MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nick Foles caught a pass, for a touchdown no less.
Tom Brady had one fall off his fingertips.
The difference in winning and losing? Perhaps not. Still, Foles’ Philadelphia Eagles beat Brady’s New England Patriots 41-33 in Sunday’s Super Bowl. And while the Eagles’ stunning trick play worked, the Patriots didn’t have the magic.
Near the end of the first half, Foles got Philadelphia to the New England 1. A third-down pass to Alshon Jeffery fell incomplete. Coach Doug Pederson never hesitated, as he rarely does in such situations, calling a timeout to set up the critical play.
What he came up with was sublime, if quite a bit unorthodox.
Foles lined up in the slot, while rookie Corey Clement took a direct snap. Clement pitched to tight end Trey Burton, a former quarterback at Florida. Foles slid into the right side of the end zone, uncovered.
Touchdown. Philadelphia 22, New England 12.
“Yeah, that was something we’ve been working on, and Doug and I were talking, and he was like, ‘Let’s just run it.’ It was a good time,” Foles said. “And the end was a little wider than I thought, so I was like, ‘I really need to sell like I’m not doing anything.’
“And it worked, Trey made an amazing throw. I just looked it in and, yeah, we’ve repped it for a while, so I was excited to get it run in the Super Bowl.”
Brady had the much tougher play , which came three snaps after New England lost receiver Brandin Cooks to a concussion. It was earlier in the second period and might have hit for a long gain.
From the shotgun, the 40-year-old league MVP handed to James White as the halfback ran right to left. Brady then meandered into the flat as White pitched to Danny Amendola. The wideout’s lob slipped off Brady’s outstretched hands — with no defender in sight.
“I’ve caught that in practice every time,” Brady said.
Just not in the Super Bowl.
___
For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
