New England Patriots: 5 Dark horse Super Bowl MVP candidates
By Derek Snyder
2. Dion Lewis
Dion Lewis presents an interesting challenge for an Eagles defense looking to shut-down the Patriots elite offense. While Philly will focus on bringing as much pressure as possible at Tom Brady, we’ve seen the Pats neutralize great defensive-fronts before. For an example, go back and look at the tape from the AFC Championship against Jacksonville.
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The Jaguars did a fantastic job of bringing different blitz packages at Brady, but New England adjusted by getting the football in-the-flat to their running backs. No, they didn’t find much success at first, but I would argue it helped their offense start moving the football in the second-half.
Against a defense like Philadelphia, it’ll be extremely important to keep the chains moving and the Eagles rushing attack on the sideline. If Dion Lewis can get going early in the Super Bowl, he could sneak into winning the game’s MVP award.
Not to mention, Philly has to be aware of Lewis’ ability to break-free in the return game. The former Pittsburgh Panthers star already has one special-teams touchdown this season, and he’ll be looking for his second in Super Bowl LII.