TMZ Sports - Page 50

The Philadelphia Eagles did the impossible with a backup QB -- they defeated Tom Brady to win Super Bowl LII ... and then melted their faces off in celebration.

Nick Foles and the rest of the Eagles soaked up the incredible victory Sunday after their 41-33 win over the New England Patriots, ahead of being presented with the Lombardi Trophy.

Some players hugged, others cried ... and some even did snow angels in the confetti on the field.

Meanwhile, Pats head coach Bill Belichick didn't seem too fazed by the loss ... dude's got 5 Super Bowl rings under his belt with Tom at the helm. He can afford to lose one.

Justin Timberlake followed through on his plan to honor Prince during his Super Bowl halftime show ... projecting a video of the late singer instead of a full-blown hologram.

JT paid tribute to Prince about halfway through the show with a partial cover of "I Would Die 4 U" -- during which Justin was on piano, and Prince's image appeared on a giant flowing sheet behind him.

As we reported ... Justin was expected to use a straight up hologram during the performance. We were later told it would simply be a video projection of Prince rather than a hologram ... and it looks like they stuck to that.

Prince's ex, Sheila E., and his brother, Omarr Baker, both objected to a Prince hologram and assured fans this weekend that one would not appear.

P!nk appears to have beaten the flu ... 'cause she just nailed the National Anthem for Super Bowl LII.

The pop singer was front and center Sunday to belt out the "Star-Spangled Banner" ahead of kickoff, and despite some earlier concerns about being able to perform due to catching the flu ... P!nk killed it on the mic.

As we reported ... P!nk was forecasting some potential trouble on Thursday during a rehearsal, saying she was praying she'd be able to get over some flu symptoms that were bogging her down.

Nick Foles has a lot at stake tonight -- if he wins, he'll probably sign a contract worth around $25 MILLION per year ... so says Maurice Jones-Drew.

The ex-NFL star and current NFL analyst says the reality is Foles -- the Eagles' Super Bowl starting QB -- is done in Philly after this season. Carson Wentz is the QB of the future.

Jonathan Casillas is putting his former teammate, Tom Brady, on the highest pedestal possible ... even though he doesn't think TB's a shoo-in to beat the Eagles.

We got the former New England Patriots linebacker (and current Giants starter) Sunday in Minneapolis ahead of Super Bowl LII, and asked if Tom had this game in the bag.

Von Miller almost didn't make it Super Bowl LII because his Uber ride broke down before he could even hit the road ... but luckily, the crisis was averted.

We got Von boarding an Uber Sunday in Minneapolis ahead of the big game between the Pats and Eagles, and his driver's car wouldn't start. The Broncos star wasn't about to sit around and miss the kickoff -- he bolted from the car and ordered himself a new one.

Super Bowl LII is shaping up to look a little bit like a militarized zone based on all the armed security running around Minneapolis ... with Humvees and whatnot.

Homeland Security's got their Special Response Team on the ground in and around U.S. Bank Stadium -- where the big game will be played Sunday night.

From the looks of these pics, HS staffers are strapped and ready to respond to anything ... with bulletproof vests, walkies and Humvees at their disposal. Makes sense ... big events like this have become targets for attacks as of late -- think Vegas, Manchester, etc.

Better safe than sorry.

Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson was killed this weekend after being hit by a suspected drunk driver.

According to Indiana State Police, Jackson and another man, Jeffrey Monroe, were struck early Sunday morning by a driver off of I-70 in Indianapolis. Both men were killed.

Cops say Jackson and Monroe were standing near a stopped vehicle on the shoulder of the highway when a black Ford F-150 truck swerved into their area and hit them.

Police say they believe the driver of the truck, Alex Cabrera Gonsales, was intoxicated. He reportedly tried fleeing the scene on foot after the crash, but he was apprehended by authorities.

The Colts released a statement on Jackson's death, saying, in part ... "We were heartbroken to hear the news of Edwin Jackson’s passing. Edwin was loved by all in the Colts organization." A rep for the team added ... "We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of both men during this difficult time."

Jackson was only 26 years old. RIP

Cardi B is resolute ... she will NOT perform during a Super Bowl halftime show until there's justice for Colin Kaepernick.

We got Cardi Saturday night at the Maxim Party in Minneapolis, and she couldn't have been clearer ... although she had some trouble pronouncing Colin's last name.

Check out the video ... you can see how bone-chillingly cold it is. Sunday morning's temp is negative 6. The temp at game time is expected to be 3 degrees.

Good luck waiting to get inside.

Hollywood seems torn about who they'll be rooting for this Super Bowl Sunday ... literally, this thing's split right down the middle.

We got a handful of celebs and athletes this weekend and asked them the same thing that's on everyone's mind for Super Bowl LII -- Pats or Eagles?

Anthony Scaramucci doesn't hesitate with his pick. Meanwhile, Donnie Wahlberg appears to waffle a bit before confirming his prediction ... no real surprise there.

Other stars who weighed in include Seahawks OT Duane Brown, ex-Pats defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Joe Walsh ... and, of course, Lil Uzi Vert.

Jennifer Lopez took the stage Saturday night at a Super Bowl party and performed a rousing tribute to Prince.

JLo performed "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" at the Armory in Minneapolis ... an homage to Minneapolis' home town hero, who died in April, 2016.

The concert -- thrown by DIRECTV NOW -- raised money for Hurricane Maria victims.

During the concert, she gave a shout out to BF Alex Rodriguez, with whom she was celebrating their 1-year anniversary.

During her costume changes DJ Khaled came out and worked the audience into even more of a frenzy.

Good times.

Kobe Bryant was way more direct than Viola Davis about his guest-starring role on "How to Get Away with Murder."

Kobe was at UCLA Saturday night for the Annie Awards, and he essentially confirmed he's on the show. You'll recall Viola was coy about it, but the ex-Lakers star told us what we needed to know.

Check out the video ... Kobe starts to leave but hears a bunch of screaming kids pleading for a John Hancock, so he comes back. As he signs he gives a mini-lecture about excellence in school.

Tiny Fey and Rachel Dratch returned to "SNL" for an hilarious skit about the Boston vs. Philly game, but this one rolled back time several hundred years.

The date -- 1776. The place -- the freshly minted United States colonies. The mission -- win the Revolutionary War.

The rivalry between the Pats and Philly is hilarious. BTW, the Patriots are led by a dude named Tom Brady who, at 40, is several years beyond his life expectancy.

Turns out Tom Brady still balling at 40 is NOTHIN' ... that's according to Mark Ingram who says his 39-year-old QB Drew Brees can play for 5 or 6 more years.

Do the math, that's until Brees is 44 ... at least.

We got Ingram at the EA party in Minneapolis and asked him how long he thinks his signal caller can slang the rock ... being that he still looks as sharp as ever.

"At least 5 or 6 more years."

Ingram told our guy Brees' preparation and recovery efforts put him in a class by himself, and he totally thinks DB can be like TB, that is being elite well into his mid-life crisis years.

BTW ... we also got Drew out and he seems to agree.

Justin Timberlake's good looks are full-time!

Here's a 18-year-old version of the 'NSYNC standout rocking curly locks back in 1999 (left) and 19 years later ... the Super Bowl LII halftime hunk -- who just celebrated his 37th birthday -- doing a Press Conference in Minneapolis earlier this week (right).

Man of the Woods.

The question is ...