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Drama, Drama, Drama

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FOXBOROUGH – (Wire Service Report) – New England Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler took to social media on Tuesday to push back at reports and speculation regarding his benching for Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis.

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Malcolm Butler in pre-Super Bowl interview session

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A report by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network indicated that Butler was benched for all but one play of the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles due to a “perfect storm” of issues including illness that caused him to arrive from Boston a day after the rest of the team, a poor week of practice, a missed curfew and frustration.

Butler went onto Twitter and Instagram to say he spent every night of Super Bowl week with his family and that he neither broke curfew nor attended any concerts.

“They are not only false but hurtful, to me and my family,” the cornerback wrote.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after the game and again Monday that Butler was benched with the team’s best interest in mind and denied that it was a disciplinary action.

Butler is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Parts of the post, which began with him thanking owner Robert Kraft, coaches and teammates, sounded like an acknowledgment that he will not return to the team next season but expects to catch on with another team.

“I can’t wait for the 2018 season to get here. I will be ready!” he concluded.

Though he did not shed light on why he was benched, Butler did address remarks he made after the Super Bowl.

“Finally, I want to apologize to any offended by language reported immediately after the game during a very emotional time,” he wrote. “It was out of character for me and my character, and heart with Gods’ help is what got me to where I am today.”

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady commented on Butler’s Instagram post, writing, “Love you Malcolm. You are an incredible player and teammate and friend. Always!”

— Field Level Media

Philly, Philly!

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Philadelphia 41, New England 33

When: 6:30 PM ET, Sunday, February 4, 2018
Where: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 67,612
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media
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MINNEAPOLIS – The Philadelphia Eagles, behind constant, relentless execution of offensive plays quarterbacked by Eagles reserve Nick Foles, upset the five-time champion New England Patriots, 41-33, to win the first Super Bowl title for the City of Philadelphia.

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Zach Ertz with Super Bowl winning touchdown catch

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Yes, for the first time, the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions.

A Hail Mary pass attempt by Tom Brady fell incomplete in the end zone as time expired, and the New England Patriots fell to the Eagles 41-33 on Sunday in Super Bowl LI at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Jake Elliott nailed a 48-yard field goal with 1:05 remaining to give the Eagles an eight-point edge.

Philadelphia defensive end Brandon Graham punched the ball out of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s clutches with 2:09 left, and Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett recovered the fumble.

Graham told NBC of the strip-sack, “Just kept going, you know? We said we needed a play. If we got one more opportunity, we were going to give everything we got — and I just so happened to get there.

“I’m just thankful because we’ve got a team that’s resilient. You know, we’re gonna stick around for a long time — cause we world champs, baby, and it feels so good.”

Moments before Graham’s key play, tight end Zach Ertz lunged over the goal line for a touchdown with 2:21 remaining, giving the Eagles a 38-33 edge.

On the go-ahead, 11-yard scoring play, Ertz made the grab of a Nick Foles pass at the 2-yard line, then dived in front of Patriots safety Devin McCourty to cross the goal line.

Replay review confirmed the score and prompted Philadelphia to go for a two-point conversion, but the attempt — a swing pass to Eagles rookie running back Corey Clement — failed.

Foles finished 28 of 43 for 337 yards with three touchdown passes and one interception. Brady completed 28 of 47 passes for 505 yards and three TDs.

Clement caught four passes for 100 yards, while the Patriots had three players hit triple digits in receiving yards: Danny Amendola, eight catches, 152 yards; Chris Hogan, six catches, 128 yards, one touchdown; and Rob Gronkowski, nine catches, 116 yards, two TDs.

New England surged ahead 33-32 when Gronkowski caught Brady’s third touchdown pass of the game, a 4-yard toss with 9:22 left. Stephen Gostkowski’s extra point put New England on top for the first time in the game.

The Eagles took a 32-26 lead 51 seconds into the fourth quarter on a Elliott field goal, creating a bit of breathing space after Brady threw two third-quarter TD passes.

Brady’s 5-yard scoring toss to Gronkowski and 26-yard TD pass to Chris Hogan sandwiched the Eagles’ lone third-quarter score, a 22-yard catch by rookie running back Corey Clement of a Foles throw.

The Clement catch was reviewed because he appeared to slightly bobble the ball near the back of the end zone, but the officials ruled that he had both feet inbounds with possession.

Through three quarters, the teams already had set a Super Bowl record for total yards.

A gutsy trick play on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line staked the Eagles to a 22-12 halftime lead.

Foles caught the fourth-down touchdown toss from backup tight end Trey Burton. Lined up on the left side, Burton got the ball from Clement in the backfield and threw to a wide-open Foles on the right side.

Clement ping-ponged through the Patriots’ defense to set the Eagles up for first-and-goal at the 8, and on fourth down, coach Doug Pederson went for it.

Patriots running back James White plowed through the Eagles’ defense to make it at 15-12 game with 2:04 remaining in the half, but New England missed the extra point.

Gostkowski nailed a second field goal to trim the deficit to nine.

New England regained possession when cornerback Stephon Gilmore tipped the ball away from wide receiver Alshon Jeffery at the New England 7-yard line and Patriots safety Duron Harmon secured Foles’ pass attempt.

Jeffery hauled in a 34-yard score over Patriots cornerback Eric Rowe late in the first quarter to push the Philadelphia lead to 9-3. Elliott missed the extra point.

Philadelphia received the opening kickoff and began the scoring with Elliott punching in a 25-yard field goal to cap the game-starting drive.

New England knotted the score 3-3 with 4:20 left in the first quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Gostkowski.

Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks left the game with 12:59 left in the second quarter due to a head injury. He caught a pass over the middle, turned back to run and was hit helmet-to-helmet by Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, whom Cooks never saw coming.

