12 after one of the most thrilling first halves in Super Bowl history. It didn’t take long to narrow their deficit to three points.
Brady came out looking for tight end Gronkowski on virtually every play. They connected five times for 75 yards, including the touchdown, a five-yarder. The Patriots had done much the same thing to open the second half of a Week 13 win at Buffalo in early December, with Brady and Gronk connecting three times for 50 yards.
When in doubt? Throw to the best tight end perhaps in NFL history.
Philadelphia, as it did all through the first half, answered, with a lethal mix of runs and Foles passes. Foles hit thirdstring running back Corey Clement on a wheel route down the left-side numbers. Controversially, the catch withstood an automatic scoring-play review even though it appeared Clement juggled the ball after the initial snare attempt and failed to get both feet down in bounds. Score: Philadelphia 29, New England 19.
Not even four minutes later the Pats answered with a touchdown, when Brady hit Chris Hogan on a right-side seamer in the end zone from 26 yards out. Deficit trimmed to three again, 29-26.
But Foles and the Eagles juggernaut still couldn’t be stopped. The third quarter ended with Philly facing 3rd-and-3 at the New England 16.
New England won the game’s opening toss, and elected to defer, setting up arguably the most entertaining first half in Super Bowl history.
“It’s disappointing,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said, “but proud of the way our team competed. … It’s a tough way to end up.”