Patriots take Eagles to the limit, but fall short

MINNEAPOLIS — Nick Foles, the backup quarterback who nearly retired after the 2014 season, is now a Super Bowl champion.

Foles was spectacular as he completed 28-of-43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles prevailed 41-33 over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII before a crowd of 67,612 on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. It’s the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory, and first NFL title since 1960.

The victory was not secure until a Patriots Hail Mary pass hit the turf with no time remaining on the clock.

With the Eagles holding a five-point lead, defensive end Brandon Graham punched the ball loose from Tom Brady and it was recovered by rookie defensive end Derek Barnett with just over two minutes to play. Kicker Jake Elliott made a 46-yard field goal with 1:10 left to give the Eagles an eight-point lead.

Brady got the ball back at his 9-yard line with 58 seconds to play and no timeouts. Brady had directed 11 game-winning drives in

Super Bowl

overtime or the fourth quar- ter in his playoff career. This time, his desperation pass from New England’s 49-yard line was incomplete.

Brady completed 28-of46 passes for 505 yards and three touchdowns.

The Eagles took a 38-33 lead when Foles hit tight end Zach Ertz with an 11-yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes remaining. The play, on a third-and-7, was reviewed as Ertz bobbled the pass entering the end zone.

Defense was lacking in the championship contest.

The game set a record for most combined yards in a Super Bowl with 950 by the end of the third quarter. The previous record was 929 by the Redskins (602) and Broncos (327).

Foles completed a 17-yard pass to Torrey Smith in the third quarter to put the total combined yards at 943.

The teams punted only once. Brady directed three consecutive touchdown drives in the second half to erase a 10-point halftime deficit, 22-12, and eventu- ally take a 33-32 lead with 9:22 to play.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski had just one catch on five targets for 9 yards in the first half. Brady leaned on him heavily in the second half.

The Patriots had the ball to open the second half. Brady directed five of six passes to Gronkowski, who made four catches for 68 yards and a 5-yard touchdown catch. The extra point made it 22-19.

The Eagles answered with a touchdown drive as Foles tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to running back Jay Ajayi. The extra point pushed the Eagles lead back to 10, 29-19.

As the Falcons know, the Patriots would not back down. They came right back with a another touch- down drive as Brady con- nected with Chris Hogan for a 26-yard touchdown. After the extra point, the Eagles led 29-26.

The Eagles added a field goal with and a 4-yard Brady touchdown answered pass to Gronkowski. The extra point gave the Patri- ots their first and only lead of the game.

Behind the steady hands of Foles, the Eagles held a 21-12 lead at halftime. The Eagles scored on their first two possessions and took an early 9-3 lead. They opened the game with a 14-play drive that reached New England’s

2-yard line behind the hot passing of Foles. But after an offsides penalty on Ertz, the Eagles’ drive stalled and they settled for a 25-yard field goal by Elliott.

The Patriots answered with a nine-play drive that covered 67 yards. Stephen Gostkowski added a 26-yard field goal to tie the game.

After opening with a methodical drive, the Eagles zipped down the field on their second possession. After a short pass to Nelson Agholor for seven yards, running back LeGarrette Blount busted loose for a 34-yard gain. On the next play, Alshon Foles Jeffrey connected on a 34-yard with touchdown pass. Jeffrey made a spectacular catch on the play, but Elliott missed the extra point. On their ensuing possession, the Patriots got a 51-yard catch-and-run from Danny Amendola. But they botched a field goal attempt after cen- ter Joe Cardona rolled the snap back to the holder. Gost- kowski his 26-yard double-clutched attempt banged and off the left upright. The Eagles were stopped on their next possession and the Patriots were stopped after Brady dropped a pass from Amendola on a gadget play on third down. A pass to Gronkowski was incom- plete on fourth down. After the three-and-out, Foles went back to work. On a third-and-7 from the 38, he found Ertz over the middle for 19 yards. After an incom- pletion, Foles looped a long pass to Jeffrey, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch for 22 yards. Then, Blount weaved his way through the left side of the line and scored on a nice 21-yard touchdown run. The Eagles elected not to kick the extra point. Their two-point conversion pass attempt to Jeffrey was incomplete as they took a 15-3 lead. It was Blount’s 11th post- season touchdown, more than any player not already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After getting a big Brady to Rex Burkhead pass play that covered 49 yards, the Patri- ots got a 35-yard field goal from Gostkowski to make it 15-6 with 7:24 left in the second quarter. The Eagles made their first big blunder when Foles’ deep pass intended for Jeffrey was intercepted by New England safety Duron Harmon with 5:01 to play in the second quarter. Jeffrey, who was covered tightly by Stephon Gillmore, tipped the ball up and couldn’t control it. Harmon came over and made the interception.

T he Patriots marched down the field and running back James White, who ran through three missed tackles, scored on a 26-yard touchdown run. Gostkowski missed the extra point and the score was 15-12.

The 2:00 warning came after the kickoff return. The Eagles stayed aggressive and Foles connected with running back Corey Clement on a wheel route out of the backfield on thirdand-3 from their 37. Clement turned the short pass into a 55-yard gain down to New England’s 8-yard line.

On fourth-and-goal from the 1, the Eagles went with a razzle, dazzle play. The ball was snapped to Clement, who flipped it to tight end Trey Burton, a former quarterback, who tossed a soft pass to Foles, who hauled down the pass for the TD.