On February 4, 2018, the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, squared off against the most unexpected team to make it to the big game - the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots got to the Super Bowl off of the sheer dominance of the NFL’s MVP quarterback Tom Brady, defeating the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round 35-14 and the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20. The underdog Eagles, on the other hand, got to the Super Bowl by playing a stifling defense, despite the loss of breakout quarterback, Carson Wentz. They defeated the defending NFC champion, the Atlanta Falcons, 15-10 in the divisional round and crushed the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 in the NFC championship game.
Before the game, many believed that the Eagles defense would have to carry the team with backup quarterback, Nick Foles, leading the team’s offensive attack, but this was not the case. It was an electrifying offensive game from the start, with both teams moving the ball effortlessly against the opposing defense. After trading field goals, the Eagles struck first with a beautiful 34-yard pass to a leaping Alshon Jeffery and a 21-yard touchdown run by former Patriot running back LeGarrette Blount. The Patriots, however, calmly responded by stopping the Eagles’ ensuing two-point conversion, converting a field goal on their next drive, making a great interception on Nick Foles and scoring their first touchdown of the game off of a bruising 26-yard run by running back James White. Right before the end of the first half, the Eagles answered this by driving the ball down to the red zone and using a trick play in which the Foles became a receiver to score a touchdown on 4th and goal, giving the Eagles a 22-12 lead by halftime.
The Patriots came out in the second half on fire. Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots’ star tight end, who had thus far been held to one catch, suddenly roared to life, catching the first touchdown of the second half. After a touchdown pass from Foles to running back, Corey Clement, the Patriots scored another touchdown off of a 26-yard toss from Brady to Chris Hogan. They then held the Eagles to a field goal and used the trusty Brady-Gronkowski connection to take a 33-32 lead.
The Eagles, however, would not let this steal their momentum. They scored another touchdown—this time from Foles to tight end Zach Ertz, which gave the Eagles a 38-33 lead with 2:21 remaining.
At this point, the Eagles’ defensive line, which had been rather unsuccessful in putting pressure on Brady in the pocket, finally stepped up to their roles and stripped Brady to recover a clutch fumble. This allowed the Eagles to set up a field goal by their rookie kicker, Jake Elliot, to secure a bigger lead of 41-33.
Brady, however, was ready to leave without a fight. With a minute left and zero timeouts available, he frantically moved the ball up to midfield. However, in his last-second desperation heave toward the goal, his pass fell incomplete, giving the underdog Philadelphia Eagles their first Super Bowl win in franchise history.
Comments from Southern students about Super Bowl LII
“After going 7-9 the year before and losing an MVP-caliber quarterback, our best running back and our middle linebacker, the only thing I heard was that the Eagles couldn't win a playoff game. But both the Eagles and I as a fan, never gave up hope, and it really paid off.” – Nathan Batres, Sophomore, Biology Major
“Here’s to our first. Fly, Eagles, fly.” –Emily Dee, Freshman, Business Administration Major
“This Super Bowl was predictable. The dynasty was bound to fall. After battling many injuries and the consistent murmuring surrounding possible retirement, Brady did not seem to be competing at the level which is characteristic of his style of play.” –Skyler Humphrey-Davis, Sophomore, Finance Major
“I didn’t think I would be that into the game because I didn’t like either of the teams, but it was such a good game that I couldn’t leave at halftime to study like I had planned.” -Alex Nelson, Senior, International Studies Major
“I was surprised that Foles was able to lead the team to victory on such a big stage despite being the Eagles’ backup quarterback. It was a good game, and I’ll miss football season.”- Alex Bahn, Junior, Chemistry Major
“I thought it was a great game by both teams. Despite all the scoring, one defense came up clutch while the other never showed up, and that's why the Eagles won”- Jake Tsai, Sophomore, Biology Major
“I'm not a real Eagles fan. More of a Patriots hater. My goal for this Super Bowl was to see Brady lose, but... It was awesome to see the Eagles make history with their first ever Super Bowl win. I can't stop smiling knowing that Brady took an L.” – Romel Juba, Senior, Nursing Student
"I’m not really that into football, but now I'm kinda into football. Awesome game."- Jorald Feliciano, Junior, Biology Major
“It was a crazy game. Couldn’t believe how many injuries there were… Well, then again, this is tackle football.” -Marcus Abejar, Freshman, Finance Major