Eagles vs. Patriots: Live Stream, TV Schedule and Odds for Super Bowl 52

Super Bowl LII has a tough act to follow.

The New England Patriots transformed a blowout into a compelling comeback last year. Nobody needs a reminder of the deficit they erased, and their historic rally also ended in the Super Bowl's first-ever overtime.

Now they must again thwart an opponent seeking its first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. Like the Atlanta Falcons, the Philadelphia Eagles will play the underdog role more for narrative purposes. Even without Carson Wentz, it's a close matchup when veering beyond New England's obvious quarterback advantage.

OddsShark lists New England as 4.5-point favorites to notch its sixth championship in the 2000s. All seven of its Super Bowls with Tom Brady have been decided by six points or fewer, so expect another nail-biting finish at Minnesota.

Super Bowl LII

Date: Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports

Odds: Patriots -4.5, O/U 48.5

Preview

Al Bello/Getty Images

Nick Foles forced a massive turnaround in public perception by completing 49 of 63 passes for 598 passing yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers in two spectacular postseason victories. Deemed a massive liability who would ruin Philadelphia's chances a month ago, the 29-year-old replacement can no longer be discounted.

It's also dangerous to project a new baseline after two superb games. After all, he also completed half of his passes for 4.29 yards per attempt on Christmas Day.

What can the Eagles expect from Foles on Sunday night? The answer likely lies in the middle. Take Foles' 2013 peak with his 2014 and 2015 valleys, and you get a competent player with a career 87.4 passer rating in the regular season.

Perhaps he's even better when surrounded by the right talent and scheme. A SportsCenter graphic of their Eagles careers, captured by Crossing Broad's Kyle Scott, showed a striking similarity between Foles and Wentz:

Yet don't assume he has momentum after decimating the Minnesota Vikings in an outlier outing. ESPN's Bill Barnwell studied the encore performances of seven quarterbacks who surpassed Foles' 141.4 quarterback rating in a playoff win. They collectively went 3-4 with an 82.6 rating in the next game.

Despite yielding the third-most passing yards per game (251.3), the Patriots ended the season fifth in scoring defense. They limited the damage by allowing 1.65 points per red-zone possession, the NFL's sixth-best rate according to Football Outsiders.

Per NFL.com's Kevin Patra, Patriots cornerback Eric Rowe addressed the defense's ability to contain opponents in scoring territory.

"Obviously we don't want to give up all those yards," Rowe said. "That just sucks in the first place. But when we get down to the red zone it's like we all understand that if we can just hold them to three points, they're not going to beat us kicking field goals. Everyone's alertness goes up. Sometimes no one even says anything. Everyone's body language just tightens up."

Along with red-zone efficiency, turnovers could swing the Super Bowl. While the Eagles bolstered their takeaway tally to 34 with three against the Vikings, the Patriots have surrendered 13 giveaways in 18 games.

As highlighted by Barnwell, New England's defense started five possessions—two set up kneels—on a short field this season. A strong, turnover-adverse offense must again limit the weaker unit's exposure.

If not, a bent defense will eventually break.