Super Bowl 2018 Score: Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown of Eagles vs. Patriots

It came down to one last play, and the ball was in Tom Brady's hands.

If the New England quarterback could throw a Hail Mary pass for a touchdown and the Pats could follow it up with a two-point conversion, Super Bowl LII would go into overtime.

However, there would be no such play for the Patriots. Instead, the Philadelphia Eagles surrounded tight end Rob Gronkowski and knocked the ball to the ground. That gave the long-suffering team a 41-33 win and the franchise's first victory ever in the NFL's biggest game.

It was Philadelphia's first championship victory since 1960 when the Eagles beat Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers 17-13 in the NFL Championship Game. Now the Eagles own the trophy that bears Lombardi's name.

The Eagles dictated the pace of the game from the start. They took a 9-3 lead at the end of the first quarter as Jake Elliott of the Eagles and Stephen Gostkowski of the Pats matched field goals before Alshon Jeffery caught a 34-yard scoring pass from Nick Foles, the eventual Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Elliott's point after was wide right, and the Eagles had a six-point lead after 15 minutes.

LeGarrette Blount scored on a 21-yard run in the second quarter to extend the lead to 15-3, but the Patriots responded with another Gostkowski field goal and a 26-yard touchdown run by James White. That narrowed the Philadelphia advantage to 15-12, but the Eagles pushed the lead to 22-12 by halftime. They scored on a one-yard pass from tight end Trey Burton to Foles with 34 seconds left.

In addition to extending the lead, that scoring play gave the Eagles something of a psychological edge. The Patriots had also tried a pass to their quarterback with Danny Amendola throwing to Brady, but the 40-year-old quarterback could not hang on to the pass.

The Patriots opened the third quarter with a Brady to Gronkowski TD pass, but the Eagles responded with a Foles scoring pass to rookie Corey Clement. Still, the Patriots were right back in the game by the end of the third quarter, as Brady threw a 26-yard TD pass to Chris Hogan.

Philadelphia had a 29-26 lead after three quarters, but the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl is supposed to belong to Brady and the Patriots. Foles would not let that happen, though there was quite a bit of drama to unfold.

After an Elliott 42-yard field goal extended the lead to 32-26, Brady threw another touchdown pass to Gronkowski and the Patriots had a 33-32 lead after the extra point.

The Eagles could have succumbed at that point, but Foles led the Eagles to the go-ahead drive that culminated when the quarterback hit Zach Ertz with an 11-yard TD pass.

Ertz took two steps after catching the ball, and as he dove for the end zone, he appeared to cross the goal line before hitting the ground. The ball popped up, Ertz recovered and the officials ruled it a touchdown. The call was confirmed upon review, but the Eagles failed to convert a two-point conversion.

The Pats had a chance to regain the lead, as the Ertz touchdown came with 2:21 remaining. After a Brady-to-Gronkowski first-down catch, Eagle pass-rusher Brandon Graham forced a Brady fumble and rookie Derek Barnett recovered.

The Eagles were unable to convert a first down, but Elliott added another field and the Eagles had a 41-33 lead.

The Patriots still had life, but they were gasping on the gurney. Brady was able to drive his team near midfield, and the Pats had one last play.

However, the Hail Mary prayer was not answered, and the Eagles had the first Super Bowl title in franchise history and the fans in their home city began a massive celebration.