Source: Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images A dream come trueThe Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII to earn their first ever Lombardi Trophy and first NFL championship since 1960. Yes, 1960. Philadelphia's last football championship was a 17-13 victory over Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In fact, that game was the only time Vince Lombardi lost a playoff game in his nine seasons as Packers head coach. Fast forward a little over 57 years later to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Eagles are champions again. This game was a classic back-and-forth affair that ended in a Hail Mary pass and the end of the "underdog" image of the Eagles. This win silenced the critics of Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles, and it is a fitting conclusion of this remarkable season for a player who seriously considered retirement two years earlier. Source: Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today Sports from backup qb to super bowl lII mvpAs the 2017 season rolled along, no Eagles fan expected quarterback Carson Wentz to suffer a season-ending injury that placed backup Nick Foles into the starting job. But as the last pass fell incomplete, no Eagles fan could of been happier to see Foles get a Super Bowl ring. As soon as Wentz went down with a torn left ACL and LCL, mostly everyone, including myself, doubted that the Eagles could win the Super Bowl, let alone reach the NFL's Promised Land. But Foles put on a show and proved that a backup player, no matter what age or position, has to be ready when his or her time to relieve or replace the starter arrives. In Super Bowl LII, entering the game as 5.5-point underdogs to the Patriots (shocking, it's only been their battle cry), the Eagles went toe-to-toe with the defending champions and won with their heavily criticized backup quarterback. Foles played a phenomenal game with a stat line of 28/43, 373 yards, 3 TD, INT and a receiving touchdown. His counterpart, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, had a wide-open opportunity to catch a pass on the same play where Foles caught a touchdown pass on, but Brady simply dropped it. Foles earned the Most Valuable Player Award of Super Bowl LII, and deservingly so. The only questions that involve Foles now are ones about his future with the Eagles and if he would be able to fill in for Wentz that well again if Foles does not get traded from Philadelphia. But, Foles just won the Super Bowl and deserves an enjoyable offseason. Source: Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today Sports The other sideIf I were a Patriots fan, I wouldn't be grieving over this Super Bowl loss. Eagles fans have been starving for an NFL championship since 1960, and 57 years is a very, very long time to wait for another championship. The Eagles stepped up to the plate and were able to dethrone the defending champions. So, with that being said, New Englanders should not be that disappointed in this loss last night. Last season in Super Bowl LI, the Patriots unbelievably came back from a 28-3 second half deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons and earned the franchise's fifth Super Bowl title. This game might hurt a little, but if it does hurt for a while, it would be because of the Patriots's defense. For a Bill Belichick-coached team to allow 41 points and and 538 yards of offense to an opponent is mind-boggling, but to have his own offense rack up 33 points and 613 yards of offense should have been plenty of ammunition to help win that Super Bowl last night. This game basically had no defense in sight, as both teams combined for 1,151 yards of offense, the most in a single game in NFL history. As for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, he did his job and even more because his stat line says it all. It was 28/48, 505 yards, and 3 TD, and a new record for passing yards in a Super Bowl (breaking his own record of 466 yards in Super Bowl LI last year). Brady would have been a unanimous choice for the Most Valuable Player Award if the Patriots had found a way to win. Source: Creative Commons watching the gameThis year's Super Bowl was very entertaining and as I said on my first blog, it would be a treat.
However, I wished that some form of defense arrived in Minnesota for the Super Bowl because defense wins championships and a "track-meet" type of Super Bowl can be exciting yet frustrating to watch. Watching with my friends was great as well, and I hope that Super Bowl LIII in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia will be another interesting game to see. It's now the beginning of the long and arduous NFL offseason, but it will have some important events like free agency and the NFL Draft. It'll definitely be something to keep up with.
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Daniel Benitez Archives
April 2020
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