3 Reasons the Patriots Will Upset the Eagles in Week 1
By Tyler Maher
For the first time since 2019, the Patriots will face someone other than the Dolphins in Week 1. Unfortunately for us, we drew one of the toughest matchups in the NFL with the schedule-makers giving us the Eagles.
Philadelphia is heavily favored in this game, and for good reason. The Eagles went 14-3 last season and reached the Super Bowl, while the Pats went 8-9 and missed the playoffs.
Philly also has the better roster on paper heading into 2023, but the situation isn’t totally hopeless. New England isn’t going to roll over at home and could even end up stealing a win if things break right for them.
Here are three reasons why the Patriots could upset the Eagles in Week 1.
3 Reasons Patriots Will Upset Eagles
1. In Bill We Trust
While Philadelphia has the clear edge in personnel, New England has the edge on the sidelines. And in a game that is still projected by oddsmakers to be relatively close, that could make all the difference.
Sure, Nick Sirianni just led the Eagles to the Super Bowl last year, but he’s never won one. Belichick, as we all know, has won six during his time with the Patriots. Sirianni is good, but Belichick is an all-time great.
New England no longer has Tom Brady, but it still has Belichick — arguably the greatest head coach in any team sport ever. He remains the best at preparing his team to play and putting them in the best position to succeed every week.
Belichick is also a defensive genius who will do everything he can to slow down Philly’s offense. He excels at taking away the other team’s best player and will probably come up with some defensive schemes that Jalen Hurts has never seen before. He always has a couple of tricks up his sleeve.
Belichick also has the advantage of surprise. The Eagles haven’t played the Patriots since 2019, which pre-dates both Hurts and Sirianni. Look for Belichick to keep them guessing and throw a few curveballs at them.
At this point, Belichick has seen it all and has beaten plenty of stacked teams during his coaching tenure. Don’t be surprised if he does it again here.