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Even if numbers occasionally lie Daeshon Hall Jersey , most of them indicate the New England Patriots are in great position to hoist a sixth Lombardi Trophy.

The reasons begin in the only place they could: with Tom Brady.

Yes, at 40 years old Brady would be the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl if the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. He would dethrone Peyton Manning, who won at age 39 with the Denver Broncos to cap the 2015 season.

Brady has put up numbers in his 18th season unmatched by any player in NFL history. He led the league with 4,577 yards passing during the regular season and his five touchdown passes are tied for the most in the playoffs.

Brady’s seven Super Bowl appearances are as many as the entire Eagles roster. He’s faced a myriad of difficult scenarios in the championship game, including last year’s 25-point hole the Patriots dug out of to beat the Falcons.

Brady won that one without tight end Rob Gronkowski, who will be in uniform after being cleared late this week.

Close games have been no problem , for Brady and coach Bill Belichick either. The total difference in scoring in those seven games is 12 points: Patriots 169, opponents 157.

You want to talk about comebacks? No player in the Super Bowl era has more fourth-quarter comebacks in the playoffs in his career than Brady’s eight. It’s probably why Brady chuckled this week when he was again asked about how long he wanted to keep playing.

”Why does everyone want me to retire so bad?” Brady said. ”I don’t get it. I’m having fun. The team’s doing good. I know I’m a little bit older than most of the guys, but I’m really enjoying it. … I’m not thinking about retirement. I’m thinking about the Super Bowl and trying to win the most important game of the year.”

As big as the Brady factor is, he’s not the only advantage New England has.

The Patriots lost go-to receiver Julian Edelman in the preseason to a knee injury and linebacker Dont’a Hightower to a season-ending shoulder injury in October. After some early-season struggles, Belichick found a way to plug the holes, with contributions from several previously unheralded players like Trey Flowers Sherrick McManis Jersey , Kyle Van Noy, Lawrence Guy and Ricky Jean Francois .

New England has also gotten a strong season from receiver Brandin Cook after acquiring him from New Orleans this offseason. He posted his third straight 1,000-yard receiving season (1,082) and was second on the team in receiving yards behind only Gronkowski (1,084). Running back Dion Lewis has also found new life just two seasons removed from a knee injury. He led the team with 896 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns.

It’s underlined the football savvy of Belichick, who with a sixth Super Bowl victory would pass Vince Lombardi and tie George Halas and Curly Lambeau for most NFL championships by a coach.

Belichick will be taking part in his 11th Super Bowl as a head coach or assistant, the most among any coach in NFL history. That amounts to 21.2 percent of all Super Bowls in league history and 34.4 percent of all Super Bowls since his first appearance as the Giants defensive coordinator in 1986.

Though there have been reports of alleged friction this season between Belichick, Brady and team owner Robert Kraft, it’s clear they are on the same page when it comes to the pursuit of championships.

”It changes every year. The venues are different, the teams are different, the matchups are different, and the road the team has traveled to get here is different James Hanna Jersey , as is the road your opponent has traveled,” Belichick said. ”Each one is unique. Each one’s special.”

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With just a handful of games remaining for the Columbus Blue Jackets, coach John Tortorella believes the team is in a good place even as its late push to secure a playoff spot has gotten tougher.

With Nick Foligno out of the lineup, the Blue Jackets open a three-game swing across western Canada on Tuesday night against NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

Columbus (42-29-5) is in third place in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blue Jackets are also tied in points with the Philadelphia Flyers for the first wild card, and Columbus has a three-point edge on the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card.

“We have six left and we’ve got some nicks along the way here … you just go play. We don’t talk about it. We just do it. That’s part of our job,” Tortorella said Monday.

The Blue Jackets surged into contention thanks to 10-game winning streak that ended with a 2-1 loss to St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Foligno, who has collected 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in the last 30 games, suffered a lower-body injury and will be sidelined from two to four weeks.

But for Tortorella, it’s business as usual.

“I just don’t want us to lose our swagger,” he said. “I think we’re in a good spot. I think the guys are feeling good about themselves. You get banged up; you just go about your business. Nick has been very good for us Donte Moncrief Jersey , so we have to fill that hole.”

Brandon Dubinsky (15 points in 56 games) is expected to fill in for Foligno.

Columbus also still has Artemi Panarin, who leads the club in scoring (25 goals, 44 assists), and needs one point to reach 70 for the third straight season. The Russian winger has six goals and three assists in a four-game points streak on the road.

The Blue Jackets have won four straight away from home and seek their third victory in four games in Edmonton. Columbus is also looking for a split of the season series after a 7-2 loss on Dec. 12 in Ohio’s capital city.

To no one’s surprise, McDavid was the driving force in that rout, collecting a goal and three assists.

The Oilers captain solidified his hold as the league’s top scorer after collecting a goal and two assists in Sunday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks that eliminated Edmonton (34-36-6) from postseason consideration.

With six games to play, McDavid has 99 points — two from a career high, and three in front of Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

McDavid, who is looking to be the first player to win consecutive Art Ross trophies since Jaromir Jagr won four straight from 1998 to 2001 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was named the league’s First Star of the Week after collecting five goals and five assists in four games last week.

The biggest difference in No. 97 this season compared with last season?

“I see him around the net a bit more. He wanted to do that this year. His sense of timing, arriving on rebounds, having the ability to tap things in Tashaun Gipson Jersey ,” Oilers coach Todd McLellan said recently.

Most likely, McDavid will try to pad his total against Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Since losing three straight starts in early February, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner is 12-4-1 with a 2.01 goals-against average and one shutout. Bobrovsky would also be looking for his fourth straight road win during that span.

Backup Joonas Korpisalo has won three straight starts, allowing a total of nine goals. He is 2-5-0 with a 4.15 GAA on the road in 2017-18.

Edmonton’s Cam Talbot needs one win to reach 30 for the second straight season. He has surrendered 14 goals in his last five games, posting a 4-0-1 record.

Al Montoya (2-2-2, 3.24 GAA with the Oilers) missed Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury. If Montoya can’t go, Laurent Brossoit (3-7-1, 3.22 GAA) would back up Talbot.

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