Graham Sacks Philadelphia's First Super Bowl Title Against New England
2/4/2018 10:55:00 PM | Football
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Former University of Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham helped the Philadelphia Eagles franchise claim its first Super Bowl championship with a 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, held at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Sunday night (Feb. 4).
Graham stripped and sacked Tom Brady on a second-and-two play with 2:09 remaining in the fourth quarter to help secure the win. It was the first sack for either team and gave the Eagles possession at the New England 31-yard line. Holding a five-point advantage at the time, Philadelphia tacked on a 46-yard field to gain a 41-33 advantage with 1:10 left in the contest. The defense kept New England out of the end zone to claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Graham made his first Super Bowl appearance and came away with the victory over Tom Brady and the Patriots. Graham collected two tackles, including the sack and forced a fumble on that same play. He also pressured Brady on the game's final play and finished with six quarterback hurries in the contest. Graham had one tackle and one hit on Brady during the first half.
Brady completed 28-of-48 passes for a Super Bowl-record 505 yards and three touchdowns. He led six scoring drives in the contest, pushing the Patriots into the end zone on four possessions with another two series ending with successful field-goal tries. New England did not attempt a punt in the game.
Brady led three straight touchdown drives to start the second half but was unable to finish down the stretch. He threw his first touchdown of the game, a five-yard toss to Rob Gronkowski on the opening series to trim the Eagles' lead to 22-19. After an Eagles touchdown, Brady answered again, throwing a 26-yard scoring pass to Chris Hogan to cut the deficit to three points again. Trailing by six points, the Patriots grabbed their first lead, 33-32, as Brady threw a four-yard fade to Gronkowski. With an opportunity to regain the lead with just over two minutes left in regulation, Brady was sacked and stripped by Graham.
In the first half, Brady completed 12-of-23 passes for 276 yards but New England trailed Philadelphia by a 22-12 score. Brady led three first-half scoring drives (two field goals and one touchdown) and had another end with a missed field goal.
Notes
• Former U-M players and Patriot defenders, defensive tackle Alan Branch and linebacker David Harris, were inactive for the title game.
• On Saturday night, Tom Brady was named the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player for the third time in his career. Brady is the fourth signal-caller to earn the MVP award at least three times, joining Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Johnny Unitas. Brady became the oldest player (40) to win the NFL MVP award.
• Brady is also the oldest quarterback to start in a Super Bowl and the oldest to lead the league in passing yards.
• The Patriots became the first franchise to play in 10 Super Bowls; Brady led them under center in eight of those games.
