Many people expect the New England Patriots to handle the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII, but perhaps it won’t be that easy.
Michael Lombardi, who worked for the Patriots from 2014-16, discussed the matchup on “The Ringer NFL Show” podcast, and he noted off the bat that he will pick the Eagles to beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick because he believes the Eagles are a matchup nightmare for New England.
“I am going to tell you right now, Tate Frazier, I’m going to pick Philadelphia in the Super Bowl come hell or high water,” Lombardi said. “I think it’s a horrendous matchup for New England, I do. I think it’s a horrendous matchup, and this will lead into what we’re going to talk about. What Jacksonville did in the first half, running Kansas City’s style of offense — spread the field, force you to play inside with power and then attack the edges — that’s been kryptonite for New England and that’s what Philly does all the time.”
Lombardi went on to note that while the Jacksonville Jaguars tried to mimic the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense from Week 1, they ran out of plays for Blake Bortles to run and that’s why the offense stalled in the second half. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, however, has an unlimited amount of run-pass option plays that quarterback Nick Foles runs, and that will be an issue for the Patriots, according to Lombardi.
While the Patriots opened as heavy favorites for the clash in Minneapolis, Belichick made the Eagles sound almost unbeatable in his press conference Wednesday, which should give Patriots fans cause for pause when planning the Pats’ next Super Bowl parade.
If Lombardi and Belichick are speaking this highly of the Eagles, then they clearly are a dangerous team that can threaten to deal the Patriots their third Super Bowl loss of the Brady-Belichick era.
