UPDATE #25 -- A last second Hail Mary falls short. Brady has his greatest performance in any Super Bowl throwing for 505 yards but comes up short after the defense simply implodes. What a game. 41-33 is your final.
UPDATE #24 -- A strip sack of Brady leads to another Philly field goal. Brady now has 53 seconds to march 90 yards with no time outs. 41-33 Eagles.
UPDATE #23 -- Foles to Ertz for the touchdown. But the Eagles fail on the 2 point conversion. 38-33 Eagles. Tom Brady has 2:20 and a time out to win his sixth Super Bowl.
UPDATE #22 -- Patriots calmly march down the field and Brady finds Gronk for the 4 yard TD pass. The Pats miraculously lead 33-32 with nine minutes left. What. A. Game.
UPDATE #21 -- And the Pats defense finally makes a stop. Philly kicks a 42 yard field goal to make it 32-26. It's a one score game and Tom Brady has the ball. This game is officially a heart attack.
UPDATE #20 -- End of the third quarter and the Eagles are driving again. The teams have set a Super Bowl record for yards gained (more than 900), and we still have a full quarter to go. Total number of punts in this game? 0.
UPDATE #19 -- Brady now shredding the Eagles defense. 26 yard TD pass to Hogan! We are officially in shootout mode. 29-26 Eagles with three minutes left in the 3rd quarter. He has thrown for over 400 yards.
UPDATE #18 -- Questionable touchdown for the Eagles that looked like it could have been overturned after review but wasn't. Eagles regain their 10 point lead, 29-19. Pats defense is getting shredded as all of America wonders what Malcolm Butler did to land his ass on the bench.
UPDATE #17 -- Third quarter starts with a Pats touchdown to Gronk. After getting shutout in the first half, Gronk catches four balls for 68 yards on the drive. 22-19 Eagles.
UPDATE #16 -- Well, we were down by 18 last year at halftime. 10 should be a piece of cake, right? Bring on JT.
UPDATE #15 -- Eagles pull out their own trick play, and it works to perfection. Foles with the TD CATCH. 22-12 Eagles with :34 seconds left in the half. Amazing call.
UPDATE #14 -- And points they get! White says LG who?!? 26 yards for the TD! The guy just brings it in the Super Bowl. But the extra point is no good?!? 15-12 Eagles.
UPDATE #13 -- Huge turnover for the Patriots. Deron Harmon with the interception on the ricochet. Pats get the ball at their own 10. Need to turn this into points.
UPDATE #12 -- After a 47 yard screen pass to Burkhead, the drive stalls again. Gostkowski hits a 45 yard field goal to make it 15-6 Eagles.
UPDATE #11 -- Blount gallops 22 yards for an Eagle touchdown and the Patriots are officially in trouble. Eagles go for 2 and the pass is incomplete. Eagles lead 15-3.
UPDATE #10 -- Cooks offiicially ruled out for the game with a concussion.
UPDATE #9 -- Pats go for the trick play, Amendola throwing to Brady...Brady mistimes his jump and drops it. Then they go for it on fourth down and the pass to Gronk is incomplete. Huge swing for the Eagles.
UPDATE #8 -- Pats get the ball back after a 3 and out. Brady with a long completion to Cooks who gets destroyed on a helmet-to-helmet hit. Pretty sure his season is done.
UPDATE #7 -- Pats come up short on 3rd down then botch the snap on the field goal. Disasterous. Still 9-3.
UPDATE #6 -- First quarter ends with the Patriots on the Eagles 7 facing 3rd and 1. Offenses marching up and down the field. This could be a classic.
UPDATE #5 -- Foles to Jeffery for a 34 yard TD pass. Rowe on the coverage. Again, no sign of Butler. Eagles missed the extra point but still lead 9-3 with 2:30 left in the first quarter.
UPDATE #4 -- Pats with an equally impressive drive but they also have to settle for 3, a 26 yarder by Gostkowski. It's the first time the Patriots have scored in the first quarter in any Super Bowl quarterbacked by Tom Brady. Hard to believe. Game tied 3-3.
UPDATE #3 - Impressive first drive for the Eagles, but it ends in only 3 points for Philly. Noteworthy development...no sign of Malcolm Butler yet in the backfield.
UPDATE #2 - New England wins the toss, and will defer. Eagles get the ball to start the game.
UPDATE #1 - Pink with a solid anthem performance. The anthem clocked in unofficially at 2 minutes and 4 seconds. The Vegas line was 2 minutes flat. The over prevails. We're five minutes to kickoff.
Minneapolis, MN (NEWSCENTER Maine) - The New England Patriots are trying to become only the second team in NFL history to win six Super Bowls, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers. To do it, they'll need to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. If the Pats win, Tom Brady will become the only player in league history with six Super Bowl rings.
I've been a Patriots season ticket holder for 25 years so this in-game blog will be most definitely pro-Patriot. Depending on how the game is going, the tone will be either funny and informative, or angry and irritated.
It is currently an hour before game time. Brady has taken the field with no bandage on his right hand! I feel strangely calm about the game which always worries me. Usually when I'm a jumbled ball of nerves the Patriots do well. I don't feel that way this year. The only exception to the rule was the 18-1 year which ended a with that loss to the Giants. I was a mess that year and sadly, when the game ended I went on a one week media ban, fully aware I'm a member of the media myself.
I will be updating this frequently throughout the game so I hope you enjoy it and follow along as you're watching the Patriots march to another Super Bowl championship.
