MINNEAPOLIS –- Deep in the bowels of U.S. Bank Stadium, a scene played out that certainly would have made most rub their eyes in disbelief, a former journeyman quarterback being paraded down the halls as the newfound hero of a city starved for a football winner, his name now etched alongside the greats of the game.

Here was Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who moments before did the unthinkable by winning a shootout against the greatest quarterback of all time, being led into an interview room, surrounded by security guards and his family, now a big-game star, no longer just a random backup who once thought about quitting the game.

Who saw that coming? 

When Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL in Week 14, most buried the Eagles. There was no way Foles was good enough to win it all, they said.

Yet here he was on the game's biggest stage, in front of an audience of millions and a crowd of 67,612 in the stadium, outdueling Tom Brady in one of the best Super Bowls we've seen. The Eagles beat the New England Patriots, 41-33, as Foles threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns to win the game's MVP honors.

Nick Foles at the MVP podium? In a game where he beat Brady, who threw for 505 yards?

That's like some barroom punk knocking out Mike Tyson in his prime or some local YMCA hotshot beating Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one.

"To be in this moment is unbelievable," Foles said. 

You think? 

Foles entered the playoffs off two shaky games, which had many predicting the top-ranked Eagles would be easy fodder for the rest of the NFC. But in the Divisional Round against the Atlanta Falcons, he dinked-and-dunked his way to the next round. Then in the NFC Championship Game against the Vikings, he let it rip for big plays and a berth in the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl was supposed to be Brady's stage, a chance to win his sixth ring and continue to cement himself as the best ever. Instead, Foles went throw for throw with Brady and when his team needed a late drive to take the lead Foles made some big, timely throws.

The moment was his to seize, and he did just that.

Oh, and Foles also caught a touchdown pass on a trick play, making him the first player in Super Bowl history to catch a touchdown pass and throw one in the same game.

The trick play was one that Foles ran at Westlake High School in Texas, and one the Eagles had worked on a lot.

"We repped it for a while," Foles said. "So I was excited to get to run it in a Super Bowl."

As a backup, the Eagles could have taken the approach to protect Foles. Instead coach Doug Pederson continued his aggressive ways – which was the right way to play it against the Patriots – and didn't flinch at the idea of throwing it around the park.

"Nick has shown who he is (in the playoffs and Super Bowl)," Pederson said.

This is Foles' second stint with the Eagles. Back in 2013, Foles threw 27 touchdown passes and two picks for then-Eagles coach Chip Kelly. Many in Philadelphia thought he was their future, but he fizzled out the next year and was traded to the Rams, who released him in the summer of 2016. He spent 2016 with the Kansas City Chiefs, and was then re-signed by the Eagles to a two-year deal before this season.

The idea was he would be a nice backup to Wentz. Now he's a Super Bowl winner who will go back to being a backup when Wentz is healthy. Foles has another year left on his deal, but you can bet the Eagles will be getting some trade inquiries come the spring.

With the timetable for Wentz to return being the start of the season – or even later – it would seem unlikely that Foles will be dealt.  In a year, he might cash in on the free-agent market in a quarterback-starved league, but in all probability he will go back to wearing a baseball cap on the sidelines in 2018.

The question is this: Was Sunday night an aberration or is this what Foles is capable of doing on a consistent basis?

"I think the big thing that helped me was knowing that I didn't have to be Superman," Foles said.

He sure looked like a superhero without a cape on this night.