Eagles vs. Patriots: Initial Betting Odds, Favorite, Preview for Super Bowl 52

Seconds after the Philadelphia Eagles had completed their 38-7 rout of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game and the matchup in Super Bowl LII between the Eagles and New England Patriots was set, OddsShark's opening line in the championship game had the Patriots favored by 6.5 points. 

However, OddsShark soon updated that with a point spread of 5.5 points, and that number was down to five points by Monday morning. The total is listed at 48 points.

The Patriots will be competing in their eighth Super Bowl of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era, and they are going for their sixth Super Bowl title. The Eagles will be playing in their third Super Bowl in franchise history, and they are hoping to win their first NFL championship since 1960. New England bested Philadelphia, 24-21, at Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005 for the franchise's third NFL title.

Fifty-eight years ago, the Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers and head coach Vince Lombardi in the NFL title game. That was the only defeat that a Lombardi-coached team ever suffered in the postseason.

If the Eagles can find a way to beat the Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on February 4, this team would have a wonderful legacy. In addition to picking up their first Super Bowl championship, the franchise would have postseason victories over both Lombardi- and Belichick-coached teams.

Philadelphia had a wonderful 13-3 regular season and was the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. However, the Eagles took a major hit in Week 14 when quarterback Carson Wentz suffered an ACL injury and was lost for the season.

Wentz was a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate, and backup Nick Foles was next in line at quarterback for the Eagles. After a decent showing against the New York Giants in Week 15, Foles played poorly against the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys to close the regular season.

That's when doom and gloom became the watchwords in Philadelphia. The Eagles were home underdogs to the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional playoffs, but they came through with a 15-10 win while Foles improved his play.

The Eagles were also home underdogs to the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game, but Foles was having none of it. After giving up the opening touchdown of the game, the Eagles overpowered the Vikings with 38 straight points. 

Foles had a magnificent game as he passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns.

The Eagles looked as good as they have at any point in the season in the win Sunday. While the Birds are underdogs, it's hard to find an area where they have to take a backseat to the Patriots.

Except in Super Bowl experience and the ability to play their best football in the fourth quarter.

"

No player in the @SuperBowl era has more 4th quarter comebacks in the #NFLPlayoffs than Tom Brady. #NotDone #GoPats #SBLII pic.twitter.com/EXobnDVhPF

— NFL (@NFL) January 21, 2018"

Brady has five Super Bowl rings, and he has proved his mettle time and time again. He led his team to a remarkable comeback from a 28-3 deficit to a 34-28 overtime victory in Super Bowl LI over the Falcons.

The Patriots were trailing the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-10, in the fourth quarter of Sunday's AFC title game, but Brady threw two touchdown passes to Danny Amendola and Matt Patricia's defense stopped the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth quarter.

The ability to come back and play their best football in the fourth quarter of the most important games is a big advantage for the Patriots.

Look for the Patriots to play decisively in the final 15 minutes and get the best of the Eagles in a high-scoring game that could once again come down to the final minutes.