The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots will play in Super Bowl LII on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 5:30 p.m. CST.
The Patriots are here for the eighth time in the Tom Brady era, while the Eagles will be in their third Super Bowl in franchise history.
KNTU has assembled a staff round table of the best sports minds in the greater Denton area (and maybe the world) to discuss what viewers should be looking out for come Sunday evening. Participating in the round table are:
Sam Madison, KNTU Sports Anchor
David Patterson, Green Guys
Peyton Russell, KNTU Sports Anchor
Joshua Skinner, KNTU Sports Director
Paul Valamides, KNTU News Anchor & Sports Writer
Q. Nearly everyone expected the Patriots to be in the Super Bowl, but the Eagles, especially without Carson Wentz, have played the role of underdog during the playoffs. Are you surprised that Philadelphia made it this far with Nick Foles at quarterback? Why or why not?
Sam Madison: I’m shocked. I wasn’t too surprised when they scraped by Atlanta at home thanks to a great defensive performance. Steve Sarkisian dragged the Falcons offense down all season long and was unable to make the in-game adjustments necessary to win the divisional game. But coming into the NFC Championship, I didn’t give the Eagles a chance. Minnesota’s defense was the best in the league all season, and Foles absolutely torched them. I think it really speaks to coaching as well. Doug Pederson did a great job game planning in the first two rounds but he’s got his toughest task in front of him with New England.
David Patterson: Defense wins championships, right? So does coaching, and the work of Doug Pederson this year is second to none. He has done so well with Nick Foles that people are questioning whether or not Carson Wentz is as a good quarterback as we all think. I’m surprised by Nick Foles’ performance in the NFC Championship, but not surprised that once again we are seeing an elite defense carry a team to the Super Bowl.
Peyton Russell: Yes, I’m very surprised. But this shows how good this team is as a whole and not just because Carson Wentz is their quarterback.
Joshua Skinner: In the words of my hero Clark Griswold, “If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.”
Paul Valamides: I’m surprised but not shocked. Anytime a team loses a (good) starting quarterback, you expect there to be a drop-off in play. Nick Foles has stepped in and been just as good and arguably better than Carson Wentz in their playoff wins against the Falcons and Vikings. That part is surprising, but it does fit into the Eagles’ season-long trend of players stepping up and filling in for injured starters without causing the team to miss a beat. That usually is a symptom of superb coaching, and Eagles second-year coach Doug Pederson has done a fantastic job in his first NFL head-coaching gig.
Q. In DFW, the Eagles are public enemy #1, and the Patriots are not far behind. From a Cowboys/Texans fan perspective, what is your interest level in this game?
Sam Madison: The Super Bowl is one of the biggest spectacles in sports worldwide and easily the biggest in America. Regardless of where your loyalties lie, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in for this Super Bowl. Football is my favorite sport, so for me this is always the biggest game of the year regardless of my “Fanhood”.
David Patterson: Regardless of the teams in the game, I am always highly interested in the Super Bowl. The Patriots were America’s sweetheart just a few years ago, but now they have “won too much”. I don’t buy into that. We should all appreciate a level of greatness that we might never see again. Personally, I am a Houston Texans fan, and nothing makes me happier than seeing Jerry Jones make poor personnel decisions, while Cowboys nation revels in mediocrity. Do I want to see the dynasty fall and my cross-state rivals suffer? Yes, yes I do.
Peyton Russell: I’m still a football fan, and since it is the biggest game in sports each year, I still watch the Super Bowl.
Joshua Skinner: Low. However, being the red-blooded American that I am, I will still watch the game and consume copious amounts of buffalo wings, while secretly rooting for an asteroid.
Paul Valamides: Low. I do not like seeing the Eagles win, and I also don’t like seeing the Patriots win. One of them will win Sunday, so I’m just not that excited.
Q. Which team should Cowboys fans be rooting for?
Sam Madison: It’s pretty straight forward for me. If you’re a Cowboy fan who has been raised correctly–with pure hate in your heart for the Giants, Redskins and Eagles–you root for the Patriots; however, if you’re just a fan off the game of football, you root for the Eagles.
David Patterson: This one is a no-brainer. If you are a true Cowboys fan, then you have to cheer for the Eagles to lose. Doug Pederson has that Philly team on the verge of a long run of success, and if I’m a Cowboys fan, I’m scared.
