Super Bowl LII: Philadelphia Eagles Win First Super Bowl Title

The Philadelphia Eagles ended the third-longest championship drought in NFL history, beating the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII on Sunday night in Minneapolis.

“For Eagles fans everywhere, this is for them,” said Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.

Underdogs in all three of their postseason games, the Eagles were led by the ultimate underdog in quarterback Nick Foles. He started the season as the team’s backup and finished as Super Bowl MVP.

“We have such a great group of guys, such a great coaching staff. We felt confident coming in and we just went out there and played football,” Foles told NBC’s Dan Patrick immediately after the win.

“We’ve played this game since we were little kids. We’ve dreamed about this moment. There’s plenty of kids watching this game right now dreaming about this moment that someday will be here. To be here with my daughter, my wife, my family, my teammates, this city, I’m very blessed.”

Foles completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns. He also became the first quarterback to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. His 1-yard reception from Trey Burton gave the Eagles a 22-12 halftime lead.

John Elway and Jim Kelly are the only other quarterbacks to catch a pass in the Super Bowl.

The Eagles led 29-19 in the third quarter when Tom Brady rallied the Patriots for the third consecutive game in this postseason. His 4-yard touchdown pass to Ron Gronkowski gave the Patriots a 33-32 lead with 9:22 remaining in the game.

The Patriots also trailed before coming back to win their previous two playoff games. This time, however, Brady and the Patriots fell short.

Foles led the Eagles on a 14-play, 75-yard drive to retake a 38-33 lead culminating with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz with 2:21 remaining.

Brandon Graham forced Brady to fumble on the Patriots’ next possession, leading to a field goal for a 41-33 Philadelphia lead.

When Brady’s Hail Mary pass fell incomplete in the end zone on the game’s final play, the Eagles had their first Super Bowl championship in three tries — and Brady his third Super Bowl loss.

“Losing sucks,” said Brady, who was named the NFL’s MVP on Saturday. “It does suck.”

The Eagles last won the NFL championship in 1960, beating the Green Bay Packers 17-13, seven years before the first Super Bowl between the NFL and AFL champions. It was the only title game loss for Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named.

Philadelphia had the third-longest championship drought in NFL history, behind the Cardinals (1947) and Lions (1957).

Sunday’s game was a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX on Feb. 6, 2005, in Jacksonville, Florida. The Patriots beat the Eagles 24-21 for their third Super Bowl title in four years, joining the Dallas Cowboys as the only teams to achieve the milestone.

The Patriots, winners in two of the three previous Super Bowls, were trying to duplicate the feat against the Eagles again. They were also going for their sixth Super Bowl title, which would have tied the Pittsburgh Steelers for most in NFL history.

Instead, in the franchise’s 10th Super Bowl, the Patriots tied the Denver Broncos for most Super Bowl losses with five.

They also fell to 5-3 in Super Bowls with Brady and head coach Bill Belichick.

“In the end, we just couldn’t quite make enough plays, and that was all on me,” Belichick said.