AT&T Stadium - Arlington, TX
| Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Jan 31, 2017 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Philadelphia Eagles (#1 13-3, 7-1 Away) | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Indianapolis Colts (#1 15-1, 7-1 Home) | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 311YDS, 2TD
Rushing : S. Ramsey (IND) - 21CAR, 90YDS, TD
Receiving : T.Y. Hilton (IND) - 9REC, 118YDS, TD
ARLINGTON - The wait for this Superbowl could not have been more painful for everyone involved. From the media circus surrounding Chip Kelly to the looming scowl of Jerry Jones, this game had everything the fans and media could possibly want. A rematch of last year would feature the league's best QB, and arguably best player in Andrew Luck, and two of the best offenses in football.
Despite all of the speculation and chest beating on both sides, with the media making this game out as an even match, the gambling community was not sold. Indianapolis would come into the game a whopping 18.5 point favorite, just barely breaking the record set in 1994 during Superbowl XXIX. San Francisco went into their game against San Diego as an 18 point favorite and trounced the Chargers 49-26 to cover. Considering the way Indianapolis has been playing it's surprising that Vegas didn't go to 21 points or more.
Even though the Colts boasted a truly legendary offense and a very good defense, if not an elite one, they would come face to face with their biggest weakness; the receiving HB. LeSean McCoy might not burn the Colts on the ground, but he would definitely cause issues with underneath routes and matchups with their linebackers. Containing McCoy and limiting the deep passes would be the Colts' key to victory.
Luck was not going to lose this game.
As it turned out, and most expected it, the Colts didn't need to contain McCoy to win this one. The battle between Nick Foles and Luck was closer to bringing a knife to a gunfight for the Eagles. Right out of the gate Luck established himself and the Colts offense after the Eagles managed an opening drive TD run by McCoy.
Luck took his time and used the ground game to create easy pass completions, and the Eagles had no answer. From the start of the game the Colts sapped the clock, and the Eagles just couldn't do anything about it. Indianapolis used a FG and two 2nd quarter TD's, a run and a pass to Da'Rick Rogers, to head into halftime with a 17-7 lead.
Defensively, the Colts were suffocating, and it turned into an incredible game for Donavon Browning. Browning enjoyed one-on-one matchups off the edge as the Eagles focused on Vontaze Burfict coming from outside and inside blitzes. Browning knocked Foles down after pass completions and started turning those into sacks.
Indianapolis added an 8 yard strike to T.Y. Hilton to go up 24-7 before the Eagles could come back with a 42 yard Nick Novak FG. Philadelphia started off the 4th with a promising drive, but Chip Kelly rolled the dice once too many. Facing 4th & 1 on the Colts 35 they went for it and McCoy was stoned for a loss.
Daniels' 4th quarter INT ends the Eagles chances at coming back.
Foles came out gunning for the endzone, trying to make it more respectable, but Branch Daniels picked off a deep pass to close the door on Philadelphia's chances at covering. Indianapolis salted away the rest of the clock and clinched their second straight Superbowl victory.
Superbowl MVP Browning celebrates the Colts victory.
Foles wasn't terrible, though he was very accurate in finishing 24/26, but when you line up against Luck you need to be great or you're going to lose. Foles was not great and Luck was, but it wasn't helpful having Browning in his face all game. The Eagles' offensive line could not cope with the aggressive attack dialed up by Pagano, and when Foles wasn't being sacked he was getting hurried. This helped the Colts keep the Eagles from throwing the ball deep, allowing Indianapolis' corners to play press coverage and keep an eye on the bubble screens.
LeSean McCoy did exactly what you might expect, finishing with 8 receptions for 61 yards to go along with his 66 on the ground, but he was overshadowed by the punishing Colts run game.
Even with Luck and the offense having a great game, the NFL couldn't ignore Browning's 5 sack game and named him Superbowl MVP. Indianapolis are the first back-to-back Superbowl winners since the 04-05 New England Patriots and get to join the elusive group of repeat winners that includes Denver (98-99), Dallas (93-94), San Francisco (89-90), Pittsburgh (79-80, 75-76), Miami (73-74), and Green Bay (67-68). Now the task turns to being the first to win three in a row.
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