The Eagles are underdogs in Super Bowl 52.
That’s nothing new to the NFC’s No. 1 seeds who reached the Super Bowl despite being home underdogs in their two playoff wins.
The massive chip on their collective shoulder is one of three key reasons the Eagles will get the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory.
The Eagles have shown remarkable resiliency all season. They first had to replace Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, but Halapoulivaati Vaitai has done a superb job in his place. (Vaitai shut down Vikings pass rusher Everson Griffen in the NFC championship game.)
The Eagles were dealt another massive blow in Week 14, when starting quarterback Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL. Nick Foles stepped in, and, though he wasn’t great over the final three weeks, he has been spectacular in the postseason. He has completed better than 75 percent of his passes the last two games and threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns in the 38-7 rout of the Vikings.
Philadelphia’s resiliency could result in the team’s first NFL title since 1960.
Defense wins championships and the Eagles have a great one. That unit is the second reason the Eagles will beat the Patriots.
The Eagles know pressuring Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be key to winning. Brady is human, and the Eagles led the NFL with 16.9 pressures per game this season. Philadelphia had the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense that was tops against the run.
Against a Patriots offense that relies on Brady’s arm, the Eagles should be able to get the Patriots in third-and-long situations. That will allow pass rushers Fletcher Cox, Chris Long and Brandon Graham to come after Brady.
The third reason the Eagles will win the Super Bowl: The team’s trio of running backs. LeGarrette Blount, midseason acquisition Jay Ajayi and rookie Corey Clement are averaging better than 5 yards per touch, per Opta.
Blount led the Eagles with 766 rushing yards and scored twice during the regular season. Ajayi had 408 rushing yards and a score in seven games since coming over from the Dolphins. Clement had 321 rushing yards during the regular season with a team-high four rushing touchdowns.
The trio has kept it up in the playoffs with a combined 192 rushing yards and two touchdowns to go with 12 receptions for 109 yards.
Clement had just 10 receptions during the regular season, but they went for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Having seen little-used Jaguars running back Corey Grant torch the Patriots in the first half of the AFC championship game, the Eagles will likely try to get Clement the ball in space against the Patriots linebackers.
The running backs can help Foles get comfortable, and as long as the Eagles don’t turn the ball over, they can pull off the upset.