Super Bowl 2018 Highlights: Examining Pivotal Moments from Eagles vs. Patriots

The Philadelphia Eagles had to endure a cold-sweat-inducing final possession, but they stopped Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and refused to fall victim to a last-second Hail Mary to give the long-suffering franchise its first Super Bowl title.

The Eagles prevailed with a 41-33 victory, as the team brought home its first NFL championship since 1960, when they beat the Vince Lombardi-coached Green Bay Packers 17-13.

When asked by NBC's Dan Patrick what the Eagles' victory in Super Bowl LII meant, owner Jeffrey Lurie was succinct during the postgame celebration: "If there's a word called 'everything,' that's what it means."

The most pivotal moment of the game came on New England's fourth possession of the second half when Brady tried to lead the Patriots to one more comeback.

After a first-down pass to Rob Gronkowski, the Eagles finally got to Brady. Brandon Graham applied the heat up the middle and forced a fumble. Rookie Derek Barnett recovered to give the Eagles possession and seemingly control of the game.

The Eagles went three-and-out, but rookie PK Jake Elliott blasted home a 46-yard field goal with 1:05 remaining to give Philadelphia a 41-33 advantage.

The ball went back to Brady, and he attempted to work his magic once again—a touchdown and a two-point conversion would send the game into overtime.

A short kickoff return gave the Patriots the ball at the nine-yard line. Despite a fourth-down conversion, and driving the ball to midfield, the Pats were unable to connect on a Brady-to-Gronkowski pass near the goal line as the game ended.

"When that ball went up in the air, the only thing I wanted to see was the ball hit the ground," Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said on the NBC postgame broadcast.

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Nick Foles succeeded on the biggest stage of his career. The backup quarterback, who stepped into the starting lineup when Carson Wentz suffered an ACL injury in Week 14, had a brilliant game.

Foles threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, including a fourth-quarter scoring pass to tight end Zach Ertz that gave the Eagles the late 38-33 lead.

That play was quite controversial, as Ertz caught the ball, took two strides and dove for the end zone. However, after he crossed the goal line, the ball hit the ground, popped up in the air and Ertz retained possession.

After the review, the touchdown call was confirmed, and Graham forced the Brady fumble before Barnett came up with it on the following possession.

The Eagles got the best of the Patriots at their own game in the final minute of the first half. After they were stopped on a third-down play from the New England 1-yard line, it appeared Philadelphia would settle for an Elliott field goal. 

Instead, Pederson chose to go for it, and Trey Burton took a pitch while Foles slipped out of the backfield. The quarterback caught the easy flip for the touchdown, and after the extra point, the Eagles went up by 10 points.

Since the Patriots had failed on an earlier pass from Danny Amendola to Brady, the Eagles had gained a key emotional edge—as well as a 22-12 lead—prior to the half.

Brady had a record-setting game in defeat. He threw for 505 yards and three touchdowns, but he fell short of leading his team to the title that would have allowed the Patriots to tie the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins ever.

Brady threw for the most passing yards in Super Bowl history.