BIG GAME Preview © ADOBE STOCK The Eagles: How They Got Here he Eagles were 7-9 last year in the first season under coach Doug Pederson — hardly an impressive start T to his tenure with promising quarterback Carson Wentz also in his rookie season with Philadelphia. Expectations were low enter- ing 2017, with many experts projecting the team to be around the .500 mark yet again. But some strategic ros- ter moves in the offseason proved to be instrumental in helping the Eagles make the 2016 season a distant memory. KEY ADDITIONS Veteran running back LeGarrette Blount and defen- sive end Chris Long joined the Eagles after winning Super Bowl rings with the Patriots last year. “I chose the Eagles for the reason of me fitting in really good here, having a champi- onship run, having a banner season,” Blount told the Associated Press after he signed. “And they’re a really good team. They’re a really good team before I came. I just want to fit in.” The Eagles also added receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, and traded for defensive tackle Tim Jernigan. The moves didn’t gain a lot of media attention but quietly set the Eagles up for a success- MR.SCHULTZ / WIKIMEDIA / CREATIVE COMMONS ful campaign with Wentz lead- ing the squad in his second season. Carson Wentz went down with win a Super Bowl since Tom as 5-and-a-half-point favorites The Eagles also were three- a torn ACL in week 14 of the Brady in 2002. in Super Bowl LII. That’s noth- point underdogs in the NFC NEXT MAN UP regular season, the Eagles ing new for the Eagles. They title game against the Quarterback Nick Foles has turned to Foles to pick up the UNDERDOGS were the first No. 1 seed in NFL Minnesota Vikings. Now the proven the importance of hav- slack. On Jan. 22 — the day after history to be underdogs in underdog masks sported by ing a quality backup quarter- He delivered. the NFC and AFC title games, their opening playoff game but many fans throughout the back in today’s National Foles will now try to become The Westgate SuperBook in came away with a win over the playoffs will be in full force for Football League. When starter the first backup quarterback to Las Vegas installed the Patriots Atlanta Falcons. Super Sunday. The Patriots: How They Got Here ere we go again. The New England HPatriots are back in the Super Bowl. After playing in their sev- BELICHICK AND BRADY enth straight AFC champion- Coach Bill Belichick and ship game on Jan. 21 against quarterback Tom Brady have the Jacksonville Jaguars, the been the driving factors in all of Patriots are looking for their the Patriots’ Super Bowl wins. second straight Super Bowl They earned their first three in victory. a four-year span (2002 to 2005) New England made the big- but had to wait 10 years for gest comeback in Super Bowl their next championship. history last year, overcoming a Even with a little extra drama 25-point deficit to defeat the this year after the Patriots trad- Atlanta Falcons, 34-28, to win ed backup quarterback Jimmy the big game. Having had Garoppolo to the San Francisco much of its key core intact 49ers, Belichick and Brady heading into the 2017-18 sea- found a way to work through son, it’s no surprise the Patriots their differences. find themselves making yet another Super Bowl run. OVERCOMING INJURIES Facing the Eagles is nothing The Patriots’ week of practice new, either. Tom Brady and the ahead of their AFC champion- Patriots beat Philadelphia in ship game against the Jaguars Super Bowl XXXIX. featured a scary moment for Brady. EXCELLENCE DEFINED He cut his knuckle on a hel- The Patriots will appear in met during a handoff and it their 10th Super Bowl, the required 12 stitches. Brady most by any franchise. (Dallas, missed one practice and Denver and Pittsburgh have became the talk of the town been to eight.) With a win, throughout the week, with New England would earn its Patriots fans fearing the worst. sixth title, which would tie the But the future Hall of Famer Steelers for most in National put together a solid game with Football League history. 