Getty Nick Foles and the Eagles are moving on.
Welcome to history, Nick Foles. It was the trick play no one saw coming and the one everyone will be talking about. For a long, long time. Go ahead, scroll back up and watch it again.
We won’t judge you.
Let’s break all it down while we take a breather and let the Eagles‘ 22-12 halftime lead sink in. Oh and, just for the record, it was the first time a quarterback had ever caught a touchdown and thrown for one in the same Super Bowl.
Not bad for the backup, huh?
Doug Pederson explained the decision, telling Michelle Tafoya before the break:
We had just gone all the way down the field and I wasn’t going to stop. It’s a play we’ve been working the last couple of weeks and our guys executed brilliantly….We’ve got 30 minutes of football. We’ve got to refuel and recharge and play for another 30 minutes.
It was, unsurprisingly, Foles’ first career reception as a pro and a cap on a dominant first half. The backup QB no one expected to be in the Super Bowl racked up over 200 passing yards in the first two quarters of play, including a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery.
The touchdown catch, on fourth down no less, changed the momentum of the first half and, effectively set the Patriots defense back on its collective heels.
And it was Foles’ route-running ability that proved the difference-maker on the play in the waning moments of the first half. Check out this crowd reaction in Minnesota:
Trey Burton, who Sports Illustrated called ‘Super Bowl 52’s Most Unlikely Hero’ just a few days before the big game, tossed the game-changing pass. He signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and the tight end actually has plenty of experience under center. Burton was a quarterback in high school and played a handful of positions during his college career at Florida including, you guessed it, quarterback.
In fact, Burton broke Tim Tebow’s team record for touchdowns in a single game with six in 2010.
This season, however, Burton didn’t attempt a single pass until the moment in the Super Bowl. Instead, he hauled in 23 receptions for 248 yards and five touchdowns. Something tells us his sixth touchdown of the season might have been his favorite.
Of course, there’ll be plenty of fans – from every corner of the NFL – who’ll be quick to point out that Foles caught a pass when Tom Brady couldn’t. It wouldn’t have been a touchdown, but the dropped pass stalled a New England drive and kept the squad from putting points on the board. Check out the Patriots attempt at trickery earlier in the game:
There’s still plenty of game left, though, so no matter who you’re rooting for, make sure you refill those snack trays, grab another drink and get back onto the couch. You’re not going to want to miss a moment. Because, in this game, you never know when a quarterback that’s been the punchline in jokes for the last two weeks will haul in a touchdown pass.