Super Bowl LII: Breaking down the Eagles, Patriots game plans
By Peter Panacy
Super Bowl LII Prediction
Niner Noise broke down our staff predictions earlier this week, and you can check them all out here.
It seems silly to think the Eagles can pull off an upset. But this isn’t as big a mismatch as one might think. Just taking look at the side-by-side comparisons, Philadelphia should be able to win down in the trenches. And if one had to bet on either side’s running game, Philly wins that matchup too.
These combined factors likely result in an early Eagles lead. Perhaps we see Doug Pederson and Co. up 14-3, or something, by halftime.
But we’ve seen this movie before.
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Chris Landry of LandryFootball.com joined The Grant Napear Show on Sacramento’s KHTK 1140 earlier this week, noting how the Eagles will likely defend in their “big” nickel packages. When Tom Brady gets the matchups he likes, Landry felt as if the Patriots would go uptempo and wear down Philadelphia’s pass-rushers.
This isn’t unlike what New England did against the Jacksonville Jaguars two weeks ago, negating a four-man rush in the fourth quarter, leading to yet another come-from-behind playoff win for the Patriots.
That’s what you’ll see here on Sunday. Super Bowl LII will be marked by yet another second-half comeback, as the Patriots take home a sixth Lombardi Trophy.
And all the non-Pats fans across the nation will groan yet again.
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