Nick Foles walked to the sideline during a timeout with 38 seconds left in the first half of Super Bowl LII, looked at Doug Pederson and said: “Philly Philly?”
Pederson hesitated. Fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Eagles up 15-12. Patriots getting the ball to start the second half. The conservative play — kick a field goal, take the points — made sense.
“Yeah,” Pederson finally said. “Let’s do it.”
Eight years later, ESPN is bringing together everyone involved in that moment. The network released the trailer on Thursday for “The Philly Special,” a 30 for 30 documentary about the trick play that swung the 2018 Super Bowl. The film premieres Feb. 6 at 9 p.m. ET, two days before the Patriots and Seahawks meet in Super Bowl LX.
Directed by Angela Zender and Shannon Furman and produced by NFL Films, the documentary reunites Pederson with the four players who touched the ball: Jason Kelce, Corey Clement, Trey Burton, and Foles. It also features ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, former Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, former coach Chip Kelly, owner Jeffrey Lurie, then-offensive coordinator Frank Reich, and media voices Kyle Brandt, Angelo Cataldi, and Ray Didinger.
“Everybody loves the Rocky movies, but they were fiction,” Zender said. “The amazing thing about The Philly Special is that it’s a real-life Rocky story. A group of five underdogs went up against the greatest dynasty in NFL history and pulled off an upset worthy of Hollywood.”
Kelce snapped directly to Clement, who ran left and pitched to Burton. Burton — recruited to Florida as a quarterback with 17 passing attempts in college — threw across the formation to Foles, who was wide open in the end zone. Touchdown.
Foles became the first player to throw and catch a touchdown in Super Bowl history. Tom Brady tried a nearly identical trick play earlier in the game but couldn’t haul it in. He still hears “Philly Special!” from Eagles fans when he visits the City of Brotherly Love.
“I grew up an Eagles fan, so The Philly Special has been a dream project,” Furman added. “There’s no doubt fans will enjoy reliving the Eagles’ first Super Bowl as much as I did.”
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.