4 Reasons Why the New England Patriots Will Win Super Bowl LII

Running Back Versatility

Surely everyone remembers the heroics of James White in last year's Super Bowl. He caught 14 passes for 110 yards and a score while rushing for 29 yards and 2 more touchdowns, including the game winner. White's gaudy box score is just one example of the versatility of New England's running backs out of the backfield, a theme that played out throughout this season and into the playoffs.

Few teams throw to their running backs more often than the Patriots -- they ranked fifth in target percentage going to running backs, taking up more than 27 percent of the team's targets.

In two playoff games, Dion Lewis is second on the team in targets (18), trailing only Danny Amendola (22). White ranks fourth (12), splitting time near evenly with Lewis -- White has only played nine fewer snaps than Lewis through two games.

While the Eagles' defense has been impressive overall this season, our own Brandon Gdula pointed out earlier this week that they could be susceptible to the Patriots' running backs catching passes out of the backfield. In terms of Target Success Rate, the Eagles rank 22nd against running backs since Week 12, per numberFire metrics. They're 26th on the full season.

Against an Eagles defense that ranked among the top four in both rush and pass defense, per our metrics, it may be the running backs catching passes for the Patriots that is the difference maker in Super Bowl LII.