Turnovers will be decisive
/content/dam/images/ 1/o/8/9/n/f/imageNew England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady stands on the verge of history in today’s Super Bowl, but he is taking nothing for granted.
The 40-year-old is appearing in the NFL’s marquee game for the eighth time, with five victories to date. A sixth would put him clear of a chasing pack who each managed five in their careers.
However, Brady is under no illusions about the size of the task facing his team in Minneapolis, where they play the Philadelphia Eagles.
‘‘This is the best team we’ve faced this season,’’ Brady said.
The Eagles go into the game as underdogs. Having lost their star quarterback Carson Wentz to a knee injury in December, they are reliant on backup Nick Foles, a player who once threw a record seven touchdowns in one game, but who is equally capable of looking deeply average.
It may be the highly- ated Eagles defence that proves the biggest barrier to Brady’s sixth Super Bowl ring. The Eagles will look to pressure Brady into risky passes, but the Patriots’ man says he has been focusing on not turning over the ball to his opponents in the buildup to the game.
‘‘We talk so much about turnovers,’’ said Brady.
‘‘It’s the No 1 stat that leads to winning and losing games, turnover differential, and when we don’t turn the ball over we have a very, very high percentage of winning.
‘‘So, every day in practice, I’m thinking about riskreward and is it worth it to throw the ball certain yards down the field with the risk of the ball being intercepted?
‘‘I had some of those late in the year when I just didn’t make great decisions, and it led to turnovers, and turnovers obviously led to the game we lost [against the Miami Dolphins].’’
Today’s game will be punctuated by the traditional halftime show, with Justin Timberlake doing the honours. Last time Timberlake appeared at a Super Bowl he attracted the ire of America’s moral majority by exposing Janet Jackson’s breast, a moment memorably blamed on a ‘‘wardrobe malfunction.’’
It is unusual for the Super Bowl to be held in such a northerly location and temperatures in Minneapolis this week have been as low as -19C. Fortunately, the US Bank Stadium, which hosts the match, comes equipped with a roof.
Sunday Telegraph