It’s Team Dynasty vs. Philly Rocky story
MINNEAPOLIS — There is a time it will end, when Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will leave the scene, when seemingly every early February showdown designated with Roman numerals does not conclude with another Patriots coronation. Dynasties are rare and special, but they are not forever.
For the eighth time in 17 years, Belichick and Brady command a Super Bowl stage, seeking their sixth Lombardi Trophy, which would tie the Patriots with the Steelers for the most in NFL history. Belichick and Brady are here, again, for the eighth time. No other head coachquarterback combination has ever been in more than four Super Bowls.
We interrupt this edition of Patriots Digest to confirm New England indeed has an opponent. This time around, playing the role of “the other team’’ is the Eagles, representing an often starcrossed franchise that, much to the chagrin of their green-clad Philadelphia zealots, has never won a Super Bowl. The Patriots in this expansive run have taken out the Rams, Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks and Falcons. The only dents in the New England armor were inflicted by the Giants, who beat Belichick and Brady twice, causing a 10-year gap between titles.
The Eagles, in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, either will join the Giants as Patriots slayers or else will get dumped in the refuse bin as just another team that could not solve the Belichick-Brady hex.
“No one wants to see the Patriots in the Super Bowl every year,’’ Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said. “It’s like watching the same show of ‘Friends’ or something every night, watching the same show. People get tired of it, yeah. What are you going to do?’’
The only way to cancel this longrunning Patriots program is to kill their Super Bowl ratings, something only Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and the Giants did, not once, but twice. The Patriots are seeking their third Lombardi Trophy in the past four years, which, on its own, qualifies as a dynasty. That the Patriots previously put together a three-in-fouryear Super Bowl-winning run is, well, unprecedented, and worthy of best-ever consideration.