The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions. They picked apart the Kansas City Chiefs, winning with a score of 40-22. Just one season ago, the Eagles lost in the wildcard round, fast forward to now they’re hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. So what propelled them to becoming a Super Bowl-caliber team?
After a Super Bowl appearance in the 2022-2023 season, The Eagles were expected to replicate similar results in the 2023-2024 season. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as they would eventually lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during wildcard weekend. They started the season off hot, going 10-1 with big wins over teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. After Week 11 though, things started to fall apart in Philly, going 1-5 to end the season.
Focusing solely on the last six weeks of the season, the Eagle’s defense fell apart. Allowing an average of 30.3 points per game is not a winning recipe. Injuries, poor coaching, and a lack of momentum were all factors in the late-season collapse. Forced to go on the road as the five seed, they faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Tampa, the Eagle’s defense continued to struggle, allowing 32 points in a devastating loss. Just like that, Philadelphia’s season was over.
After a Super Bowl run the season prior, the Eagles failed to win a playoff win in the following