5 Super Bowl LII X-Factors for the Eagles and Patriots

Nelson Agholor in the Slot

Foles isn't the only offensive player for the Eagles who will need to show up.

They have the trio of running backs -- Jay Ajayi, LeGarrette Blount, and Corey Clement -- on which to rely, but the Eagles' passing production may not flow through Alshon Jeffery or Zach Ertz easily.

Jeffery will almost assuredly be shadowed by Stephon Gilmore, who has allowed 1.11 yards per route covered and ranked seventh in pass coverage grading this season, per ProFootballFocus.

Additionally, the Pats ranked top-eight in Target Success Rate (the percentage of targets yielding positive expected points, per our metrics) allowed to tight ends, as well as fourth since Week 12. They've given up just 5.1 yards per target to the position in that span, too. Ertz does lead the team with a 22.6% target market share over the past five games, so he could still be force fed, but there's another way to move the ball through the air.

The path of least resistance could be when Nelson Agholor draws former Eagles draft pick Eric Rowe in the slot. Rowe allowed 1.86 yards per route covered this season and ranked outside the top 100 in ProFootballFocus' coverage grading among cornerbacks.

On passes from Foles this season, Agholor has a Reception NEP per target of just 0.64, right in line with the league-average score for wide receivers this season.

On his 71 targets from Carson Wentz, Agholor posted 610 yards and 7 catches on his 44 catches, good for 0.91 Reception NEP per target. Big-game Foles could bring out the hyper-efficient upside of Agholor against Rowe.