Super Bowl 52

Super Bowl 52

By Byler Henry

The road to Super Bowl is finally finished. The stage is set, the lights are bright, and one team will be crowned champion on February 4. This will be a rematch from Super Bowl XXXIX, in which the Patriots defeated the Eagles 24 to 21 in a close game. This is also the second Super Bowl to be held in Minnesota, the first being Super Bowl XXVI.

The Patriots defeated the Jaguars in the AFC Championship 24-20. Jaguars had an impressive season and made it further than anyone thought they would, and they were the surprise team this season winning the AFC South. Blake Bortles had a decent game passing for 293 yards , going 23 of 36 with one touchdown. Leonard Fournette scored one rushing touchdown with 76 yards on 24 carries. The defense, which had a stellar performance in the first half, didn’t perform quite well in the second half with some costly penalties. The Patriots were down 14 to 10 in the first half, scoring 14 points in the second half and holding the Jaguars to only 6 points. Tom Brady has made a living with second half comebacks, passing for two touchdowns for the game going 26 of 38 and passing for 290 yards. Danny Amendola caught both of his passing touchdowns, with 84 receiving yards with 7 receptions.

In the NFC Championship game, the Eagles had a dominating performance over the Vikings winning 38 to 7. The Vikings opened the game with a touchdown on the first drive, and the Eagles decided there was not going to be another one in their stadium. Nick Foles had an impressive game passing for 3 touchdowns, going 26 of 33 with 352 passing yards. The defense helped with 2 interceptions,  holding the Vikings to only one touchdown. The Vikings just had a last-minute win against the Saints from the previous game, which had all their fans ready for this game. Vikings were trying to make history by being one of the few teams to have a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

This Super Bowl will be Tom Brady’s 8th appearance, and the 1st for Nick Foles. So far Brady has gone 5-2 in the big games. Coach Bill Belichick has also been the Patriots’ coach since 2000, being present for all Super Bowl appearances. So, who is going to win the big one? Patriots have the résumé and experience on their side, but anything can happen on any given Sunday. The Eagles have a good defense and I’m picking them to get their revenge from their last Super Bowl meeting. This will be the Eagles’ 3rd Super Bowl appearance and they will pull off the upset and win the big one.