February 02, 2018
In just a couple of days, the Philadelphia Eagles could be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history. Of course, standing between them is a New England Patriots team that's looking for its sixth title since 2002.
For the Eagles, this is their first trip to the Super Bowl since they lost to the Pats back in 2005. And while a lot's changed in the decade-plus since, the head coach/quarterback combo on the opposing sideline will be just as it was the last time the Eagles and Pats played in February.
On the Birds sideline, however, it'll be a pair of first-timers in second-year head coach Doug Pederson and backup quarterback Nick Foles, who helped lead this team to two postseason upsets after taking over for an injured Carson Wentz in Week 14. Whether or not that lack of experience plays a role in the outcome of Sunday's game remains to be seen – although the conference championship stage didn't look too big for Foles.
Who's going to come away victorious? Let's take a look at how the experts – the human ones, not the animals – see things playing out at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis...
• Jimmy Kempski, PhillyVoice: Eagles 29, Patriots 24
The Patriots' 5.5-point spread in their favor is more about their mystique than their current talent. This Eagles team is better, I think they know it, and they're not intimidated in the slightest. They're better in the trenches, they're far better on defense, and these two offenses, on the whole, really aren't that far apart.
The Eagles are going to win this game, fly home, and ride down Broad Street. Plan accordingly.
• ESPN staff: They had quite a few people making predictions. Here's a look at all of them, with the people picking the Birds in bold.
| EXPERT | PICK |
| Todd Archer | NE 26-20 |
| Sarah Barshop | NE 23-20 |
| Dane Beavers | NE 30-27 |
| Stephania Bell | NE 31-20 |
| Chris Berman | NE 24-21 |
| Matthew Berry | NE 21-17 |
| Matt Bowen | NE 27-20 |
| Tedy Bruschi | NE 24-21 |
| Heather Burns | NE 24-21 |
| Rich Cimini | PHI 24-20 |
| Ryan Clark | PHI 24-20 |
| Mike Clay | NE 26-22 |
| Jac Collinsworth | NE 24-20 |
| Greg Cosell | PHI 27-24 |
| Courtney Cronin | NE 24-19 |
| Jeff Darlington | NE 24-22 |
| Rob Demovsky | NE 31-23 |
| Jeff Dickerson | NE 24-19 |
| Michael DiRocco | NE 24-21 |
| Mike Drago | PHI 35-24 |
| Ben Fawkes | PHI 24-21 |
| Dave Fleming | PHI 28-24 |
| Mike Golic | PHI 31-10 |
| Mike Golic Jr. | NE 27-21 |
| Alden Gonzalez | NE 31-24 |
| Dan Graziano | PHI 24-20 |
| Mike Greenberg | NE 27-13 |
| Paul Gutierrez | NE 27-23 |
| Matt Hasselbeck | NE 28-3 |
| Tim Hasselbeck | NE 27-17 |
| Brady Henderson | NE 27-21 |
| Jamison Hensley | NE 34-7 |
| Keyshawn Johnson | PHI 31-24 |
| KC Joyner | NE 31-24 |
| Lisa Kerney | PHI 28-24 |
| Mina Kimes | NE 28-24 |
| Suzy Kolber | NE 23-17 |
| Jenna Laine | NE 29-27 |
| Steve Levy | NE 26-20 |
| Vaughn McClure | NE 24-21 |
| Tim McManus | PHI 24-21 |
| Alisha Miller | NE 28-21 |
| Roman Modrowski | NE 31-14 |
| Chris Mortensen | PHI 34-24 |
| Randy Moss | NE 32-28 |
| David Newton | NE 24-21 |
| Wendi Nix | NE 28-24 |
| Katie Nolan | NE 27-24 |
| Ian O'Connor | NE 27-20 |
| John Pluym | NE 24-20 |
| Sam Ponder | PHI 31-28 |
| Jordan Raanan | NE 24-22 |
| Jason Reid | NE 27-24 |
| Mike Reiss | NE 30-17 |
| Katie Richcreek | NE 31-24 |
| Louis Riddick | NE 24-21 |
| John Roberts | NE 27-24 |
| Mike Rodak | NE 34-31 |
| Michael Rothstein | NE 28-24 |
| Diana Russini | NE 24-20 |
| Rex Ryan | NE 24-21 |
| Mike Sando | NE 27-20 |
| Jeff Saturday | PHI 20-17 |
| Aaron Schatz | NE 27-23 |
| Adam Schefter | NE 27-24 |
| Kevin Seifert | NE 27-20 |
| Stephen A. Smith | PHI 31-27 |
| Sarah Spain | PHI 24-20 |
| Chris Sprow | PHI 27-24 |
| Adam Teicher | PHI 27-17 |
| Katherine Terrell | PHI 24-21 |
| Mike Triplett | NE 30-23 |
| Jim Trotter | NE 27-24 |
| Nick Wagoner | NE 27-17 |
| Josh Weinfuss | PHI 27-24 |
| Mike Wells | NE 27-17 |
| Seth Wickersham | NE 38-9 |
| Eric Williams | PHI 28-17 |
| Trey Wingo | PHI 24-21 |
| Cameron Wolfe | PHI 26-23 |
| Charles Woodson | PHI 30-23 |
| Darren Woodson | NE 31-28 |
| Damien Woody | NE 30-24 |
| Field Yates | NE 26-21 |
| Steve Young | NE 31-30 |
• NFL.com staff: They also had a ton of people picking the game. And, once again, most were going for the Pats (although it doesn't seem quite as lopsided as ESPN).
