The Patriots and Eagles will square off in Super Bowl 52

He sliced his throwing hand in practice after hitting it on the helmet of running back Rex Burkhead, got stitches and endured some ligament damage.

Another hurdle was the opponent.

The Jags vice president of football operations was sitting no closer to the field than the press box at Gillette Stadium, but the Jaguars team he helped build in the mold of his Super Bowl championship teams with the Giants that twice beat the Patriots, nearly – and should have – pulled off a monumental upset.

The Patriots stormed back from an 10-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday 24-20.

“Pretty boy Tom Brady“, said Johnson, per Tim McManus of ESPN. I’m very anxious to see what Hackett does with someone like Alex Smith or Kirk Cousins next season, as I am fairly confident that the Jags will try to go in a different direction at quarterback.

We found out about six weeks later, mixed in with a controversy over Brady’s personal health guru and partner, Alex Guererro, about the hurdle the shocked the sports world: Belichick, Brady and team owner Bob Kraft, the Big 3 of the dynasty, were not on the same page. It’s not always great.

“Everyone in that locker room is thinking what could we have done a better job of, including me”.

And it’s just like we all had it pegged.

Overall, the teams have met have 13 times through the years, with the Eagles winning seven of the games, the last in 2015.

“You know, we all put a lot out there”.

New England will face the Philadelphia Eagles, who blew out the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The Duval County boys shook the vaunted Patriots to the core playing on the road in New England, and squeezed out a 20-10 lead going into the final quarter.

Minnesota actually took the lead on their opening possession as Case Keenum threw a 25-yard TD pass to Kyle Rudolph, However, Patrick Robinson ignited the Eagles with a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown later in the first quarter.

“I’d have to look at the film to see, but it was kind of like we had no energy”, Newman said.

As coach Doug Marrone stated after the game, the loss was a tough pill to swallow.

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4. Nathaniel Hackett If I am going to remember one thing from this Jaguars playoff run, it’s not their defense, which had been their calling card all season long. It’s a tremendous feeling, quite honestly.

Instead, the Eagles will seek their first Super Bowl crown in Minnesota on February 4; their last championship came in 1960. “The game is never over after the halftime, and you’ve got to go to the end”.

Still, questions remain for the favorites: Will Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who left Sunday’s AFC title game with a head injury, be cleared to play?

Then there was the matter of Brady’s hand injury, which was apparently more serious than anyone suspected.

There may be an answer to the latter. The Patriots under Belichick, son of a Navy man, are renowned for treating the smallest pieces of information as high-level intelligence, and Brady’s hand became an exercise in the art of covertness.

“I thought, of all the plays my season can’t end on a hand-off in practice”.