Super Bowl hero and Eagles legend Nick Foles was in attendance during Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. He has been retired for a couple of years now, and is seven seasons removed from leading Philadelphia to their only Super Bowl title in franchise history. But you can bet that he always has a place in the mind of Tom Brady, as the greatest quarterback of all-time confirmed during FOX’s broadcast this past weekend.
Tom Brady Doesn’t Hate Nick Foles, Just Jealous Of Him
The two met in one of the more memorable Super Bowls of the last ten years. Tom Brady and the New England were on the verge of winning their 6th championship in 17 years, and were favored by 4.5 points against the Philadelphia Eagles for the big game following the 2017 NFL season. The NFC representative finished with the best record in their conference, but hopes weren’t high when their starting quarterback suffered a torn ACL late in the regular season schedule. But behind backup QB Nick Foles, Philadelphia was able to march their way to the Super Bowl.
Brady had one of the best performances of his career, throwing for an incredible 505 total yards (a Super Bowl record) and added three touchdowns with no interceptions. But Foles threw for three scores as well, and added a touchdown in an unconventional way to ensure his team’s victory.
“You want Philly Philly?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
Three years ago, the “Philly Special” was born as the Eagles claimed their first Super Bowl title 🏆
(via @NFLFilms) pic.twitter.com/xR4m2zeRyx
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 4, 2021
During the second quarter, the Patriots tied something unconventional. Trailing 9-3 and with the ball on the Eagles’ 35-yard line, they ran a reverse that wound up in the hands of Danny Amendola, who found a wide open Brady who had flared out in anticipation of a pass. The attempt sailed a little high, but it was within reach. Brady stretched out to make the grab, but the ball bounced off of his fingertips for an incompletion. New England would turn the ball over on downs just one play later.
Foles and the Eagles showed Brady how it’s done. Already up by 3 points and the second ticking towards halftime, Philadelphia faced a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line. But instead of a power run (and in the days before the Tush Push/Brotherly Shove), they instead called a play that would live in infamy: The Philly Special.
On an almost identical trick play that the Patriots ran earlier in the game, tight end Trey Burton took the reverse and threw to a wide open Foles, who was alone at the goal line. The quarterback would make the catch and put the Eagles up by 10, on their way to winning their first ever Super Bowl.
Tom Brady to Nick Foles: “I don’t hate you I’m just jealous of you. You caught it, I didn’t!” 😂 pic.twitter.com/iSzzP355au
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) January 26, 2025
So when Nick Foles was shown by FOX’s broadcast cameras on Sunday afternoon, Kevin Burkhardt teased his booth mate by asking Tom Brady if he knew who the Eagles played against the year that Foles won Super Bowl MVP. Brady laughed after a short silence, and then conveyed a message directly to the quarterback who held him back that year:
“Nick, I don’t hate you. I’m just jealous of you. You caught it. I didn’t”
The Patriots would go on to win that 6th Super Bowl the year after. Brady would go on to win yet another as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But in the same way that the all-time greatest quarterback will always be haunted by the two championships that Eli Manning stole from him, Nick Foles’ name will likely also continue to be a sore spot.
Foles spent one more year in Philadelphia after winning the Lombardi Trophy. He would play for three more teams in his career, bringing his total to six, and would retire following the 2022 NFL season.
