The Latest from the Super Bowl: Nick Foles isn’t having any trouble moving the Philadelphia offense against the defending champion Patriots.
The Latest from the Super Bowl (all times local):
6:08 p.m.
Nick Foles isn’t having any trouble moving the Philadelphia offense against the defending champion New England Patriots.
Foles threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Alshon Jeffery in the back of the end zone to give the Eagles a 9-3 lead in the first quarter.
Jake Elliott missed his fifth PAT kick of the season, going wide right.
Foles was 8 of 11 for 102 yards on the first two Philadelphia possessions.
The Patriots matched the Eagles’ field goal on the opening drive. It was the first time in eight Super Bowls with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick that New England scored in the first quarter.
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6 p.m.
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have finally scored points in the first quarter of a Super Bowl.
The Patriots answered an opening field goal by the Philadelphia Eagles with Stephen Gostkowski’s 26-yarder for a 3-3 tie on New England’s first possession.
It’s the first time in eight Super Bowl appearances that the Patriots have scored in the first quarter with Brady and coach Bill Belichick. The key plays were Brady’s completions of 28 yards to Chris Hogan and 15 yards to running back James White.
Both teams drove 67 yards to their first points.
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5:45 p.m.
A Metro Transit spokesman says 17 people were taken away after they blocked a light-rail line carrying Super Bowl ticketholders to the stadium.
Howie Padilla says no one was hurt in the protest, which blocked trains for about two hours ahead of Sunday’s kickoff. Metro Transit had buses standing by to get ticketholders to the stadium in time.
The activists said they were protesting police brutality, as well as the light-rail trains being taken over by Super Bowl spectators rather than being available to ordinary citizens.
Padilla says Metro Transit doesn’t expect the 17 activists to face charges. He says Metro Transit respects people’s right to free speech and demonstration.
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5:44 p.m.
The Philadelphia Eagles have settled for Jake Elliott’s 25-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead over the New England Patriots on the opening drive of the Super Bowl.
The Eagles had a first down at the 5 after Corey Clement’s 16-yard gain on a catch and run. But a penalty and two incomplete passes forced Philadelphia to settle for the field goal.
The Patriots will take over looking for their first points in the first quarter in eight Super Bowl appearances with quarterback Tom Brady.
Quarterback Nick Foles had completions of 17 yards to Alshon Jeffery and 15 yards to Torrey Smith the play after Smith had a drop on second down.
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5:27 p.m.
The New England Patriots have won the opening coin toss for the Super Bowl and have deferred to the second half.
The Philadelphia Eagles will start the game with the ball and hope to be the first team to score on the opening possession of the Super Bowl since Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown for Chicago against Indianapolis in the 2007 game.
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5:25 p.m.
No players from New England and Philadelphia were kneeling or sitting during the national anthem before the Super Bowl.
Nearly all the Patriots stood in line with their right hands over their hearts during Pink’s singing of the Star-Spangled Banner.
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5 p.m.
Police in Minneapolis have removed protesters who locked themselves across a light-rail line near U. S. Bank Stadium, temporarily halting trains carrying fans to the Super Bowl.
Live footage from the scene Sunday showed police working to unlock or cut locks the protesters had used at the stop near the University of Minnesota’s West Bank station. That’s about a half-mile from the stadium.
The footage showed protesters in zip ties waiting to board a bus to be carried from the scene.
Protesters blocked the line shortly after 2 p.m., saying they were protesting police brutality as well as the light-rail line being turned over to Super Bowl fans for the day.
Metro Transit was busing fans the rest of the way to the game.
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4:45 p.m.
Carson Wentz is throwing passes in warm-ups for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The injured quarterback was walking gingerly and not stepping into the throws as he worked alongside starter Nick Foles.
Wentz tore a ligament in his left knee against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. Foles led playoff wins against Atlanta and Minnesota.
Foles is trying to join Bob Griese, Doug Williams and Jeff Hostetler as backups to win Super Bowls after starting no more than five games during the regular season.
The Eagles are playing the New England Patriots, who are trying to win their sixth Super Bowl with quarterback Tom Brady.
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4:29 p.m.
President Donald Trump is expressing appreciation for U. S. service members, who he says make occasions like Super Bowl Sunday possible.
Trump said that, while many service members can’t be home to enjoy the American tradition with family and friends, «they are always in our thoughts and prayers.» He said they’re owed the «greatest respect for defending our liberty and our American way of life» and their sacrifice is «stitched into each star and every stripe of our Star-Spangled Banner.»
Trump also said: «We hold them in our hearts and thank them for our freedom as we proudly stand for the National Anthem.»
The president has been critical of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest unfair police treatment of minorities, calling it disrespectful to service members.
— Darlene Superville reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida
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4:20 p.m.
Winning the NFL MVP award might not be a great omen for Tom Brady.
The last eight winners of the AP MVP award to reach the Super Bowl have lost the game, including Brady in the 2007 season against the New York Giants.
The other MVPs to lose the big game since Kurt Warner did the regular season-Super Bowl MVP double in the 1999 season for the Rams are: Warner (2001), Rich Gannon (2002), Shaun Alexander (2005), Peyton Manning (2009 and 2013), Cam Newton (2015) and Matt Ryan (2016).
Brady would rather join Warner, Steve Young (1994), Emmitt Smith (1993), Joe Montana (1989), Terry Bradshaw (1978) and Bart Starr (1966) as the players to win the regular season and Super Bowl MVPs in the same season.
— Josh Dubow
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3:55 p.m.
Conspiracy theorists had a field day when New England was penalized just once in the AFC championship game against Jacksonville.
But there hasn’t been a huge discrepancy in playoff penalties in Patriots games during Bill Belichick’s time as coach. The Patriots have been penalized an average of 4.
