Super Bowl Takeaways + the Teams' Futures
Last Sunday, the Eagles were crowned super bowl champions. This loss hurt, as I am a Patriots fan and wanted them to win the game. With that said the Eagles deserved to win and be crowned Super Bowl Champions. I’m going to talk about the takeaways I had from the game and what I think the future holds for both teams. Offensively, Philadelphia was nearly perfect in my opinion. They won the time possession battle by nearly 9 minutes. The offense also was aggressive as they went for it one 4th down twice. The Eagles had a few tricks down their sleeve and they worked as a trick play set up Nick Foles for a receiving touchdown. Even when up, the Eagles never let up as they continued to run their base offense unlike other teams that play the Patriots. Defensively, the Eagles did all they could to stop Brady. They were able to get pressure on Brady as they hit him 9 times in the game and sacked him once. Even though the Eagles defense was mostly horrendous as they allowed 613, they stepped up in the biggest way when they stripped Brady. Doug Pederson coached a flawless game and he deserved the win. Offensively, the Patriots played an amazing game. To gain 613 yards against an elite defense is a major accomplishment. Tom Brady played the game of his life as he threw for 505 yards and 3 touchdowns. I think that the Cooks injury hurt the offense, as he would have helped the Patriots have some more explosive plays. The offense did all it could to win the game. Defensively, this was the worst game I had ever seen the Patriots play. I know people are saying that Malcolm Butler should have played, but you have to understand that Belichick has a game plan from week to week and if you don’t fit that then you don’t play. It’s just the reality of being a Patriot. They tried to “bend but not break” but it didn’t work. The Patriots could not get a stop on 3rd down as the Eagles went 10-16 and also went 2-2 on 4th down. The defense could not put any pressure on Foles as the defense had only 5 qb hits. This gave Foles time to survey the defense, which allowed him to have a monster game. The Patriots could not get a stop to save their life. Even though you have Tom Brady as your quarterback, you must still play a good defensive game. I mean the Patriots did not even get a stop in the 2nd half against Nick Foles. Brady did all he could to help you guys and you did nothing to repay him back in the 2nd half. That is when he needs you the most. If the Patriots had even played an okay defensive game, they would have been champions.
The future of the Eagles looks bright in my opinion. With Carson Wentz returning next year, the Eagles look to make a deep run in the postseason with their balanced offense, elite defense, and elite coaching. It will be interesting to see what the Eagles do with Foles. They can either keep him as a backup or trade him for some value. I personally would trade him, as Carson Wentz is a proven superstar. The Patriots are still going to be a title favorite next year. With superstar players like Hightower and Edelman returning, the Patriots look to give Brady his 6th ring again. The Patriots were able to convince offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to stay, so the offense will continue to be good. Brady will have another great year, as time will still not be caught up with him. Defensively, the Patriots will get a fresh start as defensive coordinator Matt Patricia left to take the Lions job. Whoever takes over will have the tough task of making this defensive decent again. Overall, the futures of these two teams are bright.
