The New England Patriots were able to hold off the Philadelphia Eagles in a thrilling Super Bowl LII rematch on Sunday, defeating the Eagles 17-10 in a defensive battle that featured another game-defining trick play, this time going in the Patriots favor.
On a third-and-11 at the Eagles' 15-yard line with 10:55 to play in the third quarter, wide receiver Julian Edelman (a former quarterback at Kent State) threw a touchdown pass to Phillip Dorsett to give the Patriots their first lead of the game, and the subsequent successful two-point attempt pushed the margin to 17-10. New England would never relinquish that lead, holding off a dormant Eagles offense that was missing Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Howard.
The Eagles didn't do much on offense after taking a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter. That included a stretch where they had 18 plays for 22 yards on their five possessions after Dallas Goedert scored their first touchdown of the game (Philadelphia finished with 255 yards of offense). To add insult to injury, Philadelphia lost Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson in the second quarter with a concussion. Without Johnson, the offense wasn't the same, as quarterback Carson Wentz was sacked a total of five times.
Philadelphia still had an opportunity to win the game, driving to New England's 26-yard line before a fourth-and-10 heave by Wentz went in and out of the hands of Nelson Agholor in the end zone. The catch was a tough one to make, but Agholor had a step on the defender, and the score would have pulled the Eagles within one with 1:05 left and the extra point pending.
Tom Brady wasn't at his best, but the Patriots have found ways to win without their quarterback playing at a Hall of Fame level. New England did struggle in the red zone and averaged just 4.2 yards per play, but Edelman's pass ended up being the difference in a game that needed a trick play to get any offense going. Brady finished 26 of 47 for 216 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions on a windy day in Philadelphia.
Here's what you need to know about the Super Bowl LII rematch, one the Patriots were able to get revenge on the Eagles in beating Philadelphia for the first time since 2011.
The Patriots had the No. 1 defense in the NFL and fully took advantage of a depleted Eagles offense after spotting them 10 points in the first 17:24. After New England allowed a 16-play, 95-yard drive that took 9:33 off the clock and resulted in a Goedert touchdown, the Patriots held the Eagles to 152 yards and 3.45 yards per play. The Eagles were held to 19 plays for 22 yards in the six possessions after the touchdown, which was enough to allow the Patriots to erase a 10-0 deficit and score 17 unanswered points. The defense held the Eagles to 10 points, 3 of 13 on third down attempts and 3.9 yards per play, while sacking Wentz five times. It's the top-ranked defense in the league for a reason.
The Eagles were behind the 8 ball with Jeffery and Howard out, then Johnson and left tackle Jason Peters left the game, then running back Miles Sanders missing nearly half of the fourth quarter with an injury, but this one was lost when head coach Doug Pederson abandoned the game plan. The Eagles averaged 4.8 yards per carry in the first half and scored 10 points early, but Pederson decided to get pass happy with a wide receiver unit that had six catches for 75 yards. Total. The Eagles ran the ball just twice in the first half after the Goedert touchdown, averaging four yards per carry, and just seven times for 18 yards in the second half. Just nine running plays to 34 pass plays after the touchdown, against a defense that allowed 5.6 yards per carry over the last six games. Unacceptable.
The Eagles offense was moving the ball well on two of their first three possessions, but injuries did play a role in their offensive inefficiency. One player the Eagles couldn't afford to lose was right tackle Lane Johnson, who left the game with a head injury in the second quarter. Halapoulivaati Vaitai (who was the starting left tackle for the Eagles during their Super Bowl run) entered the game and did not perform well in relief, as Wentz did not have enough time to get rid of the ball with immense pressure from the right side. Wentz wasn't good in this game, but losing both his tackles in addition to all the other injuries the offense endured was a recipe for disaster.
The Patriots won a game on a trick play that ended up being the winning score. New England went 1 of 3 in the red zone, but the lone touchdown was one of Bill Belichick's best play calls of the year. Against an excellent Eagles defense on this day, Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had Brady throw a backwards pass to Edelman that allowed the former college quarterback to throw. Edelman had enough time to get rid of the ball before taking a punishing hit by Malcolm Jenkins, finding a wide open Dorsett in the end zone for the touchdown to give the Patriots their first lead of the game (and the lead for good).
The Patriots got Jenkins to bite on the backwards pass, allowing Dorsett to get open and throw the touchdown, which was the sole purpose of the play. Running that play after "Philly Special" defined the Eagles' Super Bowl win? Call it irony, call it karma, call it whatever you'd like, but it was the play that ended up deciding the game.
"Yeah, he was crying. He did that on film a lot. If you get into him, he don't get the ball, or if he don't get a call, he'll cry. But, he's a good receiver. He's a good tight end." -- Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore on Eagles tight end Zach Ertz
Ertz was targeted 11 times in this game, securing nine catches for 94 yards. Those are still interesting words by Gilmore, who had the responsibility of covering Ertz at times throughout the game with the Eagles using Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins and JJ Arcega-Whiteside as their top wide receivers in the game. Ertz is a challenge for Gilmore, but he wouldn't be on him as much if the Eagles have better (and healthier) wide receivers. Gilmore is still one of (if not) the best cover corners in the league.
The Patriots return to Foxborough for a showdown with the Dallas Cowboys (6-4), their second consecutive game against a NFC East team. New England is 3-0 against the NFC East this season. The Eagles play the final of three consecutive home games against the Seattle Seahawks (8-2), their lone matchup against the NFC West this season.
The Hail Mary was well short and that will do it. Patriots score the final 17 for a 17-10 victory in a game they dominated after the Eagles took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. They go to 9-1. Eagles fall to 5-5. Stay tuned for takeaways on this game shortly. Thanks for tuning in everyone! Pleasure discussing this game with you!!!
Eagles will get a Hail Mary chance. From around the same spot Brady did in Super Bowl 52.
With 16 seconds to go.
Catch and "drop" by Goedert. Picked off by the Patriots. That will be unnecessary roughness so Eagles will have to go 79 yards for the tying score.
Carson Wentz missed two open receivers on back-to-back plays
Eagles have all three timeouts left. 1:15 left.
Wentz goes back to Agholor on a 3rd-and-10 cross. Eagles in business.
Pass deflected there, but Nelson Agholor was open by a mile. Easy first down.
Holy moly Carson Wentz. There's the arm strength while he rolls to his left. Incredible
There's Michel. Pats using him on most crucial drive of the game.
Matthews had contact there, but he has to make that play.
Almost like he hasn't been in the league for a month. Really liked that throw by Wentz
Zach Ertz has been targeted 8 times.
8 catches, 73 yards.
Eagles down 7. Wentz maybe just needs to go to the tight ends.
That should be OPI on Edelman, Dangerous way to break up a pass.
Bad penalty by the patriots, but it was obvious. Got a hook in there
Nelson Agholor dropped a 3rd-and-2 pass over the middle. Just bad.
Sanders is back in the game.
Miles Sanders is in the medical tent too Eagles fans. Not good.
Did the Patriots just abandon Sony Michel? Haven't seen him at all in the second half.
Eagles offense has 18 plays for 22 yards since the TD
