Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson received glowing praise for being the gutsy hero of the Super Bowl, as his daring calls helped the Eagles defeat the New England Patriots 41-33. But he might have to share the credit with his quarterback.
It's not like Nick Foles has been left wanting forattention. The QB became a hero on Monday (AEDT), named MVP for a performance in which he threw for 373 yards, three touchdowns and caught a TD himself.
The play that led to Foles' unlikely points will enjoy a long life in the highlights reel, such was the bravery of the move thought to be Pederson's brainchild.
At fourth-and-goal with 38 seconds remaining in the first half and the Eagles looking to extend a 15-12 lead, it looked like Pederson made the call not to kick a field goal and instead instruct tight end Trey Burton to throw the ball to Foles in a trick play the team named the "Philly special".
Foles motioned into the slot, while rookie Corey Clement took a direct snap. Clement pitched to Burton, a former quarterback at Florida, and Foles, uncovered, slid into the right side of the end zone and caught the touchdown.
"This for me is what turned the football game," commentator Cris Collinsworth said.
But new vision released by Inside the NFL shows Pederson may have been spurred into action by Foles. Footage showed the 29-year-old jogged over to his coach during a time-out before the play and said: "Philly Philly?"
The trick move pays off. Photo / via video
Pederson, consulting his playbook, looked up upon hearing Foles' suggestion, then went silent for a few seconds as he appeared to mull over the ballsy proposal. He eventually responded with: "Yeah, let's do it."
American site For The Win suggested Pederson had actually called a different play before being convinced the "Philly special" was the way to go, and his players changed formation after his tete-a-tete with Foles.
"That was something we've been working on, and Doug and I were talking, and he was like, 'Let's just run it,'" Foles said. "It was a good time.
"And the end was a little wider than I thought so I was like, 'I really need to sell like I'm not doing anything.' And it worked, Trey made an amazing throw.
"I just looked it in and, yeah, we've repped it for a while, so I was excited to get it run in the Super Bowl."
Even if it was Foles' idea to run the "Philly special", there's no questioning the significance of Pederson's fearless approach in guiding the Eagles to their first NFL championship in 60 years.
Down 33-32 with nine minutes left in the game and facing fourth-and-1 on his own 45-yard line, Pederson refused to punt and was rewarded as Foles made a crucial completion. Keeping the drive alive proved crucial as a few plays later Philly regained a lead it wouldn't give up.
"He was relentless with his play calling, he never gave an inch," Collinsworth said.
"He's been phenomenal all year," added Eagles tight end Zach Ertz. "He should have won coach of the year."
Doug Pederson cojones are the size of church bells. Wow.
So proud of my friend Doug Pederson and the performance his @Eagles showed tonight. Doug called a great game and his team was pure class. Congratulations on the Lombardi! pic.twitter.com/OOk6qL5raD
I love this so much. Foles asks to run the trick play, Pederson doesn’t hesitate for a second and agrees. Total trust in his players. The trust shows on the field every week pic.twitter.com/jyYcmfh1NS
Oh my god Doug Pederson was the one who wanted to go for it, but it was Nick Foles who CALLED FOR THE DAMN TRICK PLAY. 📽️: @Showtimepic.twitter.com/5BaYF5o6tE
