MINNEAPOLIS — Tom Brady didn’t have enough magic to overcome the Patriots’ defensive meltdown against the Eagles in Super Bowl LII Sunday night.

The Eagles shocked the five-time champions, 41-33, as they scored on eight of their 10 possessions. Brady had a historically good night with 28 completions on 48 attempts for 505 yards and three touchdowns, but a late strip-sack thwarted yet another improbable comeback bid in the postseason. Brady’s last-bid Hail Mary for Rob Gronkowski was knocked aside by a throng of Eagles at the buzzer.

Nick Foles was brilliant all night and hit Zach Ertz for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 38-33 lead with 2:21 to play. It was their 10th third-down conversion on 15 attempts in the game.

And two plays later, Brandon Graham beat Shaq Mason to strip sack Brady, with Derek Barnett recovering at the Pats’ 31-yard line. Jake Elliott turned it into a 46-yard field goal that made it 41-33 with 65 seconds to go.

Rob Gronkowski returned from a concussion to catch nine passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and Danny Amendola had eight grabs for 152 yards. Chris Hogan added six receptions for 128 yards and a score.

Meanwhile, Foles was 28-of-43 for 373 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, as the teams combined for a playoff record 1,151 yards. Foles even caught a touchdown pass on a gadget play, catching a toss from Trey Burton.

Strangely, the Patriots started Eric Rowe over Malcolm Butler due to a coach’s decision, and the Eagles were happy to take advantage of that matchup, especially with Rowe locked on the right side of the defense. He gave up a pair of third-down completions for 32 total yards on the opening series before a third-down breakup in the end zone. Still, the coverage gaffes led to Elliott’s 25-yard field goal and the Eagles’ 3-0 lead.

Three plays after Gostkowski’s 26-yarder made it 3-3, Rowe got torched again. Alshon Jeffery made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone to give the Eagles a 9-3 advantage, as Elliott missed the extra point.

The kicking woes bled into the Patriots’ operation a series later. Ryan Allen couldn’t handle Joe Cardona’s low snap, and Gostkowski had to reload before doinking his 26-yard attempt off the left upright.

That miss cost the Patriots on their next series, too, but not until after Brady dropped a third-down throw from Danny Amendola on a reverse pass. Rather than attempting a 53-yard field goal, Bill Belichick decided to go for it, but the Eagles’ quick pass rush blew up the play and led to Brady’s incompletion for Gronkowski.

Late-season acquisition James Harrison compounded the first-half problems when he failed to secure the edge and allowed LeGarrette Blount to get through for a 21-yard touchdown that made it 15-3.

The Patriots immediately chipped away thanks to Rex Burkhead’s 46-yard catch on a screen pass, and Gostkowski trimmed it to 15-6 with a 45-yard field goal.

Then, Stephon Gilmore broke up a deep ball for Jeffery, and Duron Harmon intercepted the deflected ball at the Pats’ 2-yard line. Brady got the ensuing drive moving with a 43-yard fade to Hogan, and White’s 26-yard touchdown on the next play made it 15-12. Gostkowski missed the extra point.

With Butler on the sideline, the Patriots used a four-safety dime package on third downs, which vaulted Jordan Richards into a more prominent role. That was costly, too, as Corey Clement smoked Richards with a double move for a 55-yard catch on third-and-3.

The Eagles then decided to dive deep into their playbook on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Clement took a direct snap and tossed it to Burton, a tight end, on a reverse. Burton then lobbed an easy touchdown pass to Foles, who should’ve been covered by Eric Lee. As a result, the Eagles took a 22-12 lead into halftime.

Brady and Gronk came flying out of the locker room with four connections for 68 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown when he got inside Ronald Darby to cut it to 22-19.

But again, the Eagles created matchup advantages with their offense during an 85-yard touchdown drive. Johnson Bademosi was inserted for Richards, over Butler, and allowed Nelson Agholor’s 17-yard catch on third-and-6. Rowe then got beat by Zach Ertz for 14 yards on third-and-1, and Marquis Flowers couldn’t contain Clement on third-and-6. Clement’s 22-yard touchdown reception extended the edge to 29-19.

But Brady kept going, completing three consecutive attempts for 60 yards, and Hogan beat Rodney McLeod for an easy 26-yard touchdown that cut the Eagles’ lead to 29-26 at the end of the third quarter.

The Eagles finally had a hiccup with a third-and-3 failure on the opening play of the fourth quarter, and Elliott pushed the margin to 32-26 with his 42-yard field goal.

Brady made them pay by completing five of his next six passes for 53 yards and a 4-yard fade to Gronkowski, who outmaneuvered Jalen Mills for a 4-yard touchdown on a fade. Gostkowski’s extra point gave the Pats their first lead, 33-32 with 9:22 remaining.

Content pulled from Tribune news services.