Kevin Crompton – Sports Editor
Vegas has the Philadelphia Eagles as the biggest Super Bowl underdogs since 2009, but do not let that fool you. Super Bowl LII will be far from a walk in the park for Tom Brady and company. The Patriots will be favored by 5.5 points on Sunday which is the largest margin since the Pittsburg Steelers were seven point favorites in Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals. And let’s not forget how memorable of a Super Bowl that one was, as Santonio Holmes capped off a Pittsburg comeback drive with one of the greatest touchdown catches of all time.
Would the Eagles be favorites had their MVP caliber quarterback not torn his ACL?
Probably not. However, the betting spread would certainly be closer and Eagles fans across the nation would feel more confident in their chances of preventing the greatest quarterback/coach combination in the history of the league from winning their sixth Lombardi Trophy.
That being said, Nick Foles is not a man I would suggest sleeping on. In the NFC championship game, just over a week ago, Foles proved that he is more than capable of a substantial performance when the stakes are high. In what was expected to be a close contest, the Eagles steamrolled the Vikings and Foles was absolutely locked in as he threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns.
Okay, so let’s say Foles plays as well as, or even better than he did against Minnesota. That means Philly will finally be able to call themselves Super Bowl champions, right?
False. There’s this guy named Tom Brady on the other side, you might have heard of him. But how does Philly stop Touchdown Tom? Well that’s a job for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to figure out, but having what might be the best front four in the NFL undoubtedly makes it easier. This will allow Philly to put pressure on Brady without sending an extra man on a blitz. Pressuring the quarterback by only rushing four allows for more pass coverage help. Tightening up the windows available for Brady and having your 300-pound defensive linemen make his day miserable, has proved to be a successful approach that the New York Giants took in each of their Super Bowl victories over New England.
Can the Eagles follow suit and keep arguably the greatest American sports athlete of all time from adding yet another ring to his collection?
Photo Courtesy: Creative Commons
