By: Giquan Williams and Gaurav Bhanot
The Philadelphia Eagles have been soaring since entering the playoffs, embracing their underdog status, and currently stand 60 minutes away from winning the franchise’s first Superbowl. Their opponents have been considered favorites in both of their playoff games, thus far, and they have surpassed expectations in each of them. With a quarterback that has had only one memorable season in the last five years, Nick Foles is destroying doubters as the backup QB has been playing exceptionally well. With a defense that has managed to only allow 3 total touchdowns in three games, the Eagles are looking to upset “Pretty Boy Brady”, as Eagles lineman Lane Johnson called the star Patriots QB, and his Goliath-like team.
The Eagles’ defense has been nothing short of incredible in the playoffs. The Eagles disrupted the Falcons and Vikings, teams known for protecting their quarterback and having a incredible running game, holding both teams to a combined score of only 17. They managed to hold Pro-Bowler Devonta Freeman of the Atlanta Falcons to just seven yards on ten carries. They also held star rookie running back Jerick McKinnon to just 40 yards on ten carries. Their passing defense is nothing to laugh about either. They managed to force two interceptions and only allow two total passing touchdowns in their deep playoff run. This defense will be a difficult one for Brady, who has played poorly in the first half against strong defenses. But, Brady is capable of leading impressive fourth quarter comebacks; he has the most in NFL postseason history, according to pro-football-reference.com.
The Eagles’ offense should give New England the headaches the Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t or just didn’t provide. Foles and his Eagles offense won’t take themselves out of the game like the Jaguars did. The Eagles also have a great chance to lead in the fourth quarter, similarly to the Jaguars last Sunday and the Falcons last year. They should keep their foot on the Patriots’ throat, the way they did against the Vikings. Foles has been nothing but the truth in the postseason with an amazing 122.1 passer rating with completing 77.7% of all his passes averaging 9.5 yards, according to Fox Sports. One of the major factors the Eagles face is to keep Tom Brady off the field. Their offense has proven to be great at moving the chains — but Philly has a great third-down offense, too. The Eagles have been ranked third in the NFL in third-down conversions percentage during the regular season and have been unstoppable in the playoff going 16-for-27, according to NFL.com.
The Eagles are deeper and more dangerous in many different ways than anyone else in the league. Foles has great weapons and great coaches to help him. The Eagles are great enough to beat Goliath — Tom Brady and the Patriots.