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| Eagles vs. Patriots in Super Bowl LII - Google Images |
Well, the week and the matchup that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived. The week leading to Super Bowl LII from Minneapolis, Minnesota begins today with Super Bowl Opening Night (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN / ESPN / NFL Network). This Super Bowl is something that everyone should apprecraite and savor very, very much. This is a dream for the normal football fan. The #1 seed in their respective conferences meet up in the Twin Cities for the grand prize of them all: the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In an moment, we will discuss how the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots both got to this game. The Mall of America, U.S. Bank Stadium, Xcel Energy Center and various sites in the Minneapolis area will get to shine this week and they deserve it. This Super Bowl marks the return of it in the Twin Cities with the last time being in 1992 at the old Metrodome (now the site of U.S. Bank Stadium).
The Philadelphia Eagles went 13-3 this season and the champions of the NFC East division. The Eagles made it here with some adversity of course. Backup quarterback Nick Foles leads his Birds into this matchup. Carson Wentz, of course, the second-year quarterback started the year on the bump, but injured himself during a Week 14 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Foles took over at that point and after some early bumps, got the Eagles focused and they really impressed the "critics".You know who they are. Remember, this is Foles' second tour of duty with the Eagles. The Eagles also lost key players for the season as well: Jason Peters, Darren Sproles, Jordan Hicks, Chris Maragos and Joe Walker & Caleb Strugis. Despite those holes, the Eagles were very confident inside themselves and kept moving on to the next week and the next opponent. The Eagles started off the year with an Week 1 win at the Redskins in Washington, followed by a Week 2 loss against the Chiefs and old friend Andy Reid. The Eagles then ripped off 9 straight wins before losing Week 13 at Seattle. Following an 3-game winning streak that included getting home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs & wrapping up the NFC East title, the Eagles lost 6-0 to the Dallas Cowboys during the regular-season finale. The Eagles were considered underdogs for the home playoff games to the Falcons and Vikings (!!), but the Eagles managed to beat both of them, the later by 31 points. So, the Eagles feel like this rematch against the Patriots will turn up a little bit differently this time around. Several Eagles players visited local Philly stores to get the fans turned up, including Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson, Fletcher Cox, Rodney McLeod, Brandon Brooks, Chris Long, Lane Johnson among others.
The New England Patriots also went 13-3 this season and the champions of the AFC East division. Quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belicheck keep moving along. Of course, it's no surprise to see these guys play in big games like this one. This will cement New England's 3rd Super Bowl appearance in the last 4 seasons and 10th overall appearance. New England of course won the last 2 Super Bowls in dramatic fashion beating the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIX thanks to Malcolm Butler's game-winning interception on an pass (YOU SHOULD'VE RAN IT WITH LYNCH!!) & most recently, Super Bowl LI overcoming an 25-point deficit and beating the Atlanta Falcons in the first Super Bowl to require an 5th quarter, so to speak. Tom Brady, of course, has 5 Super Bowls, more than any other quarterback that has every played this game. So, of course, New England will keep this game close!
The overall key to this game is how Philly will treat New England. The Eagles must be able to keep a lead and grow it on a regular basis and don't turn the ball over against this good Patriots' defense. That's how the Eagles will be able to get the job done.
Super Bowl LII shall be an good game and we can't wait for this one to start! Let's go already and kick off this thing!!!
