RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The underdogs prevail. The Philadelphia Eagles won the team's first ever Super Bowl last night by defeating the New England Patriots 41 to 33 in Minneapolis. The Eagles upset the defending world champs in a game for the history books, and Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams was there.
BRANDT WILLIAMS, BYLINE: Throughout the first half of the game, Eagles fans belted out their fight song after each of the three touchdowns the team scored.
(SOUNDBITE OF SUPER BOWL LII)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #1: (Singing) Fly, Eagles, fly.
WILLIAMS: The first was a 34-yard pass from quarterback Nick Foles to Alshon Jeffrey. The Eagles scored again on a 21-yard run. And then, with a half a minute left to play in the half, the Eagles called a trick play. Foles caught a touchdown pass from receiver Trey Burton.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TREY BURTON: Foles was wide open and - just really happy that we ran it.
WILLIAMS: But the defending world champion Patriots reminded everyone that no lead is safe against them, especially in the Super Bowl. New England got the ball first and immediately drove down the field and scored on a Tom-Brady-to-Rob-Gronkowski touchdown pass. When the Eagles took a small lead in the fourth quarter, it began to look like maybe a replay of last year when the team made a dramatic second-half comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons - but not this year. The Eagles defense came up with a huge late-game sack, Brady fumbled, and the Eagles recovered the ball. After an Eagles field goal, the Patriots had one more chance. As the final seconds ticked away, Drew Pierce (ph) watched in joyous anticipation. The lifelong Eagles fan from Medford, N.J., cheered as a last-ditch Hail Mary pass by the Patriots failed.
DREW PIERCE: That's it. It's over (laughter).
WILLIAMS: All right, my friend, how big is this for you?
PIERCE: This is huge. It's huge for the city of Philadelphia. It's huge for everybody that's an Eagles fan. We've been waiting our whole life for this.
WILLIAMS: Super Bowl 52 will go down in history as the coldest Super Bowl ever. Game-time high temperatures outside the stadium reached single digits. But it will also be known for the blaze of offense on the field. The Eagles and Patriots offenses combined to tally up more than 1,000 yards - a Super Bowl record. And there were other milestones. Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said Philly fans have stood by the team faithfully, and he's glad to win the big game for them.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ZACH ERTZ: We're just lucky to be able to be here and deliver this for you guys - unbelievable feeling. We cannot wait to celebrate you guys whenever the parade is.
WILLIAMS: Eagles fans are savoring their first Super Bowl win. The celebration began last night in the streets of Minneapolis and will undoubtedly continue among Eagles fans everywhere.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD #1: (Chanting) E-A-G-L-E-S - Eagles.
WILLIAMS: For NPR News, I'm Brandt Williams in Minneapolis.
(SOUNDBITE OF EAGLES SONG, "ONE OF THESE NIGHTS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.