So, there I am. I switch between nervously sitting in a hard chair and pacing around my dorm. Tom Brady had the ball late in the game with a chance to win another Super Bowl. It’s going to happen. It had to happen. Then I saw the ball exit Brady’s hand right into the waiting arms of Derek Barnett. I simply stood up, looked at my father who I was FaceTiming at the time, and I simply said one, single, solitary word: “Unbelievable.” That word is also how I would describe the entirety of Super Bowl LII.

If you were paying attention the to the Eagles’ first drive of the game, you knew what the result of the game would eventually be. Nick Foles threw a pass that Torrey Smith caught… on his helmet. Sound familiar? Granted the David Tyree catch was late in the fourth quarter, and the catch was made on the game-winning drive. Just the same, this catch set the tone for the game if only symbolically.

If you had any worry about the ability of Foles, those worries were extinguished on that opening drive. For lack of a better phrase, Foles absolutely cut it loose in this game much like he did in the NFC Championship game. This touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffrey was merely a microcosm of Foles’ complete lack of fear.

You know who else had no fear? Doug Pederson. How many coaches call a trick play (eerily similar to what Oklahoma called in the Rose Bowl this year) on 4th and goal against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick?

That play, to my ultimate dismay, will be the lasting play of this game. It was the best example of Pederson’s and Foles’ complete lack of fear. That is not something you see often against the Patriots.

Take the AFC Championship game for example, the Jaguars completely changed their defensive scheme simply because they were afraid of the Patriots exposing their original defensive packages. This is explained brilliantly in this YouTube video:

Of course, I don’t know for sure if the Eagles took note of this fear during their game planning, but they did the one thing that you absolutely must do to knock off the Patriots. They played to win. So simple yet so tough to execute. Lesser coaches do not make the calls that Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich made.

This game came down to one situation that the Patriots defense absolutely could not execute on: third down. Pats Pulpit writer Rich Hill put out this tweet about the Patriots’ inability to stop the Eagles on third down:

Eagles converted: 3-4

3-12

3-7

3-4

3-3

4-1

3-6

3-1

3-6

3-6

4-1

3-7 Six needed 4 or fewer yards.

Six needed 6 or more yards. Patriots couldn't stop on short or long. — Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) February 5, 2018

That was the whole game right there. If the Pats make even one or two stops on third down, they could very well be back-to-back champions.

The defense (and that’s using the term extremely loosely) of the Patriots lost that game. The offense did their job. In fact, Brady and company were outstanding. He broke his own Super Bowl record for passing yards in a game with 505 yards through the air. Those yards came against the league’s 4th ranked defense overall. The Patriots as a team had 613 total yards. These are college football numbers. This is the first Super Bowl that a team has had three 100-yard receivers (Hogan, Amendola, and Gronkowski).

The Pats’ offense did more than enough to win the game, the defense didn’t show up. It didn’t help that Malcolm Butler was inexplicably benched for this game. There are multiple stories flying around about why Butler didn’t play, but none of that matters because he simply wasn’t out there to help the defense. That decision didn’t singlehandedly lose the game for the Patriots, but it certainly didn’t help.

How did I feel about this game? As a Pats fan, I had feared that this would be the result. In my heart of hearts, I knew that this defense was never good enough to win a Super Bowl. When Brady fumbled the ball, I had accepted what I already knew was coming. The Eagles controlled and dominated the game. I had come to grips with the fact that the Patriots weren’t going to get it done on that day. However, unlike most Patriots games I watched, there was no screaming, throwing of hats, or swearing. That could be chalked up to the fact that I was watching the game with my friend and his girlfriend, and I didn’t want to ruin their watching experience with my antics. I think it’s because I realized that I had no reason to be upset. I’ve seen my team win five championships. I’m good. No Eagles fan has ever seen their team bring home the Lombardi Trophy. Ever. Based on what I saw on social media in the immediate aftermath of the game, this meant a lot to a lot of people. It meant a lot to real people. Sons. Fathers. Grandfathers. Seeing that warmed my heart. I couldn’t be mad about the result or at the fans. The Eagles and their fans deserved this win. They earned this win. Congrats to the Eagles. As for the Patriots, they will be back like they always are.

Note: In the likely event that the videos from Super Bowl LII are blocked, feel free to watch them on YouTube.com if you so desire.

Film Room video credited to Brett Kollmann.