“Defense wins championships” is an old cliché in football, but maybe it is time to retire it once and for all after Super Bowl 52.
The New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles competed on the biggest stage in American sports as the Eagles won by a score of 41-33. Several offensive records were broken as the Patriots’ defense looked like it reverted to the beginning of the season, and the Eagles had trouble stopping the passing game.
In the 98 years of the NFL, no game in history had more combined yards than this year’s Super Bowl (1,151); this was led by New England Patriots’ star quarterback Tom Brady going 28-48 for a Super Bowl record of 505 yards and three touchdowns. This was largely without their No. 1 receiver Brandin Cooks, who suffered a head injury early in the second quarter.
The Patriots were unable to completely take control as Philadelphia was able to match their offense and decided before the game to be aggressive for all four quarters, something the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks were unable to do against New England in the Super Bowl.
Backup quarterback, Nick Foles, of the Philadelphia Eagles has been the head of this playoff run as the starter, Carson Wentz went down late in the regular season with a torn ACL. Foles and the rest of the Eagles adopted this underdog mentality, wearing dog masks as Las Vegas labeled them the underdogs for each of their playoff matchups after being the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Foles looked great as well as he went 28-43 with 373 yards adding four total touchdowns (three passing and one receiving) and an interception on the game. Foles was awarded the Super Bowl MVP award for his performance.
With the Patriots down five and on offens, Tom Brady was stripped of the ball by Eagles’ lineman Brandon Graham who recorded the only sack in the entire game, the most memorable play in Philadelphia sports history.
Brady is now 5-3 in the Super Bowl with this loss, but many argue that he came out looking better with his individual performance. The Eagles won their first Super Bowl and took revenge for their loss on this stage against the Patriots in 2005.
Now with the Super Bowl over, big questions arise, and there will be answers as the weeks and months of the NFL offseason barges on. Will Malcolm Butler resign with the Patriots after only playing one snap? Will the Bill Belichick continue coaching the Patriots after reported riff with ownership? Is this the end of Rob Gronkowski as an NFL player? Will Philadelphia trade Nick Foles after his performance when Carson Wentz returns? Are the Eagles going to have a “Super Bowl Hangover” next season?
