Philadelphia Eagles aim to rewrite the ending in Super Bowl rematch
The Eagles lost 38-35 two years ago to the Kansas City Chiefs, who are one win away from an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl success.
The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons a wiser, more complete team than the one edged out 38-35 in Arizona two years ago.
The Chiefs are seeking an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title and to secure it they will need to beat the same team they started the run against, two years after Philadelphia held a 24-14 half-time lead only for Kansas City to rally in the fourth quarter.
For much of last season it appeared this rematch might have come straight away. The Eagles leapt out to a 10-1 start before the wheels came off in stunning fashion.
They lost five of their last six games before being blown out by Tampa Bay in the divisional round of the play-offs, a 32-9 loss that almost cost coach Nick Sirianni his job.
A year on, he has them back in the Super Bowl.
“This team’s embraced adversity,” Sirianni said. “Even going back to the 2023 season, which we haven’t talked a lot about since the beginning of the year, we’re grateful for that. We’re thankful for that.
“As bad as it sucked at the time, I know I’m grateful for that because it shaped us into who we are now and a big reason why we’re back here…Embracing adversity is huge for your development as a person, as a player, as a coach.”
Twelve of the starters from the 2023 season are still in the squad. Tackle Jordan Mailata said the collapse “lit a fire” in the dressing room that still burns now.
But quarterback Jalen Hurts said it goes back further, to that Super Bowl in Glendale when the Chiefs snatched victory away late on.
“I’ve learned so much,” the 26-year-old said. “It’s the same as any other game and the moments are the moments but ultimately every game has its lesson, good, bad or indifferent. Just being able to become wiser, grow and mature and take all these lessons in for the next season and the next games.
“It’s had a great driving force. It lit a flame, lit a fire in me, and to have this opportunity again is exactly what you work for.”
But it has taken more than anger and frustration for the Eagles to get back. This is a better team, one that has undergone a rebuild on both sides of the ball. Twenty-one players have started for the Eagles this season who did not feature in 2023, the most for a Super Bowl team since 1981.
Linebacker Zack Baun highlighted a defensive rebuild, while running back Saquon Barkley has transformed the offense. Both were signed as a free agents, the first time in NFL history a team has signed two free agents who both earned Pro Bowl selection in their first season on the squad.
Barkley led the league with 2,005 yards in the regular season, only the ninth player in NFL history to pass the 2,000 mark, only 101 yards short of Eric Dickerson’s all-time record.
The 27-year-old has run for 442 yards in the post-season. If he gets just 30 on Sunday, he will break Terrell Davis’ record of 2,476 yards for a single season including the play-offs – a mark that has stood since 1998.
It is a major turnaround from the situation Barkley faced during six frustrating seasons with the New York Giants before signing for bitter rivals Philadelphia in March on a three-year deal worth 37.75million US dollars (£30.2m).
“It means everything,” Barkley said of his resurgence. “That’s life, though. You’re going to have adversity.
“You’re going to have up and downs, but it’s who you are in those moments, and I never lost faith and I just kept my head down and kept working, and was able to get here and be able to surround myself with unbelievable individuals. When you’re able to do that, you’re able to have a lot of success.”
