4 Reasons Why the New England Patriots Will Win Super Bowl LII
Tom Brady Can Beat the Eagles' Pressure
Much has been made about the Eagles' defensive line being good enough to make life miserable for Brady. Their defense has been good at pressuring opposing signal-callers this season, leading the league in quarterback hits (115).
That pass rush has continued to be effective in the playoffs, as the Eagles have totaled 4 sacks and 19 quarterback hits through just two games.
But while the Eagles' pass rush has been dominant all season, Brady has been pretty good under pressure himself. As Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus points out, Brady has the best passer rating (96.6) in the league while under pressure in 2017.
Average NFL passer rating this year: 87.0
Tom Brady's passer rating UNDER PRESSURE this year: 96.6
Brady's passer rating under pressure is 10 points higher than the average NFL QB is on any given down.
And that's actually how you beat him.
Lol. Good luck
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) January 29, 2018
Additionally, the Eagles ranked as the second-best defense this season, per numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics -- trailing only the Jacksonville Jaguars. While Brady has said the Eagles defense is one of the best the Patriots have faced all year, he's already put up big numbers against other top units.
Brady has played four of the top-eight rated defenses per our metrics -- the Jaguars, Broncos, Panthers, and Chargers -- and in those games, he's averaged 299 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Finally, as Greg Cosell pointed out in this Eagles podcast, New England may go up tempo more often to slow down the Eagles pass rush and prevent them from rotating players in and out. Per FootballOutsiders, the Patriots are already one of the fastest-paced teams in the league, running their offense at the fifth-fastest clip in the regular season.
