Every year, the Super Bowl is one of the most watched television events. On February 4, 2018, the 52nd Super Bowl will play out in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Super Bowl LII features the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. The Eagles will play in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2004, coincidentally when they lost to the Patriots in a close game. However, it hasn’t been as rare of an occurrence for the Patriots as they have participated in and won, 2 of the last 3 Super Bowls.

For both teams, it was a tough road to get to Super Bowl LII. The Eagles entered the playoffs with backup quarterback Nick Foles after MVP candidate Carson Wentz went down with an ACL injury in week 14. Since being thrust into the starting role, Foles hasn’t been spectacular. Entering the playoffs many were questioning if the starting role should fall upon third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld, but Head Coach Doug Peterson and the Eagles kept their faith in Foles. Since the start of the playoffs, it has been a whole different story. The Eagles had a first-round bye after being the number 1 seed in the NFC. In their first game back from the bye, the Eagles played the Atlanta Falcons in a tight game. The Eagles beat the Falcons 15-10 despite not holding the lead until late in the 3rd quarter. Foles was spectacular in the NFC Championship game against a defensive force in the Vikings. After the dominant win against Minnesota, Foles gave Eagles fans added confidence entering the Super Bowl.

The Patriots entered the playoffs as the number 1 seed for the 6th time in the Tom Brady, Bill Belichick era. After their first-round bye, the Patriots beat the Tennessee Titans to advance to the AFC championship game. The AFC championship featured the Patriots vs. a stout Jacksonville Jaguars team with a strong defense and a recently surging offense led by QB Blake Bortles. After being down 14-10 at halftime, the Patriots came back and won 24-20 with a late Danny Amendola touchdown with 2:48 left in the game.

After reviewing both teams and their journeys to the Super Bowl, it is time for my prediction. Both sides are strong defensively, but both have holes as well. If the Eagles want to win this game, Nick Foles will have to continue the level of play he was at against Minnesota two weeks ago. The Eagles defense will also need to stop the force that is the Patriots offense and limit their scoring. Similarly, if the Patriots want to win, their defense needs to step up and make plays. I believe this game will come down to whose defense plays better, and my prediction is the New England Patriots. Going head to head against a backup QB in Nick Foles, in a stage this big, I have to give the edge to the Patriots. The Super Bowl spotlight isn’t new for the Patriots as most of their player played in last years Super Bowl with a few exceptions. With offensive weapon Rob Gronkowski coming back off of a concussion suffered in their meeting with the Jaguars, the Patriots will have to score, and score a lot if they want to win. While I do believe the Patriots will come out on top, I think it will be a close game. Nick Foles won’t shy away from the pressure and will make things interesting throughout the game. Final Score: 31-27 with the Patriots coming out victorious. Tom Brady will end with 328 yards and 3 TDs, while on the other side Foles will counter with 273 yards and 2 TDs of his own.