MINNEAPOLIS — Philly. Finally.
Look out Broad Street and Independence Hall and all those cheesesteak joints, there’s a Lombardi Trophy coming your way. At long last.
Maybe that crack in the Liberty Bell gets fixed. Anything is possible now.
A franchise bereft of much joy can now finally call itself champions, crowned Sunday night, becoming the best by beating the best. At long last, the Eagles won their first Super Bowl, stunning the favored Patriots 41-33 in a breathtakingly high-octane offensive barrage contained within Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“We about to have a party on Broad Street, baby,’’ jubilant defensive end Brandon Graham said. “I know they’re tearing it up now but we’re going to come and tear it up some more.’’
It was an astonishing performance by Nick Foles, the backup quarterback, who took over late in the season for injured MVP candidate Carson Wentz and took the Eagles where they never before have soared.
“You never really know what it’s going to be like when you’re going into a Super Bowl,’’ Foles said. “I felt good. I felt calm. The big thing that helped me was knowing I didn’t have to be Superman.’’
In a game of overwhelming offensive pyrotechnics, Foles never wavered, playing with a lead most of the evening, then trailing in the fourth quarter, needing a comeback to save the day and slay the Tom Brady dragon.
“A lot of people counted him out and didn’t think he could get it done,’’ said Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, who rolled the dice on several eye-opening calls and won a Super Bowl in his second year.
Foles finished up 28-of-43 for 373 yards, three touchdowns and one interception to earn the Most Valuable Player award. Give him the Most Valuable Backup award as well. He did not out-duel Tom Brady, but he did beat him in the most prolific offensive eruption this game has ever seen. There was the most total yardage (1,151 yards) in NFL history and the fewest punts (one) in Super Bowl history. Brady passed for a Super Bowl record 505 yards. The Patriots scored more points by a losing team ever in a Super Bowl.
“It kind of felt like whoever had the ball last would win this game,’’ said Pederson, whose play-calling daring sent a standard that will be hard to match.
The Eagles, trailing 33-32, got their winning points with 2:21 left when tight end Zach Ertz from the 11-yard line ran a slant, got inside Devin McCourty and made a headfirst dive into the end zone, losing the ball upon contact with the turf and then gathering the ball back in while on his back. The two-point conversion failed, and Brady got the ball back, trailing by five points and with one timeout to work with.
Plenty of time for vintage Brady magic, but not this time.
On the second play of the series, Graham got pressure on Brady, reached out and knocked the ball loose, causing a fumble that was recovered by Derek Barnett on the New England 31-yard line with 2:09 remaining. The Eagles forced the Patriots to use their last timeout and rookie Jake Elliott calmly drilled a 46-yard field goal for an eight-point lead with 1:05 to go.
Brady got the ball on his own 9-yard line with 58 seconds left. He never had a chance. He got the ball to midfield and uncorked a Hail Mary that fell incomplete as the clock ran out, sending the Eagles into hysteria. Brady finished 28-of-48 for 505 yards and three touchdowns, but he was done in by his defense.
“They’re all pretty disappointing, I mean losing sucks but you show up and you try to win and sometimes you lose and that’s the way it goes,’’ Brady said.
It was Super Bowl loss No. 3 for Brady and Bill Belichick, to go along with five victories. It certainly was not vintage Patriots.
“We weren’t able to perform at our best,’’ Belichick said. “We didn’t do a good enough job coaching, missed a lot of opportunities offensively in the first half, didn’t play good enough defense, didn’t play good enough in the kicking game. Tough way to end.’’
The Patriots had to deal with the loss of starting receiver Brandin Cooks to a head injury early in the second quarter and the strange absence of cornerback Malcolm Butler on defense.
It was a night where Foles caught a touchdown pass from tight end Trey Burton — a brilliant design by Pederson he called “Philly Special’’ — and 40-year-old Brady dropped a pass from receiver Danny Amendola that was as ugly as it sounds. “It was there to be made and I missed the play,’’ said Brady, who said he caught that pass in practice.
“Didn’t catch it tonight,’’ he sighed.
The Patriots, battling from behind all night by as many as 12 points, took their first lead with 9:22 remaining on Brady’s 4-yard lob to Rob Gronkowski, who easily reached over Ronald Darby for the go-ahead touchdown. It was the second time Gronk beat Darby for a TD and it put the Pats ahead, 33-32, but the lead wouldn’t last.
“I know they have the city on fire right now,’’ safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “Our team embodies our city.’’