Philadelphia put a dent in the New England NFL dynasty by soaring past the Patriots 41-33 in Minneapolis Sunday, snaring their first NFL Championship in merger times.
It was the third try for the Eagles that included a past Super Bowl loss to New England and was achieved mainly due to the passing arm of quarterback Nick Foles, who passed for 373 yards and three touchdowns.
Much of that yardage came on third-and-long plays that Philadelphia converted to keep drives going and the Patriots’ Tom Brady on the bench.
Brady still passed for a championship record 505 yards and threw three touchdowns himself in a performance that would have earned him another Super Bowl MVP award if New England had pulled out a win.
A late fumble by Brady in the game was a large contribution in the Philadelphia upset.
With the loss, some questions loom for the Patriots, including Brady’s future as a 41-year-old in the fast- paced, young man’s league.
New England also will lose some other stars due to retirement and replacing them will hardly be easy due to the low draft status the Patriots are under.
But Bill Belichick and staff have managed to stay at the top through free agency in the past, so an end to the New England success is anything but a given.
As for the Eagles, their biggest question is who will be next year’s starting quarterback? Will it be Foles or Carson Wentz, who was instrumental in leading the Pennsylvania team to the playoffs before an injury sidelined him and accounted for Foles entering the picture to lead the Eagles to the “promised land?”
By Joe Ferolito
sports@prioritynews.net