By Tommy Kane

Written: February 5th, 2018

Published: February 6th, 2018

Volume I: Issue IX

The Philadelphia Eagles have won their first ever Super Bowl on Sunday by beating the defending Champions, the New England Patriots, by a score of 41-33. This is a huge milestone for the Eagles franchise and Philadelphia sports as a whole, as it helps remedy some of the droughts that the city has had. Back-up quarterback, Nick Foles, stepped up late in the season and never looked back. He is only the eighth back-up quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl the year that he had to step up to the plate. The last quarterback to do so was Tom Brady in 2001. Foles went on to win MVP for Super Bowl LII and is an iconic player who will always be remembered in Philadelphia. So, if you missed the Super Bowl, let’s catch you up.

Offense, Offense, Offense:

Yes, this years Super Bowl was full of offense. Records were broken and it was clear that Nick Foles was able to keep up with Tom Brady. To start, the game broke a Super Bowl record in the middle of the third quarter, with eventually a record-shattering 1,151 total yards between the two teams. The score was very high too, as it was a 41-33 win for the Eagles. Tom Brady threw for 505 yards and three touchdowns, ending with a passer rating of 115.4. Brady broke his own record in passing yards in a Super Bowl. Nick Foles on the other hand threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, ending with a passer rating of 106.1. Foles is the only quarterback to have a passer rating average of over 100 in his first four postseason starts. He also broke a Super Bowl record for being the first QB to receive a touchdown (and BTW, Tom Brady dropped an open pass). The game went back and forth most of the way, with the Pats attempting to come back in the second half by scoring three touchdowns on their first three drives. The Eagles ran out of the gate and just started to put up points. The Eagles responded in the second half by scoring on most of their drives, which was enough to win. Offensively, one can argue that Foles out-played Brady.

Defense Wins Super Bowls:

The Patriots got a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter to make it a 32-33 game. The Eagles went down the field, and Nick Foles threw a great touchdown pass to Zach Ertz. As Brady and the Pats got the ball back, the score was 38-33. During the drive, the first sack of the game occurred, and Brandon Graham stripped the ball away from Brady and it was recovered by rookie sensation Derek Barnett. This gave the Eagle prime opportunity to win the game: and of course they did! Jake Elliot kicked a field goal to make it by eight points. Tom Brady had another shot, but couldn’t complete the Hail Mary as Aaron Rodgers laughed. The Eagles finally won their first ever Super Bowl! The defense might have given up a ton of yardage, but that sacked and strip can be argued as the game-winner!

Notable Notes and Records:

As you may already know, Super Bowl LII had a lot of offense, a lot of broken records, and a lot of controversial calls. To start, 17 records were broken and 12 were tied in just that game. Donnie Jones only punted the ball once in the game for the Eagles. That was the least amount of times a punt occurred. Below are a list of records that were broken in Super Bowl LII (Courtesy of CBS):

Most Games — 8, Tom Brady

Most Games, Head Coach — 8, Bill Belichick

Most Passes, Career — 357, Tom Brady

Most Completions, Career — 235, Tom Brady

Most Passing Yards, Career — 2,576, Tom Brady

Most Passing Yards, Game — 505, Tom Brady

Most Touchdown Passes, Career — 18, Tom Brady

Most Games, Team — 10, New England

Most Points, Game, Losing Team — 33, New England

Most First Downs Passing, Game, Both Teams — 42

Most Total Yards, Game, Team — 613, New England

Most Total Yards, Game, Both Teams — 1,151

Most Passing Yards, Game, Team — 500, New England

Most Passing Yards, Game, Both Teams — 874

Fewest Punts, Game, Team — 0, New England

Fewest Punts, Game, Both Teams — 1

Most Missed PAT Conversions, Game, Both Teams — 4

These are some of the records (some were also mentioned earlier in the article).

Future for the Eagles:

The Eagles have finally done the deed and have won a Super Bowl! Nick Foles came back all the way from 2013 and played the same way. Many Eagles fans probably would have never thought he would come back and win the Super Bowl for Philly! I myself am very happy about how the Eagles held onto the game and defeated one of the best dynasties in NFL history. The future is uncertain for Foles, as Wentz is set to take the field on week one. Will Foles be traded to a different team? Will he stay on Philadelphia as a back-up? Will he start for Philly? Will he retire? The list goes on and on. All I care about is that he finally won the Lombardi Trophy for this franchise (prediction correct) and did it in great fashion (he wasn’t ugly). The Eagles could possibly be looking to become the next dynasty; they have a high-flying offense and a great defense to go along. Will the Eagles have a dynasty like New England has now? Only time will tell!

Happy to say I predicted the Eagles winning the Super Bowl at the beginning of the season, due to all the potential both the offense and the defense had. I also finished with an 8-4 playoff record this year.

Stats: The “Score” App

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tom-brady-tops-super-bowl-passing-mark-all-17-records-broken-in-eagles-patriots/