Super Bowl Breakdown: The Secondary

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Leading up to the Eagles matchup in Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots Sports Talk Philly and Eagledelphia will compare the personnel of the two teams each day until gameday is here. 

In this edition of our week-long comparison we will look at the defensive backs for both teams.

New England DBs | Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Malcolm Butler, Johnson Bademosi, Duron Harmon, Jonathan Jones

The Patriots have a star studded duo at cornerback, but the strength of their secondary is in their safeties. Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung finished first and second on the team in tackles. McCourty led the way with 97 while Chung was right behind him with 84.

Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler combined for 21 passes defensed this season, with Butler leading the way with 12. Chung finished tied for second on the team with Gilmore, with both players defensing nine passes. Jonathan Jones and Duron Harmon were right behind them with eight and seven respectively.  

Harmon led the Patriots with four interceptions on the season. Malcolm Butler and Stephon Gilmore were tied for second on the team with two each. The New England secondary totaled 11 interceptions in all. 

Philadelphia DBs | Ronald Darby, Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson, Corey Graham, Rasul Douglas

The Leader of the Eagles' secondary is Malcolm Jenkins. Jenkins finished third on the team and first among secondary players with 76 tackles this season. Jenkins plays multiple roles on the Eagles defense that allows the Eagles to adapt their coverages and schemes to fit whatever the opposition attempts against them. 

Jenkins is joined by Rodney McLeod in the back end of the defense to form one of the most efficient safety tandems in the NFL. 

Ronald Darby leads the cornerbacks, often drawing the opposition's top receiver. Darby was remarkable in 2017 with 34 tackles, nine passes defensed, and three interceptions in just eight games. 

Jalen Mills lines up on the other side of the defense and made huge strides in sophomore season. Mills collected 64 tackles, 14 passes defensed, and three interceptions – one of which was a pick-six. Mills shed the label of being the defense's weak link and teams started to be punished for picking on the physical cornerback. 

Like Mills, Patrick Robinson also surprised fans with excellent play this season. Robinson led the team with four interceptions and 18 passes defensed while placing sixth on the team with 47 tackles. Robinson plays in the nickel and is as active in the run game as he is in the passing game. 

Corey Graham and Rasul Douglas are the extra defensive backs, and combined for 15 passes defensed, four interceptions and 63 tackles this season.

Edge

The Eagles finished 17th in passing defense this season while the Patriots finished 30th. Both teams allowed 24 passing touchdowns, but the Eagles ' secondary accounted for 19 interceptions while the Patriots secondary picked off 11 passes. 

New England surrendered a 89.5 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks while passers had a 79.5 rating against the Eagles. 

The Patriots secondary carries more name recognition than the Eagles' secondary does, but the Eagles' secondary creates more turnovers and allows less yards in the air than the Patriots' defense. The Eagles take the edge.