Super Bowl LII Preview

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

After five months of football, the most anticipated sporting event in North American sports is here. Super Bowl LII will be set in Minnesota, and will be a battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. Not too many people would've expected the Eagles to get here back in September. However, anybody that claims to be surprised to see the Patriots back is a flat out liar. Before we look at the game itself, I want to take a look back at the road each team took to get here.

The Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles were certainly flying higher than ever in 2017. Not only were they winning, but they were humiliating teams. They won nine of their games by multiple scores, and five of them were by 20+. It was really hard to find a weakness on this team. Carson Wentz was an MVP candidate. They had a top tier defense. They had a powerful running game. They even had a clutch kicker. The Eagles had everything you look for in a championship winning team.

Then came week 14 in Los Angeles. The day that Carson Wentz tore his ACL. I'm sure Philadelphia went through a lot of tissues that day. Hope seemed lost in Philly. But only until the divisional round. A win over the defending NFC champions would lift their spirits. A chip was put on their shoulder when they would continue to be home underdogs in the playoffs. That chip remains there despite their dominant performance over Minnesota.

This team, even when led by Nick Foles, can win. It wouldn't be the first time a team like this would win it all. Who am I referring to? Let's see. Good defensive team. Head coach in his second year with the team. Backup QB. Looking for their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. Playing against one of the NFL's great teams in the big game. Sounds an awful lot like the 2001 New England Patriots to me. Now, there is one big difference. Doug Pederson and Nick Foles aren't exactly Belichick and Brady, and it doesn't help that those two are on the opposite sideline. But this is a very similar team in my eyes.

The New England Patriots

It has gotten to the point where it doesn't feel right when the Patriots aren't in the Super Bowl. They have been in nearly half of all Super Bowls in the 21st century. We all know who they are. We all know what they have done. This is the greatest dynasty in NFL history, and it's not even close. Although we know all of that, we still try to deny it. We look for any reason to say that they are losing it. Remember when they lost in week 1. NFL fans everywhere were jumping all over them. People were saying that this was the beginning of the end, and Brady doesn't have it anymore. Then, New England did what they do every year. Win.

This New England team is no worse than most of their last 16 teams. Some say the defense isn't good enough. That just isn't true. Technically they have the 29th ranked defense, but that is by yards allowed, not points. The Patriots rank 5th in points allowed. They only surrendered one more point than the Eagles did, yet for some reason, we see Philadelphia's as so much better.

Many people say that they don't have enough offensive weapons. To that I would say that they don't need them. The Patriots win by their system. They stock their roster with specific types of players that can do what they need them to do. They don't need the best players. They need the right players, and that's exactly what they have. They have shown in the past that everybody is replaceable. They have also shown that they can make anybody look great. Remember when Chris Hogan was a star in the playoffs a year ago? Did you watch last week when Danny Amendola tore up the Jags' defense? There is a good chance that a new star will show up on February 4th. It could be Matthew Slater, Mike Gillislee, or some other guy you probably have never heard of. One way or another, they will move the ball down field.

So, no matter how much you might deny it, the Patriots are still great.

The Game

They say that history repeats itself. This game will be no exception. An Eagles win would be a repeat of your classic underdog story, including the one that the Patriots starred in 16 years ago. A Patriots win would would give them 3 Super Bowls in 4 years. That would be the second time they would do that, both of which would end with a victory over Philadelphia. The question is, in which way will history be repeated?

I believe the answer is pretty simple. I trust the ones who have experience writing history. I trust the greatest Head Coach and QB combo of all time. Brady and Belichick have been writing the history books for a long time, and I don't see why that would change. In recent weeks, the Patriots have been repeatedly called the NFL's Goliath. The only difference is that this Goliath won't die. At this point, it appears that time is the only thing that can kill the beast. And its time has not come.

However, the battle won't be won easily. The Eagles are an incredible football team. I fully believe that they will be back here in the near future. They have the potential to be the new Goliath one day. But I don't believe that that day is here.

I can just about guarantee you this. This will be a good Super Bowl. The Patriots like to keep it close. In fact last year's 6-point win was the largest margin of victory in a Tom Brady Super Bowl. So, if history does in fact repeat itself, we should be in for a treat. And in the spirit of the theme, I am predicting a familiar score from a certain 13-year-old Super Bowl.

Outcome: Patriots win 21-24