The drama, the grind and the controversy of 17 weeks of the NFL regular season is nearly over. All that is left after a three-week playoff stretch is this Sunday’s game — Super Bowl LII — Between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in Minneapolis.
A win for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick would give the dynamic duo their sixth set of Super Bowl rings while working together, and back-to-back Super Bowl championships. They would be the first back-to-back champs since they accomplished the same feat in 2004 and 2005.
The Eagles are appearing in their third Super Bowl, looking for their first title of the modern era. Their last trip to the ultimate game was on Feb. 6, 2005, when they lost to the Patriots, 24-21. Time has passed, but the wound has not healed. After Carson Wentz went down for the season, many predicted that would be it for the Eagles, but here they are, one win away from the ultimate accomplishment in the league.
Bing predicts was one for two in the championship round. It was spot on when it gave the Patriots the big edge in the AFC championship over the Jaguars. In the NFC title game, Bing predicted the Minnesota Vikings over Philadelphia, but the Eagles won in a 38-7 rout.
So now the Patriots and Eagles face off in Minnesota. Grab a beverage and buckle up, this could be a good one. 24/7 Wall St. conducted a review of each team’s offense and defense, and Bing ran its prediction model to determine the most likely victor this year.
Click here to see a rundown of each team, and stick around to view the predicted results.
Bing’s NFL predictions use team and player statistics and web activity to build a statistical model that takes into account historical data and real-time information (like injuries, suspensions, and lineup changes). Finally, social sentiment adds a unique wisdom-of-the-crowd factor to the model. Learn more about Bing Predicts.
Click here to see all Bing weekly NFL predictions
The New England Patriots
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The Patriots Offense: Brady and Belichick
Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick were born to win Super Bowl rings. When all of your diamond-encrusted Super Bowl rings won’t fit on one hand, it is kind of a big deal. They are going for No. 6 together as the big favorites. (Belichick owns another pair from his time as Giants defensive coordinator.)
Brady and Belichick have won five straight postseason games going back to last year when they beat the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. They keep their focus, shut out the distractions and go about the business of winning games. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
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Source: Jim Rogash / Getty Images
Patriots Offense: An Irresistible Force
The dozen stitches in Brady’s right throwing hand have been snipped. They didn’t seem to hamper him in the AFC championship win over the Jaguars, but he said this week the hand is not quite where he wants it to be. He was spotted wearing gloves in Minneapolis this week. Of course, it could be because of single-digit temps.
In the two postseason games — wins over the Titans and Jaguars — Brady threw five touchdowns and zero interceptions. In his career, he has 68 postseason touchdowns against just 31 interceptions. It’s not all Brady, he’s got plenty of offensive skill players at his disposal including wide receiver Danny Amendola; running back Dion Lewis, who is also a threat out of the backfield; and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is expected to be cleared to play after suffering a concussion against the Falcons. They won the Super Bowl a year ago without Gronk but they could really use him on Sunday.
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Patriots Offense: Never Count them Out
Belichick is a master of out-thinking and out-coaching the opposition. He cannot be given enough credit for his adjustments. It happens every game, but was never on display more than in last year’s Super Bowl when the Patriots were down to the Falcons, 28-3 midway through the third quarter and came back for one of the best Super Bowl finishes of all time. Never count the Patriots out.
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Patriots Defense: Underrated
It’s not like New England’s defense is woeful, by any measure. It’s just that Brady and the offense steal the spotlight. The Pats defense was ranked fifth in the regular season with points allowed (296). They don’t care so much about yards given up (they were ranked 29th in that category), they just want to keep the points off the board. It’s a pretty basic key to success.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson calls the offense which challenges every defense. The Patriots will be no different. Offensively the Eagles are aggressive, balanced and have a host of receivers, tight ends and running backs. New England’s defense won’t be able to key in on one factor.
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Source: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images
Patriots Defense: A Team Effort
The Patriots’ defense always seems to have one guy — maybe someone unexpected — step up at a key time. It was cornerback Malcolm Butler, who was fifth on the depth chart in the 2015 Super Bowl, when his goal-line interception with 20 seconds left secured a win over Seattle. The Patriots easily could have had their season ended by the Jaguars in the AFC championship game, but cornerback Stephon Gilmore got his hand on a Blake Bortles pass to deflect it late in the game. It was a game-saving move.
24/7 Wall St.
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Patriots: X-factors
Experience favors the Patriots, and it’s not even close. Brady will play in his seventh Super Bowl and 37th playoff game. The Eagles have just seven combined Super Bowl appearances across the entire team.
