Xavier students share their thoughts on keys to the big game.
Photo courtesy of si.com | Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will play for their third Super Bowl victory in four seasons when they face the Eagles on Sunday in Minnesota.
The Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots will face off in Super Bowl LII on Sunday.
Both of these teams, for a majority of the year, have proven to be the best of their respective conferences.
Representing the NFC East, the Eagles cruised through the regular season with a 13-3 record.
Even with the best record the NFL, it was not as smooth as one might think for the Eagles to reach the Super Bowl.
Carson Wentz, the team’s usual starting quarterback and top MVP candidate, went down with a torn ACL in Week 14 of the season. This forced backup quarterback and journeyman Nick Foles to step up into the starting role.
Foles has led the Eagles to a 4-0 record, including two playoff wins in his four starts this year.
On the road to the Super Bowl, the Eagles have defeated the reigning NFC champs the Atlanta Falcons and the Minnesota Vikings.
The Eagles were led by their stellar defense, which only gave up 17 points in two playoffs games. With those kind of numbers, there is no question that the Eagles are prepared to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
Returning to the Super Bowl yet again are the New England Patriots. It seems no matter what happens to the Pats, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick always find a way to be contenders for the Lombardi Trophy.
Arguably their best offensive weapon behind Rob Gronkowski is Julian Edelman, who tore his ACL in the preseason but has since returned to the field.
Even with this obstacle, the Patriots were still able to cruise through the AFC with a 13-3 record.
After rolling past the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round, they faced a hard-nosed Jacksonville Jaguars team in the AFC Conference Championship game.
Brady worked his magic and did Brady things as he led the Patriots offense on a comeback drive to advance the team to their third Super Bowl in four seasons.
Some Xavier students shared their own perspectives on keys to the game that they believe will allow their team to capture the coveted Lombardi Trophy.
Sophomore Casey Donegan, a lifelong Eagles fan, thinks it will be very important for the Eagles to get their playmakers in space. This will help create short yardage situations for Foles.
“(The Eagles will need to)get in third-and-short situations to help Foles advance the possessions and to get Brady on the ground as often as possible on the d efensive side of the ball,” Donegan said.
This will be a tough job to ask, of course, but Donegan believes that the team will be well prepared for the task ahead.
On the other side of things, first-year James Record, a diehard Patriots fan from New Hampshire, says the Pats need to protect Tom Brady and the supporting players need to step up. Additionally, the Patriots will need to play team defense.
“The Patriots need to have the same breakout performance from him as well their star pick up in the offseason of Brandon Cooks,” Record said.
“Also, the backfield of James White and Dion Lewis will have to step up as well.”
He is confident that if the Pats do their thing, they will be leaving Minnesota with another Super Bowl Trophy and that Tom Brady will solidify himself as one of the most accomplished football players of all time.
Two teams, one game and one Lombardi Trophy are on the line Sunday in Minnesota.
Tune in to NBC at 6:30 p.m. to catch the action and see how it all unfolds.
By: Tim Kramer ~Staff Writer~