The Philly Special

Background

On the play, quarterback Nick Foles moved up behind his offensive line, and Jason Kelce snapped the ball directly to running back Corey Clement. Clement pitched the ball to Trey Burton who passed it to a wide open Foles for a touchdown. Foles became the first player in Super Bowl history to throw and catch a touchdown pass during a Super Bowl game. Eagles coach Doug Pederson's decision to attempt a touchdown rather than a field goal on the play helped put the Eagles in a better position to defeat the New England Patriots, which they did, 41–33.

The victory was the Eagles' first championship in 57 years. Many analysts have since called the play one of the gutsiest play-calls in Super Bowl history. The play was described by NFL Films as 'a play that the Eagles had never called before, run on 4th down by an undrafted rookie running back pitching the football to a third-string tight end who had never attempted an NFL pass before, throwing to a backup quarterback who had never caught an NFL (or college) pass before, on the biggest stage for football,' whilst also remarking that 'there isn't a play in the playbook that illustrates what makes this Philly team special more than the Philly Special.'

Did You Know?

• Nick Foles had played as a tight end in high school during his sophomore year. After the Super Bowl, he stated that the last time he had caught a pass for a touchdown was when he was in high school.
• Trey Burton, at his high school, had been a first team all-state quarterback during his junior and senior years.
• A play identical to the Philly Special had been successfully run at the college level on a two-point conversion attempt in 2012 by Clemson with Andre Ellington, DeAndre Hopkins and Tajh Boyd against Georgia Tech.
• The Patriots also pulled off a version of the Philly Special against the Eagles in 2015. Tom Brady wandered out of the pocket and the ball was snapped to James White.
• In 2016, the play was run in the NFL by the Chicago Bears against the Minnesota Vikings, at U.S. Bank Stadium, the same stadium in which the Philly Special also took place.