Eagles stun Patriots for first team Super Bowl
February 5, 2018
In possibly the most exciting Super Bowl in NFL history, the underdog Philadelphia Eagles took down the New England Patriots 41-33. Both quarterbacks were nearly perfect on the night, as Eagles Quarterback Nick Foles shredded the Patriots defense with 373 yards and three touchdowns. An unlucky deflection left him with one interception. Tom Brady had never looked better, shattering the Super Bowl yardage record with 505 yards and three touchdowns. The game was so crazy that another passing touchdown was thrown by tight end Trey Burton, a trick play that will likely go done as one of the best in sports history.
The Eagles three headed monster of Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Legarrette Blount recorded 255 all purpose yards, and were key to the upset. Nelson Agholor snagged 9 passes for 84 yards, leading the Eagles in receptions.
For what the Eagles running backs did, the Patriots receiving core matched. Danny Amendola finished with 8 catches for 152 yards, Chris Hogan with 6 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown, and Rob Gronkowski with 9 catches for 116 yards and 2 spikes. The Pats finished with 113 rushing yards, lead by James White.
The yardage record for both teams in a Super Bowl was broken in the third quarter. By the end of the game, it was the most yards in a playoff game ever. It truly looked like a big 12 game at times.
In terms of defense, not much happened. The only sack of the game for either team was a crucial strip sack recorded by Brandon Graham late in the fourth quarter. Apart from an interception from Harmon, the Patriots defense was ran over by the Eagles offense.
It is a great time to be alive in Philadelphia. The Eagles had never previously won a Super Bowl, and owner Jeffrey Lurie claimed that the win was all for the fans. As for the Patriots, they are now 5-4 in team history, and 5-3 in the Tom Brady era. After the game, head coach Bill Belichick, often considered one of the best football coaches of all time, claimed that he “didn’t do a good job of coaching.” perhaps the complete benching of previous Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler had something to do with that.
What did you think of the Super Bowl? See highlights here and key stats here.