It’s all in the details. As the home team, the Patriots had the option of which color uniform to wear. They will be the guys in white. Belichick and Brady are 3-0 in the Super Bowl with his Patriots wearing white.
Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will likely be coaching their final games with New England. Patricia is expected to become the Detroit Lions head coach with McDaniels appears to be headed to the Indianapolis Colts. Might as well go out on top.
Philadelphia Eagles
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The Eagles Offense: The RPO
Quarterback Nick Foles has brought back the RPO (run pass option). Actually, it never went away, but the Eagles quarterback has returned it to respectability. He has a passer rating of 93.8 using the RPO. (If you’re going to a Super Bowl party and don’t know much football, just say “How about that RPO?” You’ll be cool.) The RPO puts stress on the linebackers and makes the offense easier to run for Foles, who stepped in when Carson Wentz tore up his knee in Week 14.
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Source: Al Bello / Getty Images
The Eagles Offense: Two Foles
Foles’ short season has been a roller coaster ride. In his final two regular season games he threw one touchdown and two interceptions, completing just 43.2 percent of his passes. Yikes. However, in the two postseason games he’s passed for three touchdowns and zero interceptions, completing 77.8 percent of his pass attempts. If that Foles shows up, Patriots beware. Give Foles his due. In 2013, he became one of only three quarterbacks in NFL history to throw seven touchdowns with zero interceptions in a game. The others are Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Y.A. Tittle.
Source: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images
The Eagles Offense: By Committee
Offensively, running back Jay Ajayi and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery do their part to help Foles. Don’t forget LeGarrette Blount who rushed for a touchdown in each of the two playoff games. The running back has 10 career postseason rushing touchdowns which is seventh in NFL history. The six ahead of him are all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame including leader Emmitt Smith with 19.
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The Eagles Defense: An Immovable Object
The defense gets the nod for being the strength of the high-flying Eagles. It has held playoff opponents to less than 10 points in back-to-back games. Under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, the Eagles’ defense was was ranked fourth in both yards allowed (306.5) and points allowed (295) in the regular season.
They don’t have an inordinate number of sacks (38) but they’re fourth in the league with 19 interceptions. The secondary is led by Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins and veteran cornerback Patrick Robinson.
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Source: Leon Halip / Getty Images
Eagles Defense: Puttin’ on the Blitz
Schwartz gets his group to pressure the quarterback by using the blitz sparingly. But here’s the thing, Schwartz can change the defense on the fly depending on what he’s seeing from Brady and the offense. So if he thinks the blitz is the best way to defend New England, we might see more of it. He’s got the personnel to do it with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and edge-rushers Brandon Graham, Chris Long, Vinny Curry and rookie Derek Barnett. Philadelphia’s defense generated more quarterback pressure than any other team, per Pro Football Focus.
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Eagles Defense: #1 Against the Run
The Eagles’ defense held the favored Falcons to just 10 points while sacking quarterback Matt Ryan three times and finishing with 11 quarterback hits. The Eagles defense intercepted Case Keenum twice and held Minnesota to just one touchdown in a 38-7 rout.
Also, in the regular season they owned the stingiest run defense, allowing just 79.2 rushing yards per game. In their playoff wins, they held Vikings running back Latavius Murray to 18 yards and Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman to 7 yards.
Source: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images
Eagles: X-factors
Coach Doug Pederson is a bit of a riverboat gambler when it comes to fourth downs. He tried 26 fourth-down attempts in the regular season which was second only to the Packers. The Eagles converted 17 of them (65.4 percent). It’s something to think about if the Eagles fall behind.
The underdog role fits them well. Heck the Falcons were favored to beat them in Philadelphia. The team responded. When Carson Wentz couldn’t finish the season, their Super Bowl chances presumably took a huge blow and look where they are now. They’ve also lost starting left tackle Jason Peters, linebacker Jordan Hicks, running back Darren Sproles and kicker Caleb Sturgis. This is not the same roster that started the season on a 10-1 roll. Adjustments, coaching and mental toughness have played a role. They could be peaking at the right time.
The Eagles have never won a Super Bowl. They will either embrace the pressure or wilt under it. With their season so far, the former is a good bet.
The Prediction:
Source: Hannah Foslien / Getty Images
Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots
> Bing Predicts winner: New England (63%)
> Kickoff time: 6:30 PM EDT (Sunday)
> Game spread: New England -6
> Postseason matchup history: Patriots lead 1-0
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