One of the enduring plays of Super Bowl 52 will go down as the “Philly Special,” the trick play the Eagles ran late in the fourth quarter that gave the Eagles the lead for good and led to Philadelphia’s first Super Bowl win in team history.
The play, reminiscent of Baker Mayfield’s touchdown catch for Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, saw the third and 7 at the 11 snap not go to Foles, who instead went to the far side of the field as a receiver and catch a touchdown pass to make it 38-33 Eagles with 2:21 to go in the fourth quarter.
Inside the NFL posted audio from the Super Bowl that showed the lead-up to the goal line sequence where Foles ended up catching a touchdown pass from Nick Foles. And, as it turns out, Foles was the one who suggested the play during the timeout.
.@NFoles_9 made the call, made the touchdown and made history. #PhillySpecial
Watch more @NFLFilms highlights on the #InsideTheNFL finale TONIGHT 9PM ET/PT on Showtime.@Eagles #SBLII #FlyEaglesFly #Eagles pic.twitter.com/jIDrfeYpVW
— Inside the NFL (@insidetheNFL) February 6, 2018
Eagles coach Doug Pederson looked at Foles for a moment and then went along with it, and sure enough it worked out.
It was a bold move for a lot of reasons, the first of which that if it didn’t work the Eagles would be faced with a fourth down that they needed to convert. Instead, Pederson trusted the soon-to-be Super Bowl MVP and let his team execute one of the best clutch plays in the history of the sport.
