SUPER BOWL 2018: Our predictions for who will win Sunday's big game

pulse

February 2, 2018 7:51 PM

The Eagles are in search of their first Super Bowl win. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are looking for their sixth. Who ya got?

On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots square off in the Super Bowl.
Our sports staff made picks against the spread.

Cork Gaines, editor: Patriots -4.5

I'm not going to overthink this one. The four most important people in the stadium on Sunday will be the two head coaches and the two quarterbacks. The Patriots have the advantage with both and it is not even that close. The Patriots also have the conditioning advantage and the experience to stay calm and still have energy in the second half in a game where just the hype and the length of the game can cause Super Bowl rookies to crash late. In addition, the Patriots should finally solve their early-game offensive struggles in the Super Bowl. It is not terribly difficult to make a case for how the Eagles can win, but if they played this game ten times, the Patriots are winning seven or eight times and they are due for an easy one on the biggest stage.

PATRIOTS 48, EAGLES 17

Scott Davis, sports reporter: Patriots -4.5

Tyler Lauletta, sports reporter: Eagles +4.5

Brett LoGiurato, executive editor: Eagles +4.5

Disclosure: I'm mostly picking this exact score because it may or may not align with my pool numbers. That said, I think this game will be much closer and down to the wire than appears to be the pregame consensus. The Eagles have an elite defense that will cause the Patriots some trouble, especially early, and a backup quarterback who suddenly looks like he'll be a starter somewhere next year. The bottom line: As a Jets fan, I can't pick Nick Foles over Tom Brady in a Super Bowl.

PATRIOTS 20, EAGLES 16

Leah Goldman, managing editor: Eagles +4.5

The Eagles have all the momentum right now. As we pointed out earlier this week, the Eagles were only given a 21% chance to win their own division before the season started, and they've defied all odds. I think they're going to keep defying them. Also, how can you not love this Nick Foles comeback?

EAGLES 27, PATRIOTS 24

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