On Feb. 4 as people from across the country congregate around their television sets with chips and guacamole, fans will be looking forward to seeing which commercials they will be talking about the next day and how Justin Timberlake performed at the halftime show in comparison to past halftime shows. The most prominent question for football fans is whether it will be the sixth Super Bowl title for the New England Patriots or number one for the Philadelphia Eagles.
At 13-3 in the regular season the Eagles and Patriots wound up with the best records in their conferences. Once again, quarterback Tom Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick, arguably the greatest of all time in their positions, find themselves on football’s biggest stage for the seventh time. Defending their title, the Patriots continued to dominate throughout the regular season finishing with the best record in the American Football Conference. Brady looks to exploit the Patriots’ offense with short tosses to running back Dion Lewis and passes to star Patriots receivers Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan and tight-end Rob Gronkowski who is expected to play after taking a gruesome hit in the AFC Championship game. The Patriots rank first in total yardage as every year Brady continues to find a way to successfully execute his offense regardless of who’s on his offensive crew.
The Eagles on the other hand proved doubters wrong all season and in the playoffs. Going into the season the Eagles were predicted to need another season to develop before being contenders. They proved everyone wrong there. Additionally, in week 14 their star quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a left knee injury. This brought in backup Nick Foles who has been around several different teams after being traded from the Eagles to the Rams in 2015. Foles has seen his share of struggles over the years but proved he could play against an NFL top defense center stage as he threw for three touchdowns against a top-ranked Minnesota defense in the NFC championship game. Foles is complemented by an explosive receiving core that includes Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Torrey Smith and tight-end Zach Ertz as well as a difficult backfield featuring Jay Ajayi and Legarrette Blount, both players acquired this year. Philadelphia knows that if they’re going to have a chance they’ll have to pressure Brady and continue to allow limited yards defensively as they’ve ranked fourth in least yards allowed.
While the Eagles seem to have overall more versatility in their spots the Patriots have always been known as the team to prove doubters wrong in the face of adversity like down two scores in the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game or Brady playing through 12 stitches in his throwing hand. Nonetheless, Brady has successfully continued to look ahead to what could be a historic Super Bowl win as we could either witness number one for the city of Philadelphia or number six for the Patriots, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Lombardi Trophies.
