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The New England Patriots will be looking to earn a sixth Super Bowl title on Sunday when they clash with the Philadelphia Eagles in one of sport’s greatest occasions.
The game will be a rerun of the 2005 fixture, when the Pats triumphed 24-21, and former NFL defensive back Jason Bell reckons the score this time around won’t be far off.
“Right now I’m going to vote with my head and not my heart. My heart wants the Philadelphia Eagles because I love the story but my head says the Patriots and I’m going to give them six points,” Bell told Express Sport.
“I’m looking at like 27-21. Something like that.
“The reason why is that it’s going to be hard to stop the Patriots offence from scoring that many points. It’s what they do.
“One thing the Eagles have done is get a lot of turnovers which gives them opportunities to score on offence but Tom Brady just doesn’t turn the ball over like that.”
The other key factor will be the health of tight end Rob Gronkowski, who already has eight touchdowns and more than 1000 receiving yards so far this season.
The 28-year-old was concussed during the Patriots’ win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship game, which booked their place in Super Bowl 52.
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However, the franchise are confident he will be fit to play on Sunday, which Bell believes will make a huge difference to the outcome.
“Rob Gronkowski is a match-up nightmare,” Bell added.
“If he was a No 1 receiver on the outside, obviously you could take him out of the game with a double team or something like that.
“But the fact is that this guy can match up against a linebacker, who will try to be physical with him, but Gronkowski is probably faster and taller than him or he can match up against a defensive back who he is stronger than and no matter how tight you cover him, he can use his body and strength to get open.
“So the way to beat the Patriots is to bring that coverage in Tom Brady’s face and play man coverage behind.
“Who’s the one guy who eliminates that from being a factor, who can be in man coverage on pretty much every down? It’s Gronkowski.
“That’s why he’s so important in this match-up.”
***Super Bowl LII, the climax of the NFL season, is live from Minneapolis this Sunday at 11.20pm on BBC One, with a preview on The NFL Show this Saturday on BBC One after Match of the Day.***
