The five most important Patriots vs. the Eagles in Super Bowl LII

MINNEAPOLIS — Ok, so after watching more film than I care to remember and parsing all the stats and matchups, here are my five most important Patriots against the Eagles in Super Bowl LII:

Brandin Cooks

Depending on how the Eagles play the Patriots defensively — Cover 3 zone if they stick with what got them here; man-to-man if they want to win the game — then Cooks could feature prominently in this game. He will likely see a lot of Eagles CB Ronald Darby, who was Stephon Gilmore's running mate with the Bills.

Darby is extremely physical, and he also possesses very good speed. The problem with Darby is that he tends to play overaggressive and with his eyes in the backfield. Tom Brady's about the worst quarterback to do both against. Darby has frequently been targeted with double moves (receiver will fake a shorter route — a hitch or slant — timed with a fake from the QB, and then a take-off route down the field). I expect the Patriots to set up Darby with shorter routes early if he's playing in off coverage, and then at some point, they'll use the double move on him. As an added bonus, FS Rodney McLeod also plays on Darby's side a lot, and he's just as aggressive.

The potential is there for Cooks to have a huge, MVP-like performance in this game. Judging off his performance in the AFC championship game (outside that one drop), he is primed and ready for such a performance.

Eric Rowe

The former Eagle has a chance at revenge in this game against the team that traded him away, but there's also a chance he gets exposed in this game. Rowe has admitted over the course of the season that he's not overly thrilled with playing the slot corner position because it doesn't exactly fit his strengths, and it's a very tough position.

If Rowe is in the slot on Sunday, he's going to be matched up with Nelson Agholor, who is slippery, quick and a multi-dimensional playmaker for the Eagles in this offense. The Eagles know Rowe's strengths and weaknesses as well as anyone, and I expect them to target Rowe early and often.

This is not a great matchup for Rowe, and the problem is that the Patriots don't really have many options if Rowe can't keep up. Jonathan Jones would be a better physical matchup for Agholor, but he's on IR. Johnson Bademosi is the other option, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him get some snaps at some point due to his tackling ability.

Shaq Mason

The right guard has largely had a superb season and should have garnered more All-Pro consideration this year. Well, he can start his candidacy for 2018 in this game because he'll be facing one of the best player in the league: Fletcher Cox. Cox is big, long, quick and he doesn't give up on plays. He's one of the most powerful players in the league.

But Mason is no slouch. He's compact, quick and just as powerful in his own way. The biggest key for Mason will be making sure he blocks Cox to the echo of the whistle because just when you think you have Cox blocked, he'll shed and get down the line to clobber a back for a 2-yard gain and jar the ball loose.

In pass protection, the Eagles have so many players who can create issues that they may leave Mason one-on-one with Cox for long stretches. Mason has the ability to minimize Cox, especially if the Patriots use tempo. Mason could have a crowning game in this one.

Patrick Chung

This one is fairly straightforward: Nick Foles uses TE Zach Ertz as a security blanket, especially on third downs. If the Patriots take Ertz away, then the Eagles are going to have a tough time scoring.

Chung has, on the whole, been terrific this season. He's given up a few plays and scores here and there (Marcedes Lewis in the AFC championship). If the officials continue to let him play physically — and he's been close to being flagged in recent weeks — then this matchup setups perfect for Chung. Ertz is longer, but Chung is faster and more physical. If Chung can get in Ertz's hip pocket and bother him, then that would be a huge win for the Patriots.

Elandon Roberts

Roberts got off the hook a bit vs. the Jaguars when much of the read-option and play fakes were run away from him. With two weeks to prepare, and with the game planning ability of Doug Pederson and Frank Reich, I expect much of the Eagles' misdirection and play fakes to target Roberts.

Roberts has grown up a lot this season and is playing a much more mature brand of football. He's going to need to play that way on Sunday. If Roberts relies on his instincts and gets too aggressive, then we could see a few repeats of the pass play he gave up to Devonta Freeman at the end of last year's Super Bowl. Roberts said he learned a lot from that play and that game. The proof will come tonight.