Eagles pass rush vs. Patriots O-line

For the Patriots, the key for the last 17 years has been to keep quarterback Tom Brady’s jersey clean, and that will not change this coming weekend. Given time in the pocket, Brady is very hard to beat. However, throughout his career he has shown major signs of weakness when faced with heavy pressure.

From 2009-2016, Brady’s completion percentage under pressure was an average of 39.46,posting a quarterback rating of just 23.63. The Patriots need to make sure Brady has time to throw to the many weapons the team uses, or else they may be in trouble.

The Eagles have been rotating seven, sometimes eight defensive lineman throughout the playoffs so far, which helps to keep them fresh throughout the whole game. This will not make it any easier on the Patriots O-line to block consistently. They led the league with seven players with at least 20 quarterback pressures and will look to continue to make the opposing team’s quarterback uncomfortable.

Eagles TE Zach Ertz vs. Patriots S Patrick Chung

Ertz has flown under the radar as a quality tight end the last couple of years, but is not sneaking up on anybody now, as he tallied 824 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He was also tied for sixth in the NFC with 46 first down receptions, which will be key come Super Bowl Sunday.

Part of the reason the Eagles had so much success in the NFC championship was their ability to elongate drives on third down, with Ertz contributing four third down conversion catches. Ertz will need to be held in check, especially on third down, if the Patriots defense wants to get off the field and have success.

Much of the responsibility of covering Ertz will be put on the shoulders of Patriots safety Patrick Chung, a contributing factor to the Patriots impressive defense, which allows only 45 yards per game to opposing tight ends. They will not be lined up against each other every play, but if Chung and the Patriots defense can slow down Ertz, especially on third down, their team’s chances of success increase greatly.

Patriots RBs vs. Eagles linebackers and safeties

The New England backfield has long been famous for its fluidity and use of multiple players at the running back position with success. In their three best offensive performances of the season, wins against New Orleans, Denver and Buffalo, the Patriots averaged 137 yards rushing and tallied eight total touchdowns from their running backs.

In their three losses this year, the Patriots have averaged 76 rushing yards and, outside of an anomaly performance from Mike Gillislee in week one, combined for three total touchdowns. Throughout the first eighteen games of the season, including the first two playoff games, the New England running backs averaged 33 touches per game, and that strategy of getting the RBs involved will not stop.

That is why it is so important for the Eagles to shut down the New England backfield. They have had success against opposing running backs this season, leading the league this season in rush defense, giving up 79.2 rush yards per game, as well as 40.8 recieving yards to running backs, which is ninth best in the league. This will be an important match up to keep an eye on, as these position groups for each team are very solid.