From underdog to champion

Patrick Casas, Sports editor

After a back and forth game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots, the Eagles pull off the upset to defeat the NFL’s most dominant team in Super Bowl 52.

The game was a complete shootout from start to finish and packed with excitement.

The biggest story of this Super Bowl Matchup revolved around Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback and Super Bowl MVP, Nick Foles.

Foles was speculating retirement a few years ago to become a pastor but decided to give football one more chance. He was drafted by the Eagles in 2012, playing his first games in week 10 of the 2012 season after Michael Vick left the game due to an injury. Foles then made his first start the following week.

A little over a year later, in week 9 of the 2013 season, Foles became the second quarterback to have a perfect passer rating (158.3) while passing for more than 400 yards. He was also the first quarterback in NFL history to post a perfect passer rating and throw seven touchdowns in a single game. It was the 60th time in NFL history that a perfect passer rating was achieved overall. Foles had completed a league-best 27–2 TD-INT ratio in 2013.

The Eagles traded Foles on March 10, 2015, for a 2015 fourth-round pick and a 2016 second-round pick to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for Sam Bradford and a 2015 fifth-round pick.

Foles had a dramatic change in his play and asked to be released by the Rams, due to the fact that the Rams would draft Jared Goff, a quarterback from California Berkeley. Foles signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 3, 2016. It was a one-year deal worth $1.75 million and included a second-year option for 2017.

Foles signed a two-year contract to return to the Philadelphia Eagles to back up 2016 first-round pick Carson Wentz on March 13, 2017.

During week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams, Foles came in relief of Wentz, who left the game with a torn ACL. Foles completed 6 of 10 passes for 42 yards as the Eagles won 43–35, clinching their first division title since 2013.

Ever since Wentz has been injured, the entire NFL and the fans of the league thought the Eagles would never be able to win another game. The Eagles had already made sure they were in the playoffs with the record of 11 wins and 2 losses. After the regular season, the Eagles finished with the number one seed in their conference.

The Eagles were underdogs in all three playoff games and it didn’t phase them. They embraced it, showed up to play and win it all.