Ed Schinik, COO, Yorkville Advisors

It’s the matchup almost no one outside New England and Philly really wanted, but it’s also the matchup the oddsmakers expected all along: the Patriots are returning to the Super Bowl, this time to face the Philadelphia Eagles. The “big game” has always thrived on matchups and intrigue, and there really isn’t much of that here. The Patriots remain as solid and unbeatable as ever. Meanwhile, the Eagles look great too, behind a backup quarterback and a defense that blunted the Vikings and embarrassed all the other NFC competition on their way to destiny.

For some time on championship weekend, it looked like it might go the other way, at least in the AFC. The Jaguars continued their improbable run, the strength of their defense and a great game by Blake Bortles giving them a ten-point advantage leading into the final quarter. But then Brady started doing what Brady does. He found Amendola in the end zone again and again, giving the Pats the win and yet another opportunity to raise the Lombardi Trophy.

Then there’s the Eagles (of whom my partner Mark Angelo is a die-hard fan). They weren’t supposed to get here. The season was supposed to be over in Philly when superstar QB Carson Wentz went down in week 14 to a knee injury. In came journeyman Nick Foles, who the Eagles just hoped was good enough to see them clear into the playoffs. Instead, Foles started lighting teams up all the way to the NFC championship, where he dismantled the vaunted Vikings in a lopsided 38-7 win.

So, there’s dominance on both sides to consider, but most people are not giving the Eagles much of a shot against a Patriots team that should have all its weapons back, provided Gronk gets cleared to play.

Oddsmakers don’t want to take too much air out of the balloon, so they only have the Patriots up by about a touchdown, but most seem to think it won’t be that close. Brady is the best quarterback of his generation, if not the greatest of all time, and he’s poised to win a sixth ring. Nobody seems to think Foles can keep up, no matter how good that running game is.

Could the Eagles make a game of it? There’s little doubt about that. No one expects a repeat of last year, a game in which the Patriots slept through three quarters before roaring back to embarrass the Falcons. It’s expected to be relatively close, at least for a while. It’s expected to have some scoring, and it’s expected to come down to the final few possessions. In a game like that, who’s betting against Brady? Not too many people outside Philadelphia.

But, then again, the NFL has another issue to deal with. Who, outside of their home markets, really likes these two teams? The Patriots are, perhaps, the most hated team in sports, outside of New England. And the Eagles are not that far behind. So, while the product on the field looks to be a good one, the NFL is dealing with a matchup few really wanted to see.

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