QUINTIN JAMES
Assistant Sports Editor
This Sunday, the NFL will have Super Bowl LII live from Minneapolis, Minnesota where the New England Patriots, defending champions, will face off against the upstarting Philadelphia Eagles.
After winning the Super Bowl last year, Tom Brady will go for ring number six as he faces the Eagles who lost their star quarterback, Carson Wentz, to a torn ACL in the regular season.
The Eagles went 13-3 in the regular season even after losing their quaterback late in the season. They didn’t lose a beat as they defeated the Falcons and Vikings at home in the playoffs to advance to the Super Bowl and try and win their first title in franchise history.
Pitted as the underdogs who had no chance after Wentz went out, the Eagles and old folk hero Nick Foles have proven doubters wrong and are ready to shock the world.
The New England Patriots once again proved to be the top
team in the AFC as they advanced to another Super Bowl in the Brady/Belichick era.
Besides a scare by the hands of the Jaguars in the AFC championship game, the Patriots have had an easy road to this point and will come into this Super Bowl as heavy favorites.
Vegas has the Patriots favored by 6.5 points in the Wynn Superbook.
Early on in the season, reports said the Patriots front office and head coach Bill Belichick had disagreements over whether Brady could truly play until his mid-40s. That led to the Patriots trading both of their backup quarterbacks away for draft picks.
People thought this might have been a sign that the Patriots’ dynasty had taken a hit, but that was not the case. Brady and crew turned it on in late December and now have a chance to go back-to-back.
The Eagles were projected to finish third in the NFC East by most people, as the Cowboys and Giants were the talk of the NFC East in the summer. Fast forward a few months and the Eagles have soared their way to a Super Bowl and have a chance to upset one of the best franchises in the past decade.
This advancement is thanks to second year injured quaterback, Wentz, the emergence of Philly’s defense and a balanced run attack that was helped by a mid-season trade for Jay Ajayi from Miami.
Before his injury, Wentz looked like the frontrunner for MVP and his torn ACL meant that Foles was in charge of leading the offense. Foles was on the Eagles’ roster in 2013 under Chip Kelly, where he threw for 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions as a starter.
While many doubted Foles after learning about the severity of Wentz’s knee, the sixth year backup quarterback proved that he, in fact, was talented in his own right. After a tough win in the divisional round versus Atlanta, Foles proved in the NFC Championship game that the Eagles were a threat to New England. Against one of the best defenses in the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings, Foles threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns, never turning the ball over.
Coming into the Super Bowl, these two teams seem to be evenly matched. New England has the advantage in personnel, coaching and experience, but the Super Bowl creates new heroes. The Eagles hope they find their hero on Sunday.
Foles’ play will be an important factor in the outcome of the game as well as if the Patriots can protect Brady from Philly’s defensive line for long enough.
Some things to look out for are whether or not Philly can cover Gronk and if they can throw.
For fans who don’t root for either team, you might find it hard to root for anyone in the game. The Patriots’ success and their cheating allegations over the years has caused them to be one of the most hated teams in sports.
The Eagles have not had much success over the years, but their fanbase has been loud and proud for their team. Their passion has no limits, and sometimes they go too far with opposing fans and players. This has been a reputation for Philly fans of all sports as their fans are usually very rowdy and can get very talkative and disruptive at times.
There’s no way to really predict this game, but in the Super Bowl you can guarantee that every player will put their body on the line for the trophy. Anything could happen during the game. It’s not quite David vs. Goliath, but this game is shaping up to be a great story for Sunday.