Brady, Foles and Gronkowski feature in our Super Bowl LII lookahead

Foles to come of age?

With Carson Wentz out of the picture due to ACL surgery, Nick Foles has stepped up at just the right time for the Eagles. The QB delivered 352 yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles cruised past their opponents and into the Super Bowl.

It was a remarkable performance for a player who has featured just eight times this season. In Wentz’s absence, Foles threatened to be the weak link which lets down this talented Eagles side. But his quality has shone through and the Coral News Team think that his perfect second-half performance against the Vikings is the key to edging past a weak Pats defence.

Gronkowski back for Pats?

Rob Gronkowski’s availability for the Super Bowl remains in doubt. The Pats’ tight end was forced off the field in the second-quarter against the Jaguars after a clash of heads with Barry Church.

He missed last year’s showpiece due to injury and faces a race against time to prove his wellbeing in light of the NFL’s concussion protocol.

His link-up with Brady is a crucial reason behind the Pats’ success this season. The 28-year-old accounts for around a quarter of the team’s receiving yards and has been targeted by the quarterback no-less than 19% of the time so far this season.

The Pats just about coped without Gronkowski against the Jags. They may not get so lucky against an Eagles side with the second-best defence in the competition.

Another win for Belichick?

Bill Belichick is the Super Bowl’s most successful coach. The 65-year-old has won five rings so far, all with the Patriots. That puts him at the top of the tree, ahead of Chuck Noll on four and Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs on three.

He’s the only coach to guide a team to the championship game on eight occasions. And with victory next weekend he could move two-clear of Noll as the Super Bowl’s winning-most coach.

If Belichick can see off the Eagles, he would arguably elevate himself from a great of the game into a legend.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing