By Ovunc Kutlu NEW YORK The Philadelphia Eagles will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII (52), after both teams won their conference championships games on Sunday. The Eagles won the National Football Conference title at their home Lincoln Financial Field by easily beating the Minnesota Vikings 38-7. After losing their first-string quarterback Carson Wentz on Dec. 10 to a season ending injury, backup quarterback Nick Foles, who has carried his team since then, threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns sending the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2004 season. In their last appearance in February 2005, the Eagles lost Super Bowl XXXIX (39) to the Patriots 24-21. The Patriots had a comeback from a 10-points deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the American Football Conference championship game. The Patriots 40-year-old veteran quarterback Tom Brady threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-20 win. Star tight end Rob Gronkowski left the field in the second quarter after a helmet-to-helmet hit and entered NFLs concussion protocol, but did not return to the game. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick briefly accepted the conference trophy during the championship ceremony. Brady was happy that his injured throwing-hand, which he hurt Wednesday during practice, did not cost him another shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy. "I thought, of all the plays my season cant end on a hand-off in practice. I didnt come this far to end on a hand-off," he said during the post-game press conference. Belichick said, "Tom did a great job. He is a great guy, we all know that. But were not talking about open-heart surgery here." This will be the eighth time Belichick and Brady will appear together in the Super Bowl. The duo has won five of their seven previous appearances since the 2001 season. The defending champions Patriots will also play their third Super Bowl game in the past four years, and has become the first team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl for the 10th time."We are going against one of the best teams in history," Eagles quarterback Foles said at an on-field interview after the game.The Eagles have not won the NFL championship since 1960.The two teams last faced each other during the regular season on Dec. 6, 2015 when the Eagles beat the Patriots 35-28. Both teams finished their respective conferences at the top this season with a 13-3 record. Super Bowl LII will be played at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Feb. 4. The game will kick off at 0230 AM Turkish local time on Feb. 5.
