Eagles have best shot in years at stopping the Patriots dynasty
MINNEAPOLIS — There is a time it will end, when Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will leave the scene, when seemingly every early February showdown designated with Roman numerals does not conclude with another Patriots coronation. Dynasties are rare and special, but they are not forever.
For the eighth time in 17 years, Belichick and Brady command a Super Bowl stage, seeking their sixth Lombardi Trophy, which would tie the Patriots with the Steelers for the most in NFL history. Belichick and Brady are here, again, for the eighth time. No other head coach-quarterback combination has ever been in more than four Super Bowls.
We interrupt this edition of Patriots Digest to confirm New England indeed has an opponent. This time around, playing the role of “the other team’’ is the Eagles, representing an often star-crossed franchise that, much to the chagrin of their green-clad Philadelphia zealots, has never won a Super Bowl. The Patriots in this expansive run have taken out the Rams, Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks and Falcons. The only dents in the New England armor were inflicted by the Giants, who beat Belichick and Brady twice, causing a 10-year gap between titles.
The Eagles, in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, either will join the Giants as Patriots slayers or else will get dumped in the refuse bin as just another team that could not solve the Belichick-Brady hex.
“No one wants to see the Patriots in the Super Bowl every year,’’ Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said. “It’s like watching the same show of ‘Friends’ or something every night, watching the same show. People get tired of it, yeah. What are you going to do?’’
The only way to cancel this long-running Patriots program is to kill their Super Bowl ratings, something only Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and the Giants did, not once, but twice. The Patriots are seeking their third Lombardi Trophy in the past four years, which, on its own, qualifies as a dynasty. That the Patriots previously put together a three-in-four-year Super Bowl-winning run is, well, unprecedented, and worthy of best-ever consideration.
Belichick can become the oldest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl, a distinction held by Coughlin, who was 65 when he beat Belichick and the Patriots in Super Bowl XVI. Belichick also is 65, but is four months older than Coughlin was when he won in Indianapolis.
For the Eagles to capture their first Lombardi Trophy, they must rely on Nick Foles, who took over when MVP candidate Carson Wentz tore his ACL on Dec. 10. So, it is a backup quarterback dueling with Brady, set to make his record eighth Super Bowl start.
“I’m really going into uncharted waters,’’ Foles said. “I’ve never been to a Super Bowl game, so to be playing in it, I’m pretty excited.’’
Marquee Matchup
Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski vs. Eagles S Malcolm Jenkins
Gronkowski was limited all week in the concussion protocol after a nasty hit by Jaguars safety Barry Church in the AFC title game. It is a good thing Gronk got two weeks to recover, because he is invaluable to what the Patriots do on offense. The two games he missed this season were New England’s two lowest-scoring games, and Tom Brady’s passer rating is 16.2 points higher with Gronkowski on the field. When healthy, he is virtually impossible to cover, too big for safeties and too fast for most linebackers, which is why Gronk was the Patriots’ leading receiver (69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns). Jenkins was selected for his second Pro Bowl, registering a career-high 119 tackles. He cannot slay the 6-foot-6, 265-pound beast with size — Jenkins is 6-foot and 204 pounds — and thus he must use his instincts and technique to hang with Gronkowski until help arrives. The Eagles will use some bracket coverage, because no one defender can deal with one of the best tight ends in NFL history. “His size is significant,’’ Jenkins said.
Four Down
Backup plan: Sometimes a backup quarterback is not really a backup quarterback. Earl Morrall was technically a backup when he won a Super Bowl for the Colts in 1970, but he had previously started in a Super Bowl. Tom Brady was technically a backup in 2001 when he filled in for Drew Bledsoe, but Bledsoe was injured in Week 1. If Nick Foles wants true inspiration, he can reach out to Doug Williams or Jim Plunkett or, better yet, Jeff Hostetler, who took over late in the season for Phil Simms and carried the Giants to victory in 1990. Foles moved in with four games remaining in the regular season after Carson Wentz went down, by now he is acclimated and, in the playoffs, on a major roll — his passer rating in the postseason is 122.1.
“He’s 18-5 as a starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles since 2013 and we have a lot of confidence in Nick,’’ said Howie Roseman, the Eagles executive vice president of football operations.
Nearly unbeata-Bill: Tom Coughlin is 2-0 against Bill Belichick in Super Bowls. The rest of the world is 0-5 in Super Bowls against him. The last two captured by the Patriots were all-time escape jobs, stealing a game on a mindless Seahawks last-second blunder and an epic comeback last year against the crumbling Falcons. The mystique is strong within and around Belichick.
“He does so many great things,’’ defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said. “His preparation, his attention to detail, the way he coaches, the way every single day he addresses the areas we have to make sure we handle in order to win, he does an unbelievable job with that.’’
Ageless wonder: Day after day this week, Tom Brady was reminded of his age (40) and asked about his retirement, once too often, it appears.
“Why does everyone want me to retire so bad?” Brady said. “I don’t get it.”
Do not circle any dates on your calendar. Brady, including the playoffs, has 37 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions. The 12 stitches on his right hand did not deter him in the AFC Championship and now the stitches are out and Eagles beware.
“I’m having fun,” Brady said. “I’m not thinking about retirement. I’m thinking about the Super Bowl.”
Philly fanatics: Asked if he is aware of the heartbreak Eagles fans have endured, defensive end Vinny Curry nearly jumped out of his chair.
“I’m part of the heartbreak, too!’’ he said. Curry, in his sixth year with Philadelphia, grew up in Neptune, N.J., a rabid Eagles fan — is there any other kind? The Eagles are 0-2 in Super Bowls and want to give their loyalists something to remember.
“They’re going to go balls to the wall,’’ Curry said. “They love their Eagles, win, lose or draw. They’re going to let us have it, you know, when we’re not doing good, and then they’re going to love us up, and love us up again even more when we win it.’’
Paul’s Pick
Given two weeks to prepare, Bill Belichick will find a formula to thwart the Eagles’ run-pass options, sucking the life out of backup QB-turned starter Nick Foles’ ability to produce enough points. It is Belichick and Brady, yet again. Deal with it.
Patriots 24, Eagles 17