50 Fun Facts About Super Bowl LII

Which backup quarterback caught a trick-play touchdown pass and was named MVP of Super Bowl LII?

Nick Foles became the first player to both throw and catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. He had reportedly thought about retiring in 2016, before signing on as a backup.

Which Super Bowl LII halftime headliner had last played the show alongside Janet Jackson?

Justin Timberlake was making his third halftime appearance and brought no guest stars. The show used lasers and video screens instead of pyrotechnics.

Which Midwestern city hosted Super Bowl LII, 26 years after staging its only previous one?

Minneapolis is the northernmost city ever to stage a Super Bowl. Its first was played at the since-demolished Metrodome in 1992, and it beat bids from Indianapolis and New Orleans for this one.

Which late musician's family allowed a Super Bowl LII halftime tribute only if no hologram was used?

Prince appeared on a giant projected sheet, singing in old concert footage. He had once called the practice of adding dead artists to new music demonic.

Which Eagles lineman gave a speech at the Super Bowl LII victory parade while dressed as a Mummer?

Jason Kelce compared Eagles fans to hungry dogs who had been starved of a championship. The center had just earned his first first-team All-Pro selection.

Which detergent's Super Bowl LII ads, starring David Harbour, posed as ads for other products?

Tide ran a spot in every quarter, often dressed up as a familiar ad for something else. Even one of the famous Clydesdale horses turned up in a commercial.

Which quarterback set a Super Bowl record with 505 passing yards in Super Bowl LII but lost?

Tom Brady broke the passing mark he had set a year earlier. At 40, he had just been named the league's Most Valuable Player for the third time.

Which singer performed the national anthem at Super Bowl LII despite being ill with flu?

Pink spat out a throat lozenge moments before she began, which many commentators took for chewing gum. She was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, not far from Philadelphia.

Which streaming service used a Super Bowl LII ad to unveil a film it released that same night?

Netflix put out The Cloverfield Paradox as soon as the game ended. The film's cast learned the title and the plan only that morning, on a conference call.

Which Tiffany-made silver prize did the Eagles lift for the first time after Super Bowl LII?

The Vince Lombardi Trophy had eluded Philadelphia in two earlier Super Bowl trips. Each one stands 22 inches tall, weighs about seven pounds and goes home with the winners for good.

Which Patriots head coach was appearing in his eighth Super Bowl with the team at Super Bowl LII?

Bill Belichick and his team arrived as defending champions after winning Super Bowl LI. They became only the fifth title holders to lose the following year's Super Bowl.

Which Eagles starting quarterback missed Super Bowl LII after tearing a knee ligament in December?

Carson Wentz had thrown 33 touchdown passes and was the favorite to be named league MVP. He was hurt diving for the end zone in the win that clinched the division title.

Which Patriots tight end scored twice in Super Bowl LII, two weeks after suffering a concussion?

Rob Gronkowski caught just one pass before halftime, then finished with nine catches for 116 yards. The game's final throw sailed toward him among six defenders and fell incomplete.

Which drama's most-watched episode followed Super Bowl LII and revealed how Jack Pearson died?

This Is Us drew almost 27 million viewers with an episode itself titled Super Bowl Sunday. Real footage from that evening's game was cut into its scenes shortly before broadcast.

Which network's Super Bowl LII telecast went silent for 30 seconds during a second-quarter ad break?

NBC blamed an equipment failure for the dead air and said no commercial time was lost. The network was also days away from showing the Winter Olympics.

Fifteen recipients of which military decoration joined the coin toss ceremony before Super Bowl LII?

Medal of Honor recipient Hershel Williams, a Marine who fought on Iwo Jima, flipped the coin. He was 94 and later became the last surviving recipient from World War II.

Which Eagles quarterback lost Super Bowl XXXIX to the Patriots, the game Super Bowl LII replayed?

