Football’s biggest night is finally upon us! The New England Patriots are facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night for Super Bowl LII in what was expected to be one of the coldest games in history. The battle for the Lombardi Trophy kicked off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Pink sang the “Star Spangled Banner” before her favorite team, the Eagles, took the big stage on Super Bowl on Sunday. Justin Timberlake headlines the Super Bowl halftime show and is expected to perform hits off his new album, “Man of the Woods.”
The Patriots are 4.5 favorites to beat the Eagles on Sunday. If they pull off the win, they’ll walk away with the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl championship. The Eagles are hoping to win their first NFL championship in the franchise’s history.
Follow along with live updates. All times Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.
8:19 p.m.: Justin Timberlake kicks off halftime show
NBC’s Jimmy Fallon introduced singer Justin Timberlake who took the stage to perform hits like “Filthy,” “Rock Your Body, “SexyBack,”My Love,” “Cry Me A River,” “Suit & Tie,” Until The End Of Time”
Most users on social media seem to enjoy the show, with some commenting though that the audio mix seemed off.
8:15 p.m.: Preparations for Super Bowl Halftime show
CBS News’ Jamie Yuccas snaps a picture ahead of Justin Timberlake’s performance.
8 p.m.: Foles catches touchdown pass
Completing the play the Patriots couldn’t, Nick Foles caught a touchdown pass from Doug Pederson on fourth down before the end of the second quarter. The gutsy play call puts the Eagles up 22-12.
7:55 p.m.: Pats cut Eagles’ lead with rushing TD
With momentum from the defense, Tom Brady and the Patriots drove up the field to set up James White’s impressive 26-yard touchdown run. Eagles lead 15-12.
— JC
7:45 p.m.: Pats come up with major interception
Nick Foles threw the ball deep to Alshon Jeffrey, who couldn’t keep control of the ball, and Duron Harmon came up with the interception. The play was Nick Foles’ first turnover of the night.
7:40 p.m.: Gostkowski hits 45-yard field goal
Tom Brady threw a 46-yard screen pass to Rex Burkhead, but the Eagle’s defense holds Brady to a three and out, forcing the field goal attempt. Eagles lead 15-6.
7:30 p.m.: Blount runs through defenders for a touchdown
LeGarrette Blount ran through arm tackles and found himself in the end zone. The Eagles went for the 2-point conversation and failed. Eagles are up 15-3.
7:20 p.m.: Cooks won’t return after injury
Brandon Cooks, one of Tom Brady’s favorite receivers, was seen heading into the locker room with trainers after taking a bit hit from Rodney McLeod. Cooks tried and failed to hurdle the defense back and got laid out. He lied motionless on the ground before exiting the game. He was later ruled out of the game.
— JC
7:12 p.m.: Gostkowski misses a field goal
After a bad snap, Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski hits the upright on a missed field goal attempt. Eagles still up 9-3.
— Justin Carissimo
6:58 p.m.: Foles hits Jeffery for 34-yard touchdown
Nick Foles threw a 34-yard touchdown to Alshon Jeffery, giving the Eagles a 9-3 lead over the Patriots. However, the Eagles missed the extra point with a bad kick. There’s 2:34 left in the first quarter.
6:53 p.m.: Field goal success for Patriots
Patriots are finally on the board with their first quarter score for a field goal. Game is tied up 3-3.
6:41 p.m.: Field goal success for Eagles
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.
6:33 p.m.: No players seen kneeling during national anthem
There were no NFL players kneeling during Pink’s performance of the “Star Spangled Banner” ahead of Super Bowl LII.
Nearly all of the Patriots stood in line with their right hands over their hearts.
6:31 p.m.: Pats kick off
Patriots give a line drive kick that begins Super Bowl LII.
6:25 p.m.: Medal of Honor recipients honored, Pats win coin toss
Sixteen Medal of Honor recipients were on the field. One recipient from his service in World War II flipped the coin.
The New England Patriots have won the opening coin toss 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.
6:21 p.m.: Pink powers through the national anthem
Singer Pink, despite having the flu, nailed the singing of the national anthem to kick off Super Bowl LII.
6:15 p.m.: Justin Timberlake won’t use Prince hologram at Super Bowl
Sheila E. says Justin Timberlake reached out to her after she tweeted that Prince didn’t want to be turned into a hologram and says she wants “people to know there was no hologram.” Her comments come after TMZ reported Saturday that Timberlake was set to use a hologram of Prince during his halftime know performance Sunday. But Sheila E. tells The Associated Press that Prince told her didn’t want to be used as a hologram for religious reasons.
Timberlake said he looked up to Prince and admired him during a press conference days ago in Minnesota. It was the same day the pop star held a listening party for his new album at Paisley Park.
Holograms of A-list celebrities have appeared in recent years, from Tupac Shakur to Roy Orbison, whose hologram is set to go on a tour.
In an AP interview Saturday, Sting said he would not want to have his likeness portrayed in a hologram.
“I don’t want to be hologrammed. I really don’t. God knows who they will team me up with, you know. No. I’m going to write in my will that I am not to be hologrammed,” he said.
“Roy wouldn’t have even known about it,” he added. “How would he know?”
6:10 p.m.: Kelly Clarkson supports flu-stricken Pink
Kelly Clarkson says she’s not worried about Pink nailing the national anthem at the Super Bowl despite having the flu.
When asked if she would fill in for Pink if needed, Clarkson said, “I don’t think Pink will need anybody to fill in for her. Even Pink with the flu is still hands down one of the best vocalists of our generation.”
Clarkson added: “I would take Pink’s voice on a flu day any day.”
Pink performed sick at a concert Friday in Minnesota and said it’s easy to become under the weather when you’re a mother of two children. Clarkson echoed her sentiments.
“Our babies are right in our face, like the saliva, the mucus membranes are all around us,” she said. “We both have toddlers and I mean, they’re literally little petri dishes of disease walking, they just have everything. So we’re sick sometimes.”
Clarkson was one of the tailgate performances Sunday at Nomadic Live at The Armory. She said she enjoys performing for sports fans.
“The fun thing that you can always expect is it’s never going to be a dead crowd because either A, they’re drinking already or B, the energy of sports fans in general, they’re just excited to be here (and) they’re excited for their team,” she said.
Though Clarkson is a Dallas Cowboys fan, she said she’s rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles over the New England Patriots.
“My nanny is a huge Eagles fan, so we’re all Eagles today. And they’re the underdog, right? So, you know, it’s kind of cool,” she said.
6 p.m.: Trump brings up national anthem debate in Super Bowl LII message
President Trump has once again called for football fans to stand during the playing of the National Anthem as a sign of support for the nation’s troops.
He issued a statement from his Mar-a-Lago estate where he spent the weekend with first lady Melania Trump.
“As many Americans come together to watch the Super Bowl, Melania and I extend our greetings and appreciation for those who make occasions like this possible, particularly the brave men and women of our Armed Forces,” Mr. Trump’s statement read.
5:55 p.m.: Protesters have been removed
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.
5:45 p.m.: Protesters shut off rail line serving Super Bowl
A small group of activists protesting police brutality have shut down a light-rail line carrying fans to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.
About 30 activists walked onto the city’s Green Line at the Stadium Village stop shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, stopping trains in both directions.
The line runs from downtown St. Paul to the heart of Minneapolis, and is a main way some fans are getting to the game between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
Chinyere Tutashinda, a spokeswoman for the activists, says some chained themselves along the track.
Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla says the agency has contingency plans to get riders the rest of the way to U.S. Bank Stadium. He says he’s confident they’ll be there for kickoff.
