When looking at what the Eagles need to do to win Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots it’s necessary to point out how resilient and aggressive they have been despite losing starting quarterback Carson Wentz in week 14 and having to replace him with second-stringer Nick Foles.
This year the Eagles have a team that has continually been cast as the underdogs in each of its postseason games and yet keeps finding ways to win. The underdog Eagles have been barking all postseason long and they plan to keep doing so in the Super Bowl to upset a Patriots team that as of the writing of this article are a -4.5 favorite.
For the Eagles, it all starts with their defensive line, which has been so dominant all season long, especially at home, and is relentless against opposing quarterbacks.
Although they rotate eight guys it’s undeniable that defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is the anchor of the defense. He’s been a monster in the middle of that wide-nine defense in which the weakside end abandons all run support responsibilities and basically focuses on crashing down the line and rushing the passer.
The Eagles don’t worry about mobiles quarterbacks scrambling and taking off, and that will not change in this Super Bowl because Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is not that mobile, they instead focus on being physical, pressuring the passer constantly and reaping the benefits of the turnovers they produce.
On the offense, Nick Foles will be out to prove who he really is and silence his critics once and for all. In five games as the Eagles starter, although he had not been bad, he had been inconsistent.
However, in his two postseason games, he has shown great improvement as his completion percentage has soared to 77.8 from 56.4 during the regular season. That was especially true in the NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings where he passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 95.8.
In that game, it looked as things were finally clicking for the Eagles offensively as they seemed to have found an offense that fits Nick Foles and his strengths as he looked confident and relaxed.
He passed the ball well, was aggressive in his play and didn’t hesitate with his passing decisions as he threw the ball downfield. Foles will also benefit from having Doug Pederson as head coach and Frank Reich as offensive coordinator as they were both backup quarterbacks for a long portion of their NFL careers and know what is like to step into the spotlight in tough situations. Now that they seem to have found Foles’ place in the team’s offense they won’t hesitate to stay aggressive against the Patriots if the game is close in the fourth quarter.
If they want to win the Eagles need to keep the game close until the fourth quarter, not fold under pressure and if they have the lead late in the game and are presented with the opportunity to go for the kill they need to do it. They need to try to score as much as they can, because regardless how good their defense is, they must avoid having to rely on it to put Brady and the rest of that explosive offense away.
After all, the memory of Brady and company mounting an epic comeback for the ages in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons is just too fresh in their minds to want to challenge head coach Bill Belichick and Brady to beat their defense late in the game.
