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What a game! The Super Bowl was everything that NFL fans could ask for in terms of back-and-forth excitement.
The New England Patriots faced a multiple-possession deficit for much of the game, but rallied in the fourth quarter to take a lead. They were looking to be the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since 2004-2005, when they did it over the Panthers and then...the Eagles. Philadelphia wasn’t having any of that this time around, winning by a score of 41-33.
Both quarterbacks were magnificent, and for awhile, Nick Foles was leading touchdown drive after touchdown drive to stay in front of Brady and the Patriots. But then, the Eagles held the Patriots to a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter, making it a 32-26 game — the first time New England had been within one possession while having the ball since the first quarter. Sure enough, Brady led another touchdown-scoring drive — a 4-yarder to TE Rob Gronkowski — to give them a 33-32 lead.
With time becoming a factor, the Eagles went for it on 4th-and-1 in their own territory with over five minutes to go in the game. They converted, keeping their hopes alive, needing just a field goal to go ahead. Foles kept threading the needle amidst pressure, showing remarkable poise to get Philadelphia in to field goal range. They got more than that — a go-ahead touchdown pass to TE Zach Ertz with just over two minutes to play, making it a 38-33 game. But they didn’t convert the two-point play, giving the Patriots a shot to rally once more.
We’re so used to Brady and the Patriots coming through in those situations, but this time, it was the Eagles who delivered, as DE Brandon Graham forced a strip sack and the Eagles recovered. All they needed was one first down to seal it, and it came down to a 3rd-and-5 after the two-minute warning. They didn’t get it, so rookie kicker Jake Elliott came out to attempt a 46-yard field goal, which he drilled to make it a 41-33 game.
Brady and the Patriots were able to get one last heave off to Gronkowski in the end zone, but about eight Eagles defenders swarmed in to knock the ball away as time expired. The Eagles are your Super Bowl Champions!