Philly Special

Philly Special
DateFebruary 4, 2018
StadiumU.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
FavoritePatriots by 5
RefereeGene Steratore
Attendance67,612
TV in the United States
NetworkNBC
AnnouncersAl Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, and Michele Tafoya

The Philly Special,[1] also known as Philly Philly,[2] was an American football trick play between Philadelphia Eagles players Corey Clement, Trey Burton, and Nick Foles on fourth-down-and-goal toward the end of the second quarter of Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

On the play, quarterback Nick Foles moved up to behind his offensive line and Jason Kelce snapped the ball directly to running back Corey Clement. Clement went on to pitch the ball to Trey Burton, who passed the ball to a wide open Foles to score a touchdown. In so doing, Foles became the first player in Super Bowl history to both throw and catch a touchdown pass during a Super Bowl game.[3]

Eagles coach Doug Pederson's decision to attempt to score a touchdown rather than attempt a field goal on the play helped put the Eagles in a better position to defeat the New England Patriots, which they subsequently did, 41–33. The victory was the Eagles' first championship in 57 years.[4] Many analysts have since called the play one of the gutsiest play-calls in Super Bowl history.[5]

The play was described by NFL Films as "a play that the Eagles had never called before, run on 4th down by an undrafted rookie running back pitching the football to a third-string tight end who had never attempted an NFL pass before, throwing to a backup quarterback who had never caught an NFL (or college) pass before, on the biggest stage for football."[6][7]

  1. ^ Jones, Lindsay H. (February 5, 2018). "Nick Foles' trick-play TD catch in Super Bowl was true 'Philly Special'". USA Today. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  2. ^ Hurley, Michael (February 8, 2018). "Patriots-Eagles Mic'd Up In Super Bowl LII: Foles, Pederson Had No Fear Of Belichick's Defense". WBZ-TV. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  3. ^ Graziano, Dan (February 4, 2018). "Guts and glory: Eagles coach Doug Pederson had game for the ages". ESPN. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  4. ^ Manahan, Kevin (February 4, 2018). "Super Bowl 2018: RECAP & STATS of Philadelphia Eagles' historic win (2/4/18)". NJ.com. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  5. ^ Graziano, Dan (February 4, 2018). "Guts and glory: Eagles coach Doug Pederson had game for the ages". ESPN. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  6. ^ Super Bowl LII Like You Have Never Seen it Before (NFL Films, posted to YouTube on Feb 12, 2018)
  7. ^ The "Philly Special" Stuns Belichick, Super Bowl LII (NFL Turning Point, NFL Films, posted to YouTube on Feb 7, 2018)