The beer flowed and wine spilled when Tom Brady threw a desperation pass that fell incomplete and when the spectators at US Bank Stadium looked and saw no time left on the clock they knew the Eagles had won Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots, 41-33. This was the team’s first Super Bowl win in three tries and if their fans were disappointed after the first two, the Eagles paid them back immeasurably beating a team that is an NFL dynasty.

Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery made an over-the-shoulder catch Willie Mays would be proud of.  Nick Foles was the Super Bowl’s MVP and scored a touchdown on a trick play that will be discussed ad infinitum for years. Foles was almost retired from football two years but has since been rejuvenated by his faith in God and the emotional support of his family.Throw in a strip sack from their defense and you have a contest that was a nail-biter right from the opening kickoff to that final pass from Brady – the hero of countless Super Bowl victories and the Patriots heart and soul.

The Eagles didn’t need to be told what they were up against in the New England Patriots. First off, Brady is a sure-fire first ballot Hall-of-Famer and has a ticket to Canton waiting for him once he is eligible for induction. But there is also their head coach, Bill Belichick, who has become the master of using psychology to motivate his team.

The game was a rematch and the first time the two teams played the Patriots won 24-21, 13 years in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville. Before the game, Belichick told his team the city of Philadelphia made plans for a parade should the Eagles win. It was just the extra motivation the Patriots needed.

But the way the Eagles played this time, all that extra motivation might not have mattered. After the teams traded field goals, Foles threw his first of three touchdowns. The pass could’ve dropped down a well but instead dropped into the outstretched arms of Jeffery for a 34-yard score late in the opening quarter. Jeffery, acquired from the Chicago Bears last off-season, kept his body in perfect alignment as the ball fell out of the sky and made his over-the-shoulder catch.

That was the kind of night it was for the Eagles. Jake Elliott missed the extra point but the Eagles had struck first and it gave them momentum against a dynasty that was in its eighth Super Bowl in 16 years, winning five and losing two, with the same head coach, in Belichick, and the same quarterback, in Brady. After a Patriot field goal, ex-Patriot  fullback LeGarrette Blount bulled his way for a 21-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. The two-point conversion failed but the Patriots had their hands full and it would take an all-out effort to keep up.

Down by 12, 15-3, they were desperate for a score of any kind. A field goal brought them within six and a touchdown made it a three-point game, 15-12, Eagles. Then came the trick play. On fourth-and-goal from the one only seconds to the halftime intermission, Foles caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Trey Burton, who is the team’s emergency quarterback. Elliott made the kick this time and the teams went into their lockerrooms with the Birds leading, 22-12. The trick play was a bold one on the part of head coach Doug Pedersen but bold moves is what he is making his reputation on.

Foles lined up at quarterback with Corey Clement behind him. He then moved up and to the right, he stopped, the ball was snapped directly to Clement who then pitched it back to Burton as if on an end-around. Except Burton stopped, threw a pass Foles caught above his head and the Patriots reacted as if they had been bitten by a rattlesnake.

The score at the end of three quarters was 29-26 Eagles, but the Patriots could’ve been biding their time until the right moment came along to take the lead. After a field goal by Elliott, the right moment did come along when Brady connected with tight end Rob Gronkowski for a four-yard touchdown toss and following the extra-point, the Pats had their first lead, 33-32. The question now was: could the Eagles recuperate and take the lead back.

They did with a touchdown drive that culminated with one of the most miraculous touchdown receptions  ever in a Super Bowl. From the 11, Foles dropped back and completed a pass to tight Zack Ertz. He dove over the goal line with the ball outstretched as he was being tackled. He hit the ground and the ball bounced up which he caught again. It was already a touchdown since he had full control of the ball when it broke the pane of the goal line. But their were anxious moments for fans of both teams until it was finally ruled a touchdown.

Down by five, Brady still had plenty of time to work with. More than two minutes of football were still to be played. Two minutes is a lifetime to Brady. But Brandon Graham made one of the most important – if not the most important – defensive plays in the history of  the Philadelphia Eagles when he strip-sacked Brady and enabled Elliott to boot a 46-yard field goal with barely a minute left. After pass plays that ended out of bounds to stop the clock, Brady was almost to midfield with nine seconds left. The desperation pass was meant for Gronkowski but was swarmed by a pack of Eagles and batted to the ground.

After a 57-year wait, the time had finally arrived: the Philadelphia Eagles were the National Football League champions and holders of the Lombardi Trophy.