EAGLES-PATRIOTS: SUPER BOWL RUBBER MATCH?

Brandon Graham could have a chance to re-enact his immortal strip sack of Tom Brady. Except this time the QB1 would be  Pats Drake Maye. Photo from wiki-fandom. 

It has taken the Super Bowl LIX Champion Philadelphia Eagles a few weeks to look more like their former selves after the tides looked to be changing after a big 38-20-win vs the New York Giants.

RB Saquon Barkley had his 2025 breakout game of 174 all-purpose yards, 80 more than any other game this season, and QB1 Jalen Hurts add four more TD passes to his campaign.

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has all the tools to lead a team to a Super Bowl: Photo from wikipedia.com

Add in a flurry of trade deadline acquisitions, the return of future Eagles “Ring of Honor” member DE Brandon Graham, and the recovering health of players like linebacker Nolan Smith and WR A.J. Brown, they look poised to finish atop the NFC.

While nothing in the NFL is ever a given, the team that finished as the best the league had to offer a year ago who returned 10/11 starters on offense and several of the key cogs on defense that got them there being this good is hardly a surprise to most.

Philadelphia’s roster is just simply more talented than the conference competition so barring any major injury setbacks or them shooting themselves so badly in the foot the real question is who in the AFC will meet them in Santa Clara, California on February 8^.?

With no shortage of star QB1s like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow, the door was truly wide open for any of these contenders to get a lick at the returning champs.

But like I said, nothing in this league is a given and too much of the surprise of many, the door has been open for another potential contender who could lead us to a Super Bowl rubber match after all, albeit not the one many had considered.

Tom Brady during warmups at the Super Bowl in 2018 By Jeffrey Beall - Own work.

New England Patriots second-year signal caller Drake Maye came on the scene with fury and poise to lead the Pats to 7-2 record up to this point and a 6-game win streak, their longest since the G.O.A.T Tom Brady was under center.

Speaking of Brady, Maye has now also notched his 8^th straight game of 100+ Passer rating, tying him with Brady for most in a Patriots uniform.

League history is etched all over with second-year quarterbacks making the leap necessary to carry their franchise to the Super Bowl like Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Ben Roethsliberger, Collin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Joe Burrow, and the aforementioned Tom Brady.

While this wouldn’t be rarefied air on its face, this was a team that is coming off back-to-back seasons of 4-13 and who many thought were just trying to get close to being a .500 club.

Head Coach Mike Vrabel’s steady presence and leadership is not to be dismissed during this franchise altering turnaround, but as Drake Maye sits with the third-best odds to win MVP behind only Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes who most have as the two best in the game, it’s clear that they are here because of him.

Who would be holding up the Vince Lombardi Trophy if this Eagles team owned by Jeffrey Lurie played the 2025 Patriots team still owned by Robert Kraft?  Photo by Andy Lewis. 

So, what could a world in which Maye continues this stratospheric leap and Hurts, the most underappreciated star QB in the game, just keeps on winning look like?

Maye is first in the NFL in Completed Air Yards, third in Completed Air Yards Per Completion, and second in Completed Air Yards Per Pass Attempt period.

For those who might not be as plugged into advanced stats these show in statistical metrics what you are seeing with your eyes each week which is Maye is keeping his eyes downfield and pushing the ball with great success.

How this big play hunting ability would stack up against guru DC Vic Fangio and his penchant for taking away these same splash plays would be an incredible chess match to see.

Hurts ranks No. 13, No. 5, and fourth in those same categories and still has better football inside of him as Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo is still finding his footing from a play calling perspective.

Going up against a Pats D that is ninth in total defense by average yards allowed, fifth in run-stop win rate, and No. 10 in pass-rush win rate, we could see just as well matched and entertaining of Super Bowl as when these teams last met there in the 2017 season.

Seeing Hurts duel any of the AFC’s prospective gunslingers on that stage will be must watch TV, but part of me is hoping it’s the kid. *

Email Matt Santoleri at msantoleri13@gmail.com