Super Bowl Keys to Winning + Prediction
The New England Patriots will be playing the Philadelphia Eagles tomorrow in the Super Bowl tomorrow. It’s the MVP of the league against a backup who was not even the starter at the beginning of the year. Sound familiar to you? Well, it should as this sounds a lot like Brady’s first Super Bowl with the Patriots. There are many keys for each team winning the Super Bowl. First, I am going to start with the Eagles defense. They must put pressure on Tom Brady. In particular, the Eagles must be able to put pressure without blitzing, so their defensive line will have to
do most of the heavy lifting. This should be no problem as they have one of the best defensive linemen in the league in Fletcher Cox. The Eagles must also contain Gronk as he will be Brady’s main target this game as the last time Gronk played in the super bowl, he was targeted 10 times. The Eagles will most likely do this by double teaming Gronk like the Jaguars did. Offensively, the Eagles must control the tempo. They must lead in time of possession throughout the game and play keep away from the Patriots. This should be doable as the Eagles have a balanced offense and a great o-line. This means that the Eagles will be able to give Foles time against a horrendous New England pass rush, allowing him to make the right decision and drive the ball down the field. The Eagles must also utilize their RPO’s and play action passes as that worked very well for Jacksonville last week. Finally, the Eagles must take risks on the offensive end. The downfall for most teams when they play the Patriots is that they play too conservative against the Patriots. They may have the lead and they won’t go for it on 4th and 1 and choose to punt it. Against any other team that is the right decision, but it is not with the New England Patriots. If you are in that situation against New England, you must go for it. If the Eagles follow all of these things, then they will put themselves in a position to win the Super Bowl.
There are many keys for the Patriots to win. Defensively, they must stop the RPO’s that the Eagles offense runs. This is their bread and butter as Nick Foles has completed 93.8% of his passes in the RPO during the playoffs. The Patriots must stay balanced and not bit on the run fakes, as Foles will eat them up if they do. The defense must also defend Zach Ertz, as he is Foles’s main target as he led the team in receptions and yards last week. The Patriots usually do well on tight ends, so locking down Ertz is very probable. The New England defense must make the Eagles offense unbalanced. The Eagles rely on being able to use both the run and the pass, so if you can force them to mainly call one of these then you can lock down their offense. Offensively, the Patriots must give Brady time. Brady’s downfall is usually when the defensive line can get pressure on him. This means that the offensive line must contain Fletcher Cox, who is the best defensive lineman on the Eagles. If the Patriots can give Brady time, then they will put themselves in a great position to win. Also, the Patriots must utilize the flats in their offense. This means that Brady will get the ball of quick to slot receivers and running such as Danny Amendola (receiver), James White (running back) and Dion Lewis (running back). Getting the ball of quick will force linebackers to guard these very quick players, which creates a mismatch that the Patriots will use to their advantage. Another key for the Patriots is to attack Jalen Mills. He is the weakest player in the Eagles secondary, as he gets beat on a lot of double moves. If the Patriots can utilize this mismatch, then they will have a field day throwing the ball. The Patriots will win the game if they follow these things.
In my opinion, the game comes down to one story: Brady vs. Foles. At the end of the day, I have to take the better quarterback. I think the game will be close throughout the game. However, two minute Tom will get one final drive at the end of the game. We all know how this ends, as Brady will drive down the field and put his team in field goal range. Gostkowski will hit the field goal and give Brady and Belichick their 6th Super Bowl, cementing their place in Sports History as the greatest quarterback and coach ever. The final score will be Philadelphia 21 New England 24.