Donovan McNabb threw a late touchdown pass, but the Eagles fell 24–21 in that first meeting. Only one player from either roster was still around for the rematch.

Which play-by-play announcer called Super Bowl LII on television beside analyst Cris Collinsworth?

Al Michaels called the action while his partner voiced disbelief that the Eagles would gamble on fourth-and-goal just before halftime. The gamble ended in a touchdown.

Which jersey color did the Eagles wear in Super Bowl LII after the Patriots chose to play in white?

Midnight green shirts ended a streak for teams in white, who had won 12 of the previous 13 Super Bowls. Both sides wore the same uniforms as in their first Super Bowl meeting.

What was the final score when the Eagles beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LII?

A 41–33 final added up to 74 points, one short of what was then the Super Bowl record. The Eagles never trailed until the fourth quarter and retook the lead with 2:21 left.

Which Eagles head coach, once Brett Favre's backup, won Super Bowl LII in his second season?

Doug Pederson was coaching a high school team in Louisiana ten years earlier. As a player he collected a Super Bowl ring as a third-string quarterback.

Which late-night host introduced the Super Bowl LII halftime show in a pre-recorded clip?

Jimmy Fallon also hosted a special edition of his talk show from a theater in the host city that night. The halftime headliner was among his guests.

Which Eagles defender forced a late fumble with the only sack of Super Bowl LII?

Brandon Graham knocked the ball loose with just over two minutes left and a teammate fell on it. The takeaway set up a field goal and left New England needing a last-second miracle.

Which Eagle, a quarterback in high school, threw the Philly Special touchdown in Super Bowl LII?

Trey Burton had never thrown a pass in an NFL game before he lofted that one into the end zone. A third-string tight end, he signed with Chicago that offseason.

Which Eagles tight end caught the go-ahead touchdown with 2:21 left in Super Bowl LII?

Zach Ertz lost the ball as he hit the turf, but the score stood after a review judged him a runner. Earlier he had kept the drive alive on fourth-and-one.

Which Eagles running back scored in Super Bowl LII against the team he won it with a year before?

LeGarrette Blount ran for 90 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown, to beat his old team. He had led the whole league in rushing touchdowns for New England the season before.

Which combined statistic hit 1,151 in Super Bowl LII, setting a record for any NFL game?

Total yards came to 1,151, more than in any earlier NFL game, regular season or playoffs. The defenses were so overmatched that the whole night produced just one punt.

The Eagles' Super Bowl LII win made which division the first with a Super Bowl title for every team?

The NFC East completed its set because Dallas, Washington and the New York Giants had all won Super Bowls already. Philadelphia had lost its two earlier attempts.

Which dog breed did the rubber masks worn by Eagles players on their Super Bowl LII run depict?

German Shepherd masks came out after a home playoff win in which the top-seeded Eagles had been the betting underdogs. Fans bought so many that Amazon sold out.

Which Super Bowl LII winner with the Eagles donated his entire 2017 salary to charity?

Chris Long, a son of Hall of Famer Howie Long, had won the previous Super Bowl with New England. He was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2018.

Which undrafted rookie running back led the Eagles with 100 receiving yards in Super Bowl LII?

Corey Clement had caught only ten passes all season before his 100-yard night. He also took the direct snap that started the game's most famous trick play.

Which former Chicago Bears receiver caught the first touchdown of Super Bowl LII for the Eagles?

Alshon Jeffery hauled in a 34-yard pass in the first quarter for the opening touchdown. His old Chicago team had scored on a version of the Philly Special in the very same stadium the season before.

Which Patriots receiver threw the trick-play pass his own quarterback dropped in Super Bowl LII?

Danny Amendola put the ball on target, but it slipped through the quarterback's hands. He was also New England's leading receiver that night, with 152 yards on eight catches.

Which Patriots cornerback, hero of Super Bowl XLIX, played no defensive snaps in Super Bowl LII?

