5 Reasons Why the Philadelphia Eagles Will Win Super Bowl LII

Last Line of Defense

The Eagles’ biggest way to win in Super Bowl LII is through the trenches, where their defensive line has dominated all season long.

Per our opponent-adjusted metrics, the Eagles defense ranked fourth this season, allowing -0.04 NEP per play. Even better, they improved over the second half of the season, checking in at -0.09 Defensive NEP per play from Week 9 onward and improving to the third-best defense.

You know how little the Jacksonville Jaguars gave up all season? That’s what the Eagles did in the second half.

Much of that defensive dominance has come from the power of the defensive line, a group which coaxed 271 defensive pressures this season (per Pro Football Focus; most in the league) on 661 total defensive passing plays (41 percent). The Eagles haven’t even needed to blitz -- they got pressure on the passer 38 percent of the time when not blitzing and have the 10th-lowest blitz rate in the league. Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox earned a whopping 60 quarterback pressures on just 499 pass rush snaps (12.0 percent), and defensive end Brandon Graham picked up 60 pressures on just 435 snaps (13.79 percent).

If the Eagles can make Tom Brady uncomfortable in the pocket, they’ll have a chance to disrupt the Pats' perfectly in-sync passing attack.