On Sunday, February 4, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 to win Super Bowl LII. The win is the first Super Bowl title in Eagles’ history and their first appearance in the Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, where they were defeated by the Patriots. The game, which took place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was played indoors, but the outdoor temperature of 3 degrees fahrenheit made this year’s game the coldest in the 52-year history of the Super Bowl. The game’s attendance was 67,612, which is 1,000 seats over capacity.
The game was entertaining from start to finish. On the opening drive the Eagles took the ball down the field but had to settle for a field goal giving them a 3-0 lead. The Patriots returned the favor on their first drive, scoring a field goal to tie the game at 3 apiece. The very next drive the Eagles only needed three plays to score, where Nick Foles threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery, put the extra point missed, only giving the Eagles a 9-3 lead. On the Patriots’ next drive they marched all the down the field but to no avail as they missed a 26-yard field goal due to a botched hold by the punter. Then late in the 2nd quarter, with the Eagles close to the end zone, they ran a trick play resulting in a touchdown pass to Foles, the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to catch a touchdown pass, giving the Eagles a 22-12 lead heading into halftime.
In the second half Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski finally got going, catching five passes on the Patriots first drive including a 5-yard touchdown catch. The Eagles and Patriots would then trade touchdowns later in the quarter, making the score 29-26. The Eagles began the 4th quarter with a field goal to increase their lead to 32-26, but then came Tom Brady. The Patriots marched 75 yards down the field that resulted in another Gronkowski touchdown catch. After an Eagles touchdown and the score 38-33, Tom Brady went back to pass when Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham stripped the ball from Brady and Derek Barnett recovered, giving the Eagles the ball back with a crucial takeaway. The Eagles would add another field goal making it 41-33, the final score, despite two hail mary attempts by Tom Brady to end the game.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was named Super Bowl MVP. Foles threw for 373 yards, 3 touchdown passes and 1 crazy touchdown reception. This year’s Super Bowl saw a lot of records and crazy stats. The combined 74 points made this year’s game the second-highest Super Bowl, behind Super Bowl XXIX’s 75 points. The game also set a record for most combined yardage by both teams, 1,151 yards. While Eagles franchise quarterback Carson Wentz will be back next year from his ACL tear, it is certain that these Eagles are going to be flying for a long time to come.
