In Sunday’s Super Bowl LII, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41 to 33 to win their first NFL championship.
Daron Roberts, director of the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of the book “Call an Audible: Let My Pivot from Harvard Law to NFL Coach Inspire Your Transition,” says it was a great game for the National Football League.
“It was great to see the homegrown Westlake quarterback Nick Foles [now with the Eagles] go from backup to the MVP of the Super Bowl,” says Roberts.
Roberts coached with several NFL teams before founding the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation at UT. Roberts says Sunday’s game was competitive until the fourth quarter and kept fans involved all the way to the end.
The game could have given New England quarterback Tom Brady a sixth Super Bowl ring – but not this time.
“I don’t think it diminishes his record,” Roberts says. “I would look for them to have a good chance next year.”
The Patriots are already the early favorites to win next season’s Super Bowl, according to CBS Sports.
Roberts says that Eagles Coach Doug Pederson took on arguably the best head coach in the NFL and beat him at his own game.
“They executed a trick play that the Patriots couldn’t pull off,” he says. “He will have free drinks in Philadelphia for life.”
In the second quarter, Eagle Malcolm Jenkins tackled Patriot Brandin Cooks and put Cooks out for the rest of the game, reminding viewers of controversy the NFL has faced this season.
“That Jenkins hit was a legal hit,” Roberts says. “That just reminds you of the physicality of this game.”
Written by Christopher De Los Santos.