Malcolm Butler appeared for a single special-teams play, and his coach would say only that it was a coach's decision. He joined Tennessee for the next season.

Which rookie, signed off Cincinnati's practice squad, kicked three field goals in Super Bowl LII?

Jake Elliott missed an extra point early, then hit from 25, 42 and 46 yards. In September he had beaten the Giants with a 61-yarder, then the longest field goal by an NFL rookie.

Which team did the Eagles rout 38–7 in the NFC Championship Game to reach Super Bowl LII?

The Minnesota Vikings scored on their opening drive and then never scored again. The Eagles' backup quarterback threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns.

Which team did the Eagles beat in 1960 for their last NFL title before Super Bowl LII?

The Green Bay Packers lost that final at Franklin Field, on a Monday afternoon the day after Christmas. Philadelphia then went 57 years without another championship.

Which truck brand was criticized for using a Martin Luther King Jr. sermon in a Super Bowl LII ad?

Ram used part of a sermon that King had delivered exactly 50 years earlier to the day. Critics noted that the same sermon goes on to attack advertisers, carmakers included.

Which beer brand commissioned the statue of Super Bowl LII's Philly Special at the Eagles' stadium?

Bud Light unveiled the statue in September 2018, showing the quarterback and head coach agreeing to run the play. The Eagles later trademarked the play's name.

The Super Bowl LII MVP broke school records set by which future NFL star at Westlake High in Texas?

Drew Brees held most of the Westlake passing marks until the future Eagle threw for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns there.

Which Hamilton star sang America the Beautiful before kickoff at Super Bowl LII?

Leslie Odom Jr. won a Tony Award for playing Aaron Burr in the musical. He grew up in Philadelphia, so his hometown team won the title on the night he sang.

Which British designer made the camouflage-print suit worn by the Super Bowl LII halftime headliner?

Stella McCartney also supplied a fringed jacket and a shirt printed with a landscape painting. As usual for her label, the leather was animal-free.

At which Philadelphia landmark did the Eagles' Super Bowl LII victory parade end?

The Museum of Art steps, the ones Rocky runs up on film, became the stage, with players speaking from a lectern to the crowd on the parkway below. The parade had set off up Broad Street from Pattison Avenue.

Which team did the Eagles edge 15–10 in the divisional round on the way to Super Bowl LII?

The Atlanta Falcons had first-and-goal at the nine-yard line on their final drive and were stopped four times. Oddsmakers had made the top-seeded Eagles underdogs at home.

Which team did the Patriots rally past, 24–20, in the AFC Championship Game before Super Bowl LII?

The Jacksonville Jaguars led 20–10 early in the fourth quarter. Two late touchdown passes turned the game around and sent New England back to the Super Bowl.

Which Eagles offensive coordinator left after Super Bowl LII to become head coach of the Colts?

Frank Reich once quarterbacked Buffalo back from 32 points down in a playoff game. He had thought about calling the Philly Special a round earlier, but the Eagles were too far ahead.

Which referee worked Super Bowl LII as his final NFL game and also officiated college basketball?

Gene Steratore retired that June after 15 seasons and joined CBS as a rules analyst. Weeks before the Super Bowl he had used an index card to help rule on a first down.

Which team beat the Eagles in Super Bowl XV, the first of their two losses before Super Bowl LII?

The Oakland Raiders were the first of two teams to deny Philadelphia. The other was New England, in the game that Super Bowl LII was a rematch of.

Which Eagles owner, a producer of Oscar-winning documentaries, won a first title at Super Bowl LII?

Jeffrey Lurie grew up a New England fan and tried to buy the Patriots in 1993, a year before he bought the Eagles. His film Inside Job won an Academy Award in 2011.

Which Patriots receiver was knocked out of Super Bowl LII by a hit from safety Malcolm Jenkins?

Brandin Cooks had just made a 23-yard catch when the hit ended his night early in the second quarter. He had topped 1,000 receiving yards in his only season with New England.