| EXPERT | PICK |
| Elliot Harrison | NE 30-23 |
| David Carr | PHI 34-28 |
| Gregg Rosenthal | NE 31-30 |
| Tom Pelissero | NE 27-24 |
| Gil Brandt | NE 24-21 |
| Mike Garafolo | PHI 27-21 |
| Maurice Jones-Drew | NE 21-17 |
| Alex Gelhar | PHI 24-23 |
| Nate Burleson | NE 30-20 |
| Adam Schein | NE 26-23 |
| James Palmer | PHI 24-17 |
| Charley Casserly | NE 24-13 |
| Reggie Wayne | NE 31-20 |
| Marcas Grant | NE 27-20 |
| Omar Ruiz | PHI 27-24 |
| Adam Rank | NE 27-23 |
| James Jones | NE 31-24 |
• CBSSports.com staff: Three of their eight experts are picking the Eagles.
• USA TODAY staff: All six all picking the Patriots.
• FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver's forecasting machine gives the Eagles a 42 percent chance of winning and has them listed as a 2.5-point underdog.
• OddsShark: Eagles fans better hope it doesn't go the way this computer is predicting.
• SBNation staff: Five of their seven experts are picking the Pats.
• Bleeding Green Nation staff: They're all-in on the Eagles. Every last one of them.
• NJ.com staff: Six of their eight NFL writers are picking the Eagles to win, including Eliot Shorr-Parks, who sees a 24-20 win for the Birds, with local boy Corey Clement winning MVP.
Picking this game is tough. The Eagles have all the momentum, and the Patriots seem to be falling apart at the seams. The Eagles are better on both sides of the ball, and the coaching matchup is not as much of a mismatch as it seems. The question is, can the Eagles—who are playing with a backup—overcome playing the best quarterback of all time? My bet is that somehow, someway, they will—barely.
• The Eagles Wire staff: All seven of their writers have the Eagles winning, including Turron Davenport, who is predicting a 27-20 final score:
The Eagles match up well with the Patriots on both sides of the ball, but their biggest advantage comes in the trenches. They have to find ways to suffocate Tom Brady in the pocket, which starts with Fletcher Cox. Offensively, they will have to run the ball behind their powerful offensive line, which will set up big plays via play-action.
• Ed Barkowitz, Philadelphia Daily News: Eagles 26, Patriots 21.
Haven’t seen anything in Nick Foles’ makeup to suggest that the stage will be too big for him here. Ditto for Doug Pederson, who should be fine as long as he doesn’t consult his former boss on time-management questions. The Patriots, of course, are generally unflappable. Maybe Pederson can invite Tom Coughlin to join him on the sidelines, similar to when Michael Corleone brought in Vincenzo Pentangeli in the Godfather II.
• PhillyInfluencer.com staff: All eight writers are picking the Eagles, including PhillyVoice contributor Nick Piccone, who has the Birds winning 31-21:
We haven’t seen this coaching excellence in as long as I can remember. What’s going to be key is being able to adjust to Belichick’s adjustments. Whether the Eagles jump out to a hot start or cold, the team needs to remember the game is 60 minutes long. Some other teams have seemed to forget that.
But that can’t happen on Sunday. Not on the biggest stage in sports. Not to us. I believe in Pederson and his coaching staff. I believe in these players. Every dynasty comes to an end, and now’s as good a chance as any that a team has had to dethrone the Patriots.
• CBS Boston: All three of their writers are picking the Pats.
• David Steele, Sporting News: Eagles 26, Patriots 24.
The Eagles are great enough to not be such big underdogs against the Patriots. They’re great enough to beat them, keep that trophy collection in Foxborough at five, and finally start one of their own. They’re great enough to etch into the history books, ‘Nick Foles beat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.’
• Vinny Iyer, Sporting News: Patriots 30, Eagles 27
The Eagles will make more plays in the slot with Nelshon Agholor working on former Eagle Eric Rowe, and the Patriots will see Danny Amendola cool off against Patrick Robinson. Overall, not much will separate the offense explosiveness. And with weather not being a factor, the game likely will come down to the final possession.
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