Why the Eagles will win the Super Bowl
BLOOMINGTON, MINN. » The best formula for success against the New England Patriots is to keep TomBrady on the sideline and harass him when he’s on the field.
That’s not a news flash. But the good news for Eagles fans and everyone rooting against Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots in Sunday’s Super Bowl is that Philadelphia has the ingredients to do it.
The Eagles (15-3) have a multidimensional, ball- control offense capable of chewing the clock and forcing No. 12 to be a spectator.
Jay Ajayi, former Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount and Corey Clement led the NFL’s third-best rushing offense and the Eagles were first in time of possession.
“You have to stay patient and diligent there,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “That’s something
we’ve been able to do all season long. It’s something we stay committed to.”
This isn’t an old-school, ground-and-pound offense, either.
The Eagles have a versatile passing attack with several receivers who create matchup problems. Carson Wentz threw for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdown passes before he tore his ACL in Week 14 and Nick Foles has eight TD passes, including playoffs.
Foles proved in the NFC championship game he can make quick- strike plays with three passes of 40-plus yards against the league’s top-ranked defense. Two of those were TD tosses of 53 yards to Alshon Jeffery and 41 yards to Torrey Smith.
Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz and slot receiver Nelson Agholor are other options. Tight end Trey Bur- ton, who also lines up at fullback in certain shortyardage situations, had five TD catches this season.
“You can’t just stop one guy,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. “You can’t go out there and say, ‘if we just limit Jeffery or if we just limit Ertz that won’t matter.’ They have a lot of different guys out there that can beat you.”
Foles has been adept at making the right calls on run-pass option plays, making it even more difficult for defenses facing Philadelphia.
“It’s hard because you have to defend every inch of the field,” McCourty said. “Each guy has to do their job on the play. We can’t