Sunday, February 11, 2018

FLY LIKE AN EAGLE





On Thursday the Philadelphia Eagles celebrated their first Super Bowl championship

Yes, you read that correctly

A week ago the Eagles – an underdog in their third consecutive playoff game – upset the defending champion Patriots 41-33 in a game that set or tied many NFL records. Quarterback Nick Foles – the game’s MVP – threw for 373 yards, 3 touchdowns, and caught a touchdown pass that put the Eagles up 10 at halftime.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for 505 yards and 3 touchdowns, but a sack – the game’s only sack by either team – and forced fumble with the Patriots down 5 and 2:16 remaining in regulation gave the Eagles the ball at the Patriots 31.

Besides there only being one sack in the entire game, there was only one punt by either team. This game also set the record for most combined passing yards in any postseason game, most total yards in a game, most passing first downs by both teams in a Super Bowl, and most missed PATs in a Super Bowl.

This game was the second highest scoring Super Bowl missing tying the record set in Super Bowl XXIX when the 49ers defeated the Chargers 49-26. The Patriots set the record for most points scored by the losing team, a record that was matched by the 49ers five years ago and first set by the Cowboys in their 35-31 loss to the Steelers in Super Bowl XIII.

There was a total of 21 drives in this game, the Patriots had 11 while the Eagles had 10. The Eagles scored points on 8 of their drives while the Patriots only scored on 6.

This was an entertaining game but probably will not crack the list of top 10 Super Bowls.

Arguably the turning points in this game was the Patriots attempting a wide receiver pass from Danny Amendola to Tom Brady with 12 minutes left in the second quarter on third down, and the Eagles successfully pulling off their own with a pass from Trey Burton to Foles on fourth down with 38 seconds remaining in the half that gave Philadelphia a 22-12 lead at the half.

New England started with the ball at the beginning of the third quarter and began a series of six straight possessions that ended with scores. The Patriots ended the first drive of the second half with a touchdown pass from Brady to tight end Rob Gronkowski who was notably absent in the first half. The Eagles answered with a touchdown pass from Foles to running back Corey Clement who caught 4 passes for 100 yards and extended their lead to 10 again.

On the next possession, the Patriots capped their drive with another touchdown pass, this time a 25-yard catch to Chris Hogan who finished the game with 6 catches for 128 yards. The Eagles pushed their lead to 6 when Jake Elliott made a 42-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Another Brady to Gronkowski touchdown pass gave New England their first lead of the game. In response the Eagles drove 75 yards in 14 plays in 7:01 that was capped by a 11-yard touchdown pass from Foles to tight end Zach Ertz that put the Eagles up 38-33. The drive included the second of the Eagles fourth-down conversions with a two-yard pass from Foles to Ertz with 5:39 remaining.

But, we’ve seen this story before. The Eagles score leaving Brady and the Patriots too much time remaining; Tom methodically drives the Patriots down the field for a game winning touchdown with little time remaining, the Patriots win another Super Bowl, and Brady is named Super Bowl MVP.

Except…

Defensive end Brandon Graham forced fumble sack of Brady gives the Eagles the ball at the Patriots 31. Even though the drive ended with a Jake Elliot 46-yard field goal, the longest by a rookie in the Super Bowl, it both extended the Eagles lead to 8 and took 1:04 off the clock. The Patriots Hail Mary attempt to extend the game was knocked down and the Eagles celebrated their first NFL championship since 1960.

This game was without some controversies. Both of the Eagles 2nd half touchdown receptions were subjected to increasingly complicated interpretation of the definition of a catch. The NFL certainly needs to address this issue in the off-season.

The other was the Patriots decision to bench defensive back Malcolm Butler for the game. He was only on the field for the only punt of the game. Rumors were circulating that Butler had a lackluster practice in the leadup to the game to an undisclosed violation of the team rules. Butler is known for making the game-saving interception at the goal line against the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX three years ago. So. this is the second instance where Butler had an impact on the game’s outcome.

It is fitting that the Eagles finally won the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the Packers coach who won 5 out of 7 NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi’s Packers posted a 9-1 post-season record.

Their only playoff defeat?

A 17-13 loss in the 1960 NFL Championship Game

To the Philadelphia Eagles


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