Go figure. With the deck stacked to set up a classic Tom Brady two-minute drill, Brandon Graham and the Philadelphia Eagles stole the Super Bowl with the play of the game.
The Eagles entered Super Bowl LII with just four sacks in the post-season and through four quarters, with the exception of the two minute warning, they had nothing to show for their efforts.
Not an interception. Not a sack. Not a tackle for loss. Nothing. And then, with 2:14 left in the game, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham stole the game, and therein the Super Bowl.
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Sending a four-man rush, Graham created pressure through the middle and managed to get to Brady.
The five-time Super Bowl champion had torched the Eagles defence. 400+ yards, two touchdowns, and with 2:21 left on the clock, down five, there’s no quarterback in history you’d prefer with the ball than Brady.
But that was the beauty of this Super Bowl; it flattered to deceive. For three quarters and 12 minutes, plus some change, it was a shootout.
The two teams combined for 1051 yards of total offence, a Super Bowl record.
There was Nick Foles going deep to Alshon Jeffrey for a beautiful 34-yard strike. Brady finding his top target Rob Gronkowski on a routine corner fade. Nick Foles, a player who spent most of the season with a headset rather than a helmet, caught a receiving touchdown on one of the balliest play calls in Super Bowl history.
It was a thriller. Foles going toe-to-toe with the greatest player to play the game and not only looking like he belonged, but that he had been there before and won.
But for all the trick plays, the bombs, the excellent line play and blocking, when it came down to it, one sack from Brandon Graham turned the Super Bowl on its head.
One sack ended a 58-year drought. One sack ended the possibility of a 40-year-old quarterback earning an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl ring. One sack stopped a dynasty from earning their third title in four years. One sack made Nick Foles an icon.
One sack changed everything.
