By Tariq Jabbaar and Joshua Vasquez, Courier Staff Writer and Sports Editor
There is only one word to describe the career of Tom Brady so far: legendary.
Quarterback Brady and his coach Bill Belichick are set to compete in their ninth-ever Super Bowl, the most in NFL history for a player as well as a coach. On February 4th in Minnesota, the Patriots will play for another back-to-back championship, since they last accomplished the feat in 2003-2004. Currently, Vegas favors the Patriots to win by 4.5 points, with a total score of about 48.5 points.
The Philadelphia Eagles, however, are looking to win their first Super Bowl title in only their third appearance in franchise history. Ever since starting quarterback Carson Wentz tore his ACL at the end of the season, the Eagles were actually projected to lose in every single playoff game. Yet, backup quarterback Nick Foles has been red hot recently, even posting a stellar 141.4 rating in the recent NFC championship game.
While Foles has guided the Eagles to two playoff wins, past history doesn’t favor his team to prevail on the final stage. 13 years ago, the Patriots and Eagles faced off in Super Bowl 39, in which the Patriots held off the Eagles 24-21. That was Brady’s third ring. Now that he’s gearing up for his sixth, things are looking even more favorable for the experienced Patriots.
During the season and playoff so far, Brady has racked up an astounding 37 touchdowns and 5204 yards. With his 5 rings and 3 MVPs, Brady is considered by many to be the greatest quarterback of all time. Not much can be said for certain about Foles’ consistency, however, as he’s only started in two games.
Despite Patriots’ advantage, the team faced a scare two weeks ago, as Brady suffered a large cut on his throwing hand. Nevertheless, he played through the injury in the AFC championship game, guiding his team to a narrow 24-20 win over the Jaguars.
After that game, Brady was asked about his hand, to which he replied, “I’ve had a lot worse. I didn’t know that on Wednesday. It was a crazy injury. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday was a little scary. Then I started getting some confidence and today we did just enough to win.” With two weeks to heal up, many are confident that Brady will be back to his high standard of playing once again.
The game will be played in the Minnesota Vikings’ brand-new billion-dollar stadium. Luckily for avid football fans, the stadium is roofed, providing a relief from the freezing temperatures in Minnesota at this time of year.
If you’re interested in the halftime show, this year it will be performed by Popstar Justin Timberlake, who will bring back some of his old 2000’s R&B vibe to the stage. I’m sure we’re all hoping that the show performs well like the previous performances by Bruno Mars, Beyonce and Lady Gaga.
Regardless of who you’re rooting for, it’s bound to be yet another exciting Superbowl between the NFL’s top two teams. Will Brady win a record-setting sixth Super Bowl? Or will Foles and the red-hot Eagles pull off a shocker? Get your dishes and drinks ready, because history will be made this Sunday in Minneapolis.