Cooks was escorted to the locker room by medical personnel for New England, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

New England trailed 28-3 in Super Bowl LI last February in Houston but rallied to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.

–Field Level Media

 

Butler Sits, Stews; Might Be Gone

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MINNEAPOLIS – (Wire Service Report) – Three years after Malcolm Butler sealed a Super Bowl win for the New England Patriots with a last-minute interception, the cornerback did not play on defense Sunday in Super Bowl LII due to a “coach’s decision.”

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Malcolm Butler

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The move did not sit well with Butler.

“They gave up on me. (expletive). It is what it is,” Butler reportedly told ESPN Boston after New England’s 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Minneapolis.

The Eagles shredded the Patriots for 538 total yards, 374 of it through the air, prompting Butler to add, “I could have changed that game.”

According to ESPN, Butler played 97.8 percent of the Patriots’ regular-season snaps on defense. Butler, who was not at Monday’s media night and was limited Wednesday while reportedly dealing with flu-like symptoms, did see snaps Sunday on special teams.

New England coach Bill Belichick told NBC at halftime only that he “made the decision that gives us the best chance to win.”

The Patriots opened the game with Eric Rowe in primary coverage on wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who caught the game’s first touchdown. New England made the switch to have Stephon Gilmore shadow Jeffery, his college teammate at South Carolina. Jeffery wound up with three catches for 73 yards.

In Super Bowl XLIX, Butler intercepted a Russell Wilson pass at the goal line with 26 seconds left to clinch New England’s 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. At the time, Butler was a little-known undrafted rookie. He subsequently became a mainstay for the Patriots and was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 2015 season.

Butler was the subject of trade rumors last offseason, and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.

–Field Level Media

Foles Earns MVP

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MINNEAPOLIS – In the span of eight weeks, Nick Foles went from forgotten backup quarterback to Super Bowl MVP.

Foles threw three touchdown passes and caught a score Sunday as the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl for the first time ever, and he was selected the game’s top player.

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NBC’s Dan Patrick Interviews MVP Nick Foles

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“Unbelievable,” Foles said on the field after the game. “We felt confident coming in, and we just went out there and played football. We played this game since we were little kids, we dreamed about this moment.

“We’re very blessed.”

The Patriots got a last-gasp possession facing an eight-point deficit, but they fell short in a 41-33 decision at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

“Nick made some outstanding throws,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “It kind of felt like whoever had the ball last could win this game.”

Foles completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns, and he became the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to catch a touchdown pass.

The TD toss from backup tight end Trey Burton to Foles was a play call dubbed “Philly special,” Pederson said.

“We hit it at the right time — we’ve probably worked on it for a month,” Foles said of the trick play the Eagles used on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the second quarter.

Foles took over the starting job after regular-season MVP candidate Carson Wentz sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in Week 14. Foles went 2-1 as a starter to finish the regular season, but the Eagles entered the postseason with serious question marks on offense after losing 6-0 to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17 while Foles completed 4 of 11 passes for 39 yards and an interception.

He answered his critics by completing 77.8 percent of his passes for 598 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions while leading the Eagles to victories over the Atlanta Falcons and the Minnesota Vikings to reach the Super Bowl.

Pederson vowed to remain aggressive with Foles under center, and that included calling for two successful fourth-and-1 plays in the Super Bowl. The first was the trick-play touchdown, and the second was a 2-yard completion from Foles to tight end Zach Ertz from Philadelphia’s own 45-yard line with the Eagles clinging to a five-point lead in the fourth quarter.

“My mentality coming into the game was, listen, I’m going to stay aggressive with Nick and let him use his playmakers to make plays,” said Pederson.

Foles wound up with the win over Patriots quarterback Tom Brady — 28 of 48, 505 yards, three touchdowns — in the most prolific offensive display in Super Bowl history.

“We talked a lot this last week, there was a time where I was thinking about hanging up the cleats,” Foles said. “I felt pretty good. It’s a big game. It doesn’t get any bigger than this. The big thing for me was knowing I didn’t have to be Superman. Not look at the scoreboard, not look at the time, just go out there and play. I didn’t switch my mindset. I was just playing ball.”

–Field Level Media

Father Time? Not Yet Says Brady

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MINNEAPOLIS – (Staff and wire Service Report) – The New England Patriot ran out of time in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LII, but Patriots star QB Tom Brady isn’t ready to concede to Father Time yet.

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New England Patriots QB Tom Patriots

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The 40-year-old New England Patriots quarterback, fresh off winning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award for the third time, told Westwood One radio on Sunday: “Yeah, you’re gonna see me playing football next year. I don’t envision not playing.”

Brady threw for 505 yards and three touchdowns Sunday, but the Patriots fell 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.

Afterward, asked whether he would be back next season, Brady said, “I certainly hope so. I certainly hope so.”

Although Brady is under contract for next season, speculation about his future increased last month when ESPN reported a rift had formed between Brady, New England coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft.

Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said in the days before the Super Bowl that Brady had earned the right to decide when it would be time for him to step aside. Such leeway would mark a departure from the team’s standard procedure under Belichick, who often has moved on from players before it seemed to be their time.

In Brady’s Westwood One interview with Jim Gray, the quarterback said of the Super Bowl, “You’re at the end of the race but you’ve got your biggest mountain to climb right at the end. Hopefully all the lessons we’ve learned have allowed us to be at our very best for this moment, and that’s what it’s going to take and that’s what we’re prepared for and that’s what I go out and expect our team to do.”

This season, Brady led the NFL with 4,577 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns and a 111.0 passer rating.

He appeared in his record eighth Super Bowl and already held the record among quarterbacks with five titles entering play Sunday.

–Field Level Media

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