Peyton Russell: Patriots. Even though this will mean the Patriots have more SB championships than Dallas (and did it in less than 20 years). Giving Eagles fans a championship is the last thing a Cowboys fan should want. When you’re a true rival, you should never root for them no matter what.
Joshua Skinner: New England. History tells us that the Eagles will not be this good next year. No team has won back-to-back NFC East titles since 2004, and I wouldn’t expect that to change next year with the parity within the division. That being said, I rooted for the Eagles when these two teams met back in Super Bowl XXIX.
Paul Valamides: This is tough. Obviously, we don’t like the Eagles, but the majority of self-respecting NFL fans also don’t like the Patriots. The old-school Cowboys fan may feel an almost reflexive responsibility to get behind the Patriots. I would advise them to keep in mind that a Patriot victory would give them more Super Bowl victories than the Cowboys (if they’re still clinging to notion that the Cowboys are the superior franchise). I would also advise them, before they decide they’re all-in on the Patriots, to just take a look at Bill Belichick’s face.
Q. To you, what’s the most interesting story line heading into the game?
Sam Madison: I don’t know if important is the right word, but I think Brady and Belichick getting their 6th ring together is the most interesting. Especially amid the ESPN exposé that was published before the playoffs. The Patriots are no stranger to controversy and pretty much always overcome the outside noise being made by the media. Plus, winning a Super Bowl at the age of 40 would have to put to bed any doubt that Brady is the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.
David Patterson: Doug Pederson has risen from being a high school assistant coach to taking a team inundated with injuries to the Super Bowl in no time. Maybe it’s too early to make any long term projections on his career, but it’s looking pretty good. Paired up with a smart, talented quarterback in Carson Wentz, the Eagles are like the team to beat in the NFC East for the foreseeable future. Like we have seen with the patriots, if you have a great coach and a great quarterback, then winning comes easy and championships are always in the cards. There is not a better young coach-quarterback pairing in the NFL. Are they the next Brady-Belichick? Probably not. We won’t see those heights reached again, but they will be great.
Peyton Russell: How the Eagles were able to win 2 playoff games despite not having their future MVP QB Carson Wentz due to injury.
Joshua Skinner: How much pressure can Philadelphia generate on Tom Brady. The only way to stop the Patriots is to put him on his back play after play after play.
Paul Valamides: If a victory doesn’t cement the Belichick-Brady Patriots as the best dynasty in NFL history, I don’t know what will.
Q. How do you see the game playing out? Score Prediction?
Sam Madison: If there’s anything to be learned from this season, it’s that the NFL is extremely unpredictable. After Wentz tore his ACL, no one saw the Eagles getting through the first round, let alone making it to the Super Bowl; but I don’t see Belichick losing to Philadelphia with 2 weeks to prepare. The Eagles will do what they’ve done all season, play great defense and generate pressure with their front 4. The biggest question will be how Belichick and the Pats react. And if history is any indication, New England will have an answer or two. Patriots 24-21.
David Patterson: Sunday night tune-in early and don’t leave. It’s gonna be a close game, and in a close game the advantage belongs to New England. No one makes better in-game adjustments than New England. I expect to see Philadelphia go up early only to crumble in the fourth quarter. Patriots 24-20.
Peyton Russell: Patriots experience will be a factor and Nick Foles’ will run out of postseason magic. Patriots 24-13.
Joshua Skinner: I see this playing out a bit like the AFC Championship game. A grind it out affair, where New England takes over in the 4th quarter. Patriots 27-17.
Paul Valamides: It’s going to be good. The Eagles have something special this year. But the Patriots are soooo hard to beat in these games. The Eagles don’t want a high score. Patriots’ playoff opponents don’t win high scoring games against the Patriots. The Patriots showed vulnerability against Jacksonville in the AFC Championship game, but the Jags blinked and weren’t abled to finish them off when they had them beat. The same thing happened to Atlanta in last year’s Super Bowl. The Eagles will have to be very close to perfect. They won’t be allowed to blink. That is a lot to ask. Patriots 27 – 23.
Q. MVP?
Sam Madison: Tom Brady
David Patterson: Tom Brady
Peyton Russell: Tom Brady
Joshua Skinner: Tom Brady
Paul Valamides: Tom Brady