The logo for Super Bowl LII(52) taking place in Minnesota.

  The Super Bowl is like Christmas for football fans. There are hundreds of events during the week leading up to the biggest game of the year. The Super Bowl brings in millions of dollars for the NFL, and this year the two teams playing of two of the best fan bases in the game. The New England Patriots are the goliath of the NFL, winning five super bowls since the turn of the century. The Philadelphia Eagles, meanwhile, are hungry for their first title ever. The city of brotherly love also has some of the best and most committed fans in all of sports. Boston meanwhile, is used to championships and demands perfection from their teams. Here are three reasons why each team could take the Super Bowl title back to their city.

The New England Patriots will win Super Bowl LII and, here’s why:

1. The passing game: First of all, Tom Brady is the best quarterback of all time, and on top of that he has the most Super Bowl appearances in NFL history, with seven, and he’s headed to his eighth on Sunday. Just to give you a comparison, the Eagles have only appeared in two Super Bowls ever. The Patriots’ passing game ranks second in the league, led by Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski who has recently been cleared from concussion protocol (according to ESPN). Gronk averages over 15 yards per reception, and is going into the Super Bowl with eight touchdowns. The Brady to Gronk combo has proven to be one of the most effective in the league, due to the fact that Gronk possesses a size advantage over almost any player on the field. Another player to watch when the Patriots are on offense is wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Cooks will be the fastest player on the field on Sunday. He has been very effective this season, with 65 catches for 1,082 yards, and seven touchdowns. The Eagles defense, which ranks fifteenth worst in passing yards allowed, will be facing their worst nightmare come Sunday. With all that being said, good luck to the Eagles trying to stop Tom Brady and his powerful passing game.
2. The run defense: The Eagles take pride in their running game, led by LeGarrette Blount (250 pounds) and Jay Ajayi (220 pounds), but the Patriots have the ideal defense to stop this elite run game. Over the course of the season, the Patriots’ defense has been most effective against big backs. They shut down the Titans Derrick Henry (238 pounds), and they only gave up 76 yards to the Jaguars powerful back, Leonard Fournette (228 pounds). With that being said, the Eagles will have to rely on their passing game, led by backup quarterback Nick Foles.
3. The comeback kings: The Patriots have proven time and again, no matter how far down they get in a game, they will always find a way to comeback and win. The best example is last year’s Super Bowl, when the Patriots trailed 28-3 in the third quarter, and eventually came back to defeat the Falcons, 34-28, in overtime. The Patriots were also able to pull off a comeback win against the Jaguars in the AFC championship, where they trailed 14-3 in the second quarter, but then went on to win, 24-20. The reason they are able to pull off these unthinkable comebacks is because of their head coach, Bill Belichick. Belichick is the best in the league at making halftime adjustments based on what he saw in the first half. He is able to come up with some incredible plans to bring his team back into games, and there is nobody else that would be better at executing his plans than Tom Brady. Don’t be surprised if the New England Patriots are able to pull of a comeback victory in Super Bowl LII.

Score Prediction: Patriots-28 Eagles -24

The Philadelphia Eagles will win Super Bowl LII and here is why:

1. The run game is elite(and unproven): The Eagles offense went through quarterback Carson Wentz for much of the season, but the run game featuring Legarrette Blount, Corey Clement and later on Jay Ajayi was a force to be reckoned with. They needed to step up even more after Wentz went down with a torn ACL for the rest of the season. The Eagles boast one of the best offensive lines in football to go along with the talented backs. The scariest thing about the Eagles rushing attack is that they have yet to hit their peak. After acquiring Jay Ajayi halfway through the season from Miami, the Eagles scarcely used him. He was not used to the playbook, plus they already had Blount and Clement running the ball well. Ajayi was used more as of a change of pace type back for the rest of the regular season. Football fans have seen the damage Ajayi can do as a workhorse back, as have the Patriots, who saw him twice a year when he was with the Dolphins. Expect Jay Ajayi to be heavily utilized against New England on Sunday, now that he has adjusted to the Eagles play calling.
2. The defense is scary: While questions have been brought up about their secondary, the Eagles boast one of the best pass rushing groups and rushing defenses in the league. And as for the pass defense, the group that is made up of mainly young unproven guys just held former MVP Matt Ryan and breakout QB Case Keenum to a combined 480 yards and two touchdowns, along with a pair of interceptions. They have come alive at the right time. The way to beat the Patriots is to get pressure on Tom Brady without blitzing. That is how the Giants were able to take down New England in both their super bowl titles and how the Broncos were about to beat the Patriots in the 2015 AFC championship game. If the pass rush can get to Brady early and disrupt him in the pocket, do not be surprised to see the Eagles jump out to an early lead and the greatest quarterback of all time struggle at the biggest stage.
3. The underdog mentality: When Wentz went down, everyone wrote off the Eagles. Then, they clinched the number one seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They were still doubted. They went into their first game against the Falcons as three point underdogs, despite being the higher seed and the game being in Philadelphia. After beating Atlanta, they were again three point underdogs against the Minnesota Vikings. They then came out and thrashed the Vikings 38-7. Now, the Eagles face their toughest opponent yet, and they are listed as five point underdogs against New England. They have embraced the role of the underdog so far this postseason, even going so far as to wear dog masks after beating the both the Falcons and the Vikings. They have the entire city of Philadelphia behind them, as their fans are starving for the first super bowl title in the franchise’s history. Today they are underdogs, but come 11 o’clock Sunday night, they will be hoisting the Lombardi trophy after rookie kicker Jake Elliott nails a game winning field goal to down the Brady-Belichick dynasty.

Score Prediction: Eagles- 27 Patriots- 24