We were treated to a good old fashioned chess match. A classic contrast of styles/specialties between New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson in the Eagles 41-33 win. The all-time great defensive guru Belichick versus the second year offensive wiz kid Pederson. But let’s be honest. Who saw a combined 1,100 plus yards and 70 plus points?

The game started off with both teams using the short/intermediate pass game and traded field goals after neither could punch it in. Alshon Jeffrey then put Eric Rowe on the next segment of “You Got Moss-ed” with a 34-yard touchdown catch to put the Eagles up 9-3; the extra point was missed wide right, a common theme. The Eagles scored again after the teams exchanged possessions with a 21-yard touchdown run by ex-Patriot LeGarrette Blount, but the two-point conversion failed, making it 15-3 now. The Patriots ensuing drive was jump-started by a 46-yard gain on a screen pass from Tom Brady to Rex Burkhead. Not much happened after that and they settled for a field goal, 15-6. Jeffrey was on the verge of another highlight reel grab when he batted the ball back in the air and it was intercepted by Duron Harmon. Brady went Brady on the 90-yard touchdown drive that followed the pick. The extra point was missed, making it 15-12. However, the Eagles scored after getting the ball back with one of the greatest play calls in Super Bowl history. On 4th & Goal from the 1-yard line, Pederson called a direct snap reverse pass to quarterback Nick Foles for a touchdown. The huevos it took to call that play at that moment in time is legendary. We finally saw an extra point made for a 22-12 Eagles lead. This all took place in the first half, for goodness sake.

The second half was even more exciting. It opened with Brady leading the Pats on a 75-yard drive in which he an Rob Gronkowski hooked up for 4 catches and 68 of those yards to draw within three at 22-19. Foles wasn’t going to let Brady upstage him as he lead the Eagles on an 11 play, 85-yard drive capped off by a great 22-yard touchdown catch by running back Corey Clement.  The Pats went on yet another 75-yard touchdown drive to punch back and come back within three at 29-26. The Eagles responded with a field goal to go up 32-26. This is where we expected the Pats to take control. They answered the call with their third consecutive 75-yard touchdown drive to go up 33-32 as Gronk scored his second touchdown of the game. Pederson showed his dice-rolling style as the Eagles went for it on 4th & 1 from their own 45-yard line on the ensuing drive. They capped it off with a Zach Ertz 11-yard touchdown catch which was reviewed since the catch “didn’t survive the ground” as this year’s point of emphasis proclaimed. However, he was ruled a runner and it didn’t matter because the ball crossed the plain and now they’re up 38-33 following a failed two-point conversion. Here’s another spot for Brady to do Brady things. Unfortunately for Patriots fans, the Eagles’ stud pass rusher Brandon Graham had other plans as he strip-sacked Brady, then rookie end Derrick Barnett recovered. The Eagles used the short field, and a shade over a minute of clock, to add a field goal to go up 41-33 with 1:05 left in the game. The Eagles pass rush came out to play on the final drive as they harassed Brady into several incompletions, tough throws, and a failed Hail Mary attempt as time ran out.

Bonus Observations

-Brady threw for 505 yards because the Eagles secondary is only as good as their pass rush. When the pass rush got to Brady, they secured the Lombardi Trophy.

-I stated in my preview that the Eagles needed to harass Brady, keep the short/intermediate pass game in check, and run the ball if they had a shot at winning. They harassed Brady when it mattered most, stopped the short/intermediate routes on final drive, and totaled 164 yards on the ground.

-When Brandin Cooks went out with an apparent concussion, I think the Patriot’s gameplan was altered. He had more 20 plus yard catches this season than any Patriots player in team history, including newly elected Hall Of Famer Randy Moss. Gronk missing most of the AFC title game may have affected their play-calling, but Cooks stretches the field and is a homerun threat every time he touches the ball.

-Malcolm Butler went from Super Bowl hero three years ago to special teams bench rider in this Super Bowl. Sure Eric Rowe is a good corner, but to give up on Butler in the biggest game of the year was odd. He will most likely leave via free agency. Foles threw for 373 yards. I’m not saying he would have dramatically cut that number, but with the amount of man to man defense the Pats played, they could’ve used one of their best man cover guys.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. People asked me for the last two weeks who do I think will win or who do I want to win. I’d respond by pointing to my preview article and saying all I want is a good game. Prisoners of the moment will call this one of the best Super Bowls ever. Let them have it because this was in fact one of the best.