Is Foles Good Enough To Beat Brady?

The excitement is mounting as the Super Bowl rapidly approaches. On Sunday February 4 the New England Patriots and legendary quarterback Tom Brady will face the Philadelphia Eagles.

Whether you already support one of these teams or not, there is little doubt you’ll be one of the 111.3 million people watching the game; as declared by FOX for the 2017 Super Bowl.

This is one of the biggest events in sport across the globe and the question on everyone’s lips is whether Nick Foles, the Eagles’ quarterback, has what it takes to beat Brady.

The Odds

Take a look at the Super Bowl 52 betting odds. The Eagles are clearly considered the underdog in this Super Bowl.

But this actually gives them a fighting advantage, they have less to prove and more to gain. Although they will be under plenty of pressure, this will be nothing like the pressure that the Patriots will be feeling, as they are expected to win.

This means the Eagles can focus on their game and accept the odd slip-up. The Patriots can’t!

Of course, you also need to consider recent injuries, such as Rob Gronkowski of the Patriots who suffered a concussion in the AFC Championship game. Even Brady has had an injury this year, which required stitches to his right hand.

Foles has had precautionary x-rays but has not been listed as injured.

Can The Eagles Win?

This is the real question. Can Nick Foles maintain his composure and form to carry the Eagles to a win? It would certainly be a fitting end to an unusual season. Foles only became the starting quarterback in week 15 after Carson Wentz was injured.

He was originally with the Eagles since 2012, where he started from week 10 for the rest of the season. He repeated this is 2013 as he started from week 5 onwards but a broken collarbone in week 9 of the 2014 season knocked him out of play.

After a couple of years with small parts, Foles returned to the Eagles in 2017, during his starts this year he has helped to carry the Eagles to the Super Bowl; not bad for a player who was considering retiring.

Foles will have help. The Eagles’ defensive line is strong. In fact, it can be described as the strongest part of the team. This is illustrated in their statistics. It’s fair to say that no team has made a decisive impact on this defensive line. The defense will allow Foles to do his job. If he does it like he has been, then the pressure will be on the Patriots’ defense.

This is where the real game will be settled. The Patriots’ defense has not been as strong as it should have been this year, resulting in several games which were only won in the last few minutes, such as the one against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

If the Eagles can get a lead at the start, then their defense is strong enough to hold it. This could end up being Foles’ season.