Philadelphia Eagles Dethrone Defending Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl 52
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2018
The Philadephia Eagles dethroned the defending Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots 41-33 in the NFL’s Super Bowl 52 held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday, February 4, 2018.
The underdog Eagles led by reserve quarterback Nick Foles outgunned the heavily favored Patriots while the Eagles defense led by defensive tackle Brandon Graham held on in the fourth quarter stopping two Patriots possessions from scoring, including a stripped fumble caused by Graham and recovered by Eagles rookie defensive end Derek Barnett late in the fourth quarter ending in an Eagles field goal to extend their lead by eight points with a little over a minute of play.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady come from behind magic fell short in an incomplete Hail Mary Pass at the Eagles end zone as time expired to end the game.
The Eagles offense also made critical plays that that helped them win the game, including a one yard trick pass touchdown play from tight end Trey Burton to quarterback Nick Foles on a fourth and one down at the Patriots one yard line with only 34 seconds remaining in the second quarter to extend the Eagles lead 22-12 at Halftime.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles completed 28 of 43 pass attempts for 373 yards and three touchdowns with one interception to lead the Eagles over the Patriots in the win. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed 28 of 48 pass attempts for 505 yards, a new record for a Super Bowl and NFL playoff record, in the loss.
The Patriots rallied in the fourth quarter to take a brief and first lead in the game with 9:22 minutes remaining on a four yard touchdown pass to Tight End Rob Gronkowski from quarterback Tom Brady with only 9:22 minutes remaining in the game and the point after attempt was good to give the Patriots their only lead in the game 33-32.
The never say die Eagles roared back in their next possession marching 75 yards on 14 plays to score on a four yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Foles to tight end Zach Ertz to regain the lead 38-33 with 2:21 minutes remaining as the two point conversion failed. This touchdown pass proved to be the winning play of the game as the Eagles defense found a second wind to deny the traditional come from behind Tom Brady and the Patriots on their final two possessions to preserve the Super Bowl 52 Champonship. The Eagles later added a field goal to extend their lead 41 – 33 as the Eagles defense forced a strip fumble recovery and shut down Tom Brady’s Hail Mary pass attempt as time expired.
The Eagles win their first Super Bowl Championship and now bring the Lombardi Championship Trophy to the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, in a thrilling Super Bowl 52 Championship game.
