Everything You Need to Know About Super Bowl 2018

Super Bowl LII took place in Minneapolis, the home of the Minnesota Vikings. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were a four-point favorite over the Philadelphia Eagles, led by backup quarterback Nick Foles, who started in place of the injured Carson Wentz.

It all came down to this final game and this question: Will the Patriots earn their sixth title in franchise history? Or will the Eagles finally break through and win their first-ever Super Bowl championship?

In case you weren’t able to watch the big game, here are 11 things you missed so that you can still keep up with the Super Bowl conversation.

1. The game started with the national anthem being sung by P!nk. One of the most popular bets of the Super Bowl was how long it would take for the star to sing the anthem. The over/under for the bet was set at two minutes and P!nk hit the under mark with a performance of one minute and 53 seconds, according to Sports Illustrated.
2. As the captains for each respective team walked to center field, the famous ceremonial coin toss took place. Chosen to do the coin toss this Super Bowl was World War II Medal of Honor recipient and former U.S. Marine Woody Williams. He flipped the coin, which landed on the side the Patriots had called for, but the Patriots deferred to the Eagles so that they could receive the ball in the second half.
3. After the end of the first quarter, the score was 9-3 Eagles. The Eagles started out with a 3-0 lead thanks to a field goal by their rookie kicker Jake Elliott. The Patriots then drove down the field shortly after, and a field goal by their kicker Stephen Gostkowski tied it at 3-3. As the quarter came to a close, Nick Foles threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery to take the lead 9-3.
4. At the half, the score was 22-12 Eagles, the first time ever a halftime score in a Super Bowl was that exact score. The Eagles scored two touchdowns, one on a 21-yard run from running back LeGarrette Blount, and another one on a trick play with tight end Trey Burton throwing a touchdown pass to Foles. The Patriots scored on another Gostkowski field goal, and a 26-yard touchdown run from their running back James White.
5. The halftime show was performed by pop singer Justin Timberlake. He sang all of his biggest hits such as “Mirrors” and “Suit & Tie,” to name a few. During his performance, there was also a Prince tribute who was a native Minnesotan. The tribute consisted of a hologram-type projection played in the stadium while Timberlake was playing on the piano and singing, and with the outside city lights around the stadium lighting up in purple.
6. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 29-26 Eagles, the closest the game had been since the final minute of the first half. The Patriots scored two touchdowns, one by tight end Rob Gronkowski and the other by wide receiver Chris Hogan. The Eagles scored one touchdown by running back Corey Clement on a pass by Foles.
7. As the game got tight down the stretch, the Patriots finally took their first lead of the game at 33-32 with 9:22 left in regulation off of another touchdown by Gronkowski. The Eagles showed no signs of fear against the mighty Patriots, chewing up clock from then on out, and driving down and scoring a touchdown thanks to Eagles tight end Zach Ertz with 2:21 left. They took the lead 38-32, after failing on the two-point conversion.
8. The most crucial play of the game was Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham strip-sacking Brady and the Eagles recovering. That play set up another Eagles field goal from Elliott to make the game 41-33 Eagles.

One last chance. Brady has had game-winning drives in four of his Super Bowl appearances; will it be time for another?

1. With 1:05 left in the game, and no timeouts left to stop the clock, it seemed like a daunting task. Brady was able to complete a few throws downfield, getting the Patriots to their own 49-yard line with nine seconds left. Brady hiked the ball, avoided getting sacked and rolled out of the pocket. He launched a Hail Mary toward the end zone, but only to get the ball batted down near the goal line by Eagles defenders as time expired.
2. The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl LII Champions! They get their first-ever Super Bowl title in franchise history even though they were considered underdogs in all three of their postseason games. To add to that, they accomplished all of this without their young, franchise starting quarterback, Carson Wentz.
3. Nick Foles won the Super Bowl MVP, finishing the game with 373 yards passing and three touchdowns. The game was an offensive showdown, breaking the record for most combined yards in any NFL game, regular season or postseason, with 1,151.