290 yards and two touchdowns, So how did they get here? including the go-ahead touch- Well, that’s more of the same, down pass to Danny Amendola too. with 2:48 left in the game. Having had much of its key core intact heading into the 2017-18 season, it’s no surprise the Patriots find themselves making yet JEFFREY BEALL / WIKIMEDIA / CREATIVE COMMONS another Super Bowl run. Foles: Surprising Super Bowl Starter ven Nick E Foles didn’t see this coming. Philadelphia drafted Foles out of college but traded him after the 2014 season to the Rams as the Eagles acquired quarterback Sam Bradford. After a winding road that almost led to retirement, Foles put together a solid playoff run to position the Eagles for a chance at the Super Bowl championship. The quarterback passed for 352 yards and three touch- downs in the Eagles’ blowout victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game on Jan. 21. The victory was surprising to many prognosticators, many of whom considered Foles outmatched by a stellar Vikings defense. Foles surely will face similar doubters as he leads the Eagles against the heavily favored Patriots in the Super Bowl. REPLACING WENTZ Foles was thrust into the starter’s role when quarter- back Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL in week 14 of the regular season. MATTHEW STRAUBMULLER / FLICKR / CREATIVE COMMONS Wentz had been on his way to an MVP-caliber season before the injury, leading many to er quality performances in Minnesota’s offense in the features a defeat to the build out an early lead, believe the Eagles would be playoff wins over Atlanta and second half. Oakland Raiders in Super although it may be hard-pressed to replace him. Minnesota. His first-half per- Bowl XV and the heartbreak- Philadelphia’s defense that Enter Foles. formance against the Vikings OVERCOMING HISTORY ing 24-21 loss to the Patriots carries the burden of limiting The backup was inconsis- put the game out of reach On Feb. 4, the Eagles will in Super Bowl XXXIX. the late-game heroics of tent down the stretch of the early, allowing the Eagles try to overcome a less-than- Foles will have to play a key Patriots quarterback Tom regular season but put togeth- defense to put pressure on stellar Super Bowl history that role in helping the Eagles Brady. BIG GAME PREVIEW | QUARTERBACKS Tom the Terrific (Again) om Brady has defied the odds — he is now 40 years old — to become arguably the T greatest quarterback in the history of the National Football League. While that topic is a hotly contested debate, Brady’s postseason records speak for themselves. To add to his illustrious career, Brady was named MVP of the league by the Pro Football Writers Association in January. Brady finished the season with 4,577 total yards, 32 touchdowns and eight inter- ceptions. His passer rating was 102.8, and the Patriots had the No. 1 offense in the NFL. This is the third PFWA MVP award, and he has won the Associated Press MVP award twice. Check out some of Brady’s most impressive statistics from his Hall of Fame career: • More playoff wins by him- self (27) than 28 NFL franchises do in their entire history, including Oakland (25), New York Giants (24) and Washington (23). • Eight comebacks and three other fourth-quarter or game-winning drives in the postseason. Eli Manning is the next-closest quarterback with five. • Started two more Super Bowls (seven) than any other quarterback in history. (John Elway had five starts.) • Won a record five Super Bowls, one more than Terry KEITH ALLISON / FLICKR / CREATIVE COMMONS Bradshaw and Joe Montana. • More playoff starts than Peyton Manning and Johnny their entire playoff careers. • Selected to 13 Pro Bowls. lar season, Brady was fourth ing season as a starting quar- Unitas combined. • Four Super Bowl MVP • Led his team to more divi- all-time in career passing yards, terback and his combined reg- • More passing touchdowns awards (Super Bowls XXXVI, sion titles (15) than any other tied for third with Drew Brees ular-season and postseason in the Super Bowl (15) than all XXXVIII, XLIX, and LI), the quarterback in NFL history. in career touchdown passes. wins are the most of any quar- but 25 quarterbacks have in most ever by a single player. • At the end of the 2017 regu- • Brady has never had a los- terback in NFL history. BIG GAME PREVIEW | MATCHUPS Who Has the Edge On D? igh-flying offenses Hwill likely be the topic of discussion heading into Super Bowl LII, but it’s the underrated defenses that may well get the last laugh. Some of the most memora- ble Super Bowl contests have featured unbelievable defen- sive play — whether it be James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return in Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl XLII victory or Malcolm Butler’s goal line interception just a few years ago to help New England beat Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX. Who will be the defensive star this year? PHILADELPHIA DEFENSE Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had a tall task in 2017, especially during the final quarter of the season. TECH. SGT. AARON OELRICH / WIKIMEDIA / CREATIVE COMMONS Once MVP candidate Carson Wentz was lost for the year on offense, Philadelphia turned to contests.