John McClain says the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win was a long time coming.
Young gun Foles outduels old pro Brady, giving Eagles long-awaited crown
MINNEAPOLIS — For the first time since 1960, the Philadelphia Eagles are NFL champions.
It took them 57 seasons, but it was worth the wait because the Eagles defeated New England’s Bill Belichick and Tom Brady — the greatest coach and quarterback in NFL history — 41-33 in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium.
It’s difficult for fans outside Philadelphia to believe, but Doug Pederson outcoached Belichick on Sunday night, and Foles — not Brady — threw the gamewinning touchdown pass under excruciating pressure.
It took the Eagles three tries, but they finally won their first Super Bowl, and it’ll be interesting Monday to see if their fans toppled the William Penn Statue in their victory celebration.
And they had a lot to celebrate after making sure the Patriots became the first team in Super Bowl history to have at least 600 yards and lose.
The Eagles, underdogs in all three of their playoff games, finished the season with a 16-3 record and became the first team other than the New York Giants to defeat the Patriots in a Super Bowl since
Belichick became their coach.
“We’ve been doubted since day one,” Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said after catching the gamewinning touchdown pass. “No one picked us. Now we’re world champions. First time in Philadelphia history.”
Not exactly. The Eagles defeated Green Bay in the 1960 NFL Championship Game to win their last title, six seasons before the first Super Bowl.
“Man, what an experience,” Ertz said. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
Foles, who replaced the injured Carson Wentz in the 14th game, made sure it was a great experience for the Eagles and their rabid fans. He completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted once on a tipped pass.
The Eagles withstood the best Brady had to offer. The 40-yearold wonder was 28-of-48 for 505 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
What happened in the last few minutes was simply amazing.
Amazing because it was Pederson, Foles and a multiple-set, dynamic Philadelphia offense that produced big time and not the Eagles’ defense, which ranked third, including first against the run, and surrendered 18.4 points per game.
Philadelphia never trailed through three quarters because Foles played another terrific playoff game, matching Brady one touchdown drive for another. But then Brady threw a 4-yard scoring pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski to give the Patriots their first lead — 33-32 with 9:22 left in the game.
At that point, Eagles fans had to be fretting, and Patriots fans had to be gaining confidence because even if New England’s defense collapsed, there was no way Brady was going to let them lose, right? Wrong. Considering what was at stake and who they were playing, the Eagles’ winning touchdown drive will be part of Super Bowl legend.
Ertz comes through
Needing at least a field goal to regain the lead, the Eagles went 75 yards in 14 plays. They faced third-and-7 at the New England 11 when Foles threw a bullet across the middle to Ertz, who leaped across the goal line for what proved to be the gamewinning touchdown with 2:21 left.
Replay review upheld the call on the field, and the Eagles let out a deep breath and started to celebrate their 38-33 lead. But there was one problem: Brady.
New England (15-4) got the ball back for what could have been another of Brady’s patented come-from-behind, game-winning drives, but then Brady got sacked for the only time in the game.
Huge fumble
End Brandon Graham hit Brady in the pocket, and the ball popped loose. End Derek Barnett recovered the fumble, and Jake Elliott capitalized with a 46-yard field goal to put the Eagles up by eight.
“I knew I had a one-on-one with the guard,” said Graham, who led the Eagles with 9½ sacks this season. “Brady’s arm was right there, and I went for the ball.
“We had to make sure we got off the field. It was all about the one stop we had to make, and we made that one stop. I will say our offense carried us. But when we needed to make a stop, the defense came through.”
The never-say-die Brady then took the Patriots from their 9-yard line to their 49, giving them one last desperation try, but his Hail Mary was knocked down in the end zone with no time remaining.
“We weren’t able to perform at our best,” Belichick said. “We didn’t do a good enough job of coaching, missed a lot of opportunities offensively in the first half, didn’t play good enough defense, and didn’t play good enough in the kicking game.
“Give them credit. Doug and his staff did an outstanding job. It’s a tough, tough way to end. It’s all on me. It’s disappointing, but I’m proud of the way our team competed.”
Pederson made strange decisions and great decisions, and going for it on fourth-and-1 at the Eagles’ 45-yard line on the gamewinning drive took some guts. They escaped with Foles’ 2-yard completion to Ertz.
“You’ve got to trust your instincts,” Pederson said. “I knew we were going to have to score a touchdown in that situation. A field goal wasn’t going to be good enough, not against Brady and the Patriots, so we stayed aggressive.”
The gambler
Pederson went for two points twice and failed. He also called for tight end Trey Burton to throw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Foles on fourth-and-goal in the final minute of the first half.
“We’ve been working on that for the last couple of weeks,” Pederson said. “We just needed the right time, the right opportunity, and the guys executed it brilliantly.”
The Patriots are losing both of their coordinators this week. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who’ll be the new coach at Indianapolis, can leave New England with his head up because his side of the ball produced 613 yards.
This wasn’t the way defensive coordinator Matt Patricia wanted to go out. Patricia, who’ll be the new head coach at Detroit, couldn’t help his defense stop the Eagles. Philadelphia generated 538 yards.
Patricia’s defense couldn’t contain the Eagles’ running game, either. It was three deep and productive with 164 yards rushing (6.1 per carry).
RB arsenal
LeGarrette Blount, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots last year at NRG Stadium, and Jay Ajayi, who began the season at Miami, dented the New England defense with running plays inside and out.
Corey Clement, a rookie running back, destroyed the Patriots as a receiver. He had a 55-yard catch in the first half when he got behind the coverage, and then he caught a 22-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, once again getting behind the coverage.
The Eagles couldn’t stop the Patriots, either, until the fumble recovery late in the game.
Brady was productive in the first half with 276 yards but no touchdowns.
Belichick made an adjustment at halftime, and on the first series of the third quarter, Brady completed four passes for 68 yards to Gronkowski, including a 5-yard touchdown.
By the time Philadelphia led 38-33, there could not have been an Eagles fan alive who wasn’t worried about Brady bringing the Patriots from behind to win one more time. And he might have if not for Graham’s sack and Barnett’s fumble recovery that allowed their fans to celebrate with “Fly Eagles Fly.”