Foles a Super Bowl MVP and unlikely folk hero in Philadelphia

ends of a touchdown pass in the same game. Brady nearly beat him to it. Although wide open, the ambling Brady couldn’t quite haul in receiver Danny Amendola’s high pass for what would have been a nifty overthe-shoulder reception which might have gone all 35 yards for the score.

That brought to mind Gisele Bundchen’s famous dig after one of Brady’s two losses to Eli Manning and the Giants in the Super Bowl, when his supermodel wife responded to hecklers by complaining about the Patriots’ many dropped passes that day.

“You’ve to catch the ball when you’re supposed to catch the ball,” she fumed. “My husband cannot … throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.”

Nor could he haul in Amendola’s throw early in the second quarter with New England trailing 9-3.

Foles had never caught a pass in the NFL before his TD grab.

His only interception was a fluke, but it did help Brady and the Patriots staunch an early stumble to stay in it until the very end.

Foles was 28 of 43 and wasn’t sacked. Brady was 28 of 48, and while he didn’t throw any interceptions, his only sack was a doozy.

A third-round pick by former Eagles coach Andy Reid in 2012, Foles had tremendous success as a starter under Chip Kelly his sophomore season. He threw 29 TDs and two picks in 11 starts, including playoffs in 2013. Foles posted a passer rating of 119.2, third-highest in league history. He tied an NFL record with seven TD passes in a game at Oakland in November 2013 and won an offensive MVP award at a Pro Bowl.

But Foles was traded to St. Louis for Sam Bradford in March 2015. He lost his starting job to Case Keenum and asked for his release after Jared Goff was drafted No. 1 overall when the Rams relocated to Los Angeles. Foles even considered hanging up his cleats before Reid persuaded him to go to Kansas City to be Alex Smith’s backup.

“As people we deal with struggles and that was a moment in my life where I thought about it, I prayed about it,” Foles said of quitting. “And I’m grateful that I made a decision to come back and play.”

So is Philadelphia, where Foles returned after one season with the Chiefs, signing a twoyear, $12 million deal to provide insurance behind Wentz.

Now he’s a folk hero for a franchise that had gone 0 for 2 in Super Bowls, and for a legion of fans who were rooting for anybody other than the Patriots.

“Just to be in this moment,” Foles said, shaking his head. “Unbelievable.”