The Philadelphia Eagles took home their first ever Super Bowl win on Sunday 4 February at the US Bank Stadium in Minnesota. In just their second appearance at a Super Bowl they beat five-time champions the New England Patriots 41-33 in one of the most spectacular Super Bowl finals in history with dozens of records being shattered.
The Eagles thrashed the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Final two weeks earlier displaying their razor sharp to the edge style of play. Despite this they still went in to Sunday’s match as underdogs but managed to gain the first points and touchdown of the game with wide receiver Alshon Jeffery leaping majestically to catch and score the first seven-pointer in Minnesota.
As half-time approached it appeared the two teams looked evenly matched, and you can't underestimate a comeback from the Bill Belichick Patriots. It was however Nick Foles' final touchdown of the second quarter that reasserted the hunger the Eagles had for victory with a catch that could have looked just as comfortable in the NBA as it did in the NFL. The Eagles lead 22-12 at the end of the first half of play, as the Atlanta Falcons found out in Super Bowl 51 the Patriots could easily destroy that lead in the second half with the right offensive play.
Nick Foles, the Eagles quarterback, shone through all four quarters of the game delivering nothing short of a magnificent display for the 100 million strong domestic TV audience and denying Tom Brady a record-setting sixth Super Bowl trophy.
Belichicks Patriots have a knack of making up deficits in Super Bowl finals and in the fourth quarter looked as if they might do so, however they were halted by a final Eagles field goal which left less than a minute on the clock.
It was by no means a poor showing from the Patriots with Brady, who turns 41 this year, in particular providing several outstanding moments of play.
The Patriots ended the game with more points on the scoreboard than any losing team in Super Bowl history, but it still wasn’t enough to keep the Philadelphia Eagles from taking the Vince Lombardi Trophy home to Pennsylvania for the very first time.