One reason the Eagles won Super Bowl LII was the innovative play-calling by coach Doug Pederson. And the Philly Special play he called just before halftime halftime had Twitter buzzing.
The Eagles led 15-12 against the New England Patriots late in the second quarter when Philadelphia faced a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The Eagles executed a reverse throwback from tight end Trey Burton to a wide-open quarterback Nick Foles, catching the Patriots flat-footed and giving Philadelphia a 22-12 halftime lead.
It was a “take that” moment for the Eagles, as they answered a similar play call by the Patriots earlier in the second quarter. On that gadget play, New England quarterback Tom Brady was unable to hang on to a pass from Danny Amendola.
WHAT. A. PLAY.@Eagles throw up the trick play to Nick Foles for the touchdown... ON FOURTH DOWN!
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) February 5, 2018
Incredible.#SBLII | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/FYHjhl6knX
“That was something we’d been working on,” said Foles, who was voted the game’s MVP after the Eagles’ stunning 41-33 victory. “Doug and I were talking, and I was like ‘Let’s just run it. And it was a good time.
“And the end was a little wider than I thought, so I really needed to sell like I’m not doing anything,” Foles said during the postgame news conference. “And it worked: Burton made an amazing throw right on the money. I just looked it in.”
Foles became the first player in NFL history to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the same Super Bowl game, NJ.com reported.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Foles' touchdown reception:
Tom Brady may be the best ever, but Nick Foles *caught* the ball thrown to him. For a touchdown, no less.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 5, 2018
PS I love this beautiful game they call football. ❤️
If you told me 2 months ago that Nick Foles would be catching a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl, I would have checked you into a mental institute.
— Life of a Philly Fan (@PhillyFanLife) February 5, 2018
.@TreyBurton8 has a career #SuperBowl passer rating of 118.8.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/KGTw4WBQ5v
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 5, 2018
That's Nick Foles' first career reception. And it's for a touchdown. In the Super Bowl.
— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) February 5, 2018
Two players in NFL postseason history have both a passing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same game: Marcus Mariota four weeks ago and Nick Foles today.
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) February 5, 2018
That's Nick Foles' first career reception. And it's for a touchdown. In the Super Bowl.
— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) February 5, 2018
A receiving touchdown for Nick Foles. Wow. He does it all, man. Put him back there to return a kickoff next. That would be wild
— Jon Gruden (@Faux_Gruden) February 5, 2018