EAGLES SOAR TO FIRST SUPER BOWL TITLE
Underdogs make history by stunning New England Patriots
THE Philadelphia Eagles delivered an inspiring script by upsetting the New England Patriots on Sunday for their first Super Bowl title.
The Eagles were underdogs throughout the NFL playoffs, and few onlookers expected them to beat the defending Super Bowl champions.
But Philadelphia stunned New England with a 41-33 victory to cap a remarkable turnaround after finishing last in their division a year ago.
“We’ve been doubted since Day One,” said Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, who caught what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. “This team, no one picked us. We come out here and we’re World Champions.”
The victory set off wild cele- brations among the team’s many green-clad supporters .
The Eagles limped into the post-season with an offense handicapped by a seemingly hopeless backup quarterback following an injury to Carson Wentz in December, but Nick Foles proved more than ready to shine on the game’s biggest stage.
Foles, who nearly retired after an under-whelming 2015 season with the St Louis Rams, showed no nerves playing in his first Super Bowl and went toe-to-toe with Patriots counterpart Tom Brady, a five-time Super Bowl champion.
“I felt calm,” said Foles, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after throwing three touchdowns. “We felt confident coming in and we just went out there and played football.”
Trailing by a point late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles moved ahead for good when Foles connected with Ertz on an 11-yard touchdown to put his team ahead 38-33.
In a game where both offenses moved up and down the field effortlessly and combined for a Super Bowl record 1,151 yards, Brady had the ball swatted from his grasp and it was recovered by Philadelphia to all but seal New England’s fate.
The Eagles went on to kick a field goal to extend their lead to eight points and prevented the Patriots from engineering a lastminute, game-tying drive.
Up 15-6, the Eagles had a chance to build a comfortable lead towards the end of the first half but intended receiver Alshon Jeffrey deflected a Foles pass that was intercepted by Patriots defensive back Duron Harmon steps from the end zone.
The turnover proved costly as the Patriots marched 90 yards back down the field in less than three minutes, in a drive that was capped by a James White touchdown to pull within 15-12.
However, the Eagles replied with an impressive drive of their own that resulted in a touchdown on a gutsy trick play on fourth down from the Patriots one-yard line.
The Eagles, opting not to kick a field goal, snapped the ball to rookie running back Corey Clement, who flipped the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who then threw to a wide-open Foles for a walk-in touchdown and a 22-12 halftime lead.
The Patriots looked poised to collect a record-tying sixth Super Bowl in 17 seasons when Brady threw his third touchdown — this one a short pass to Rob Gronkowski with about nine minutes to play — to give his team their first lead of the game, 33-32.
But the Patriots had no answer for the Foles-led Eagles.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick took the blame for the loss while Gronkowski, who was playing in his first game since suffering a concussion two weeks ago, said he knew his team were going to be in for a battle.
“You just knew that it was going to be a shootout the whole game and it was going to take all 60 minutes,” said Gronkowski. “Unfortunately, we just didn’t come up with the most opportunities to make to win the game.”
Brady finished with a Super Bowl record 505 passing yards and three touchdowns but could not deliver when it mattered most, his desperate pass falling to the ground in the end zone as time expired.
“Losing sucks. That’s part of it,” said Brady. “You try to win and sometimes you lose. That’s the way it goes.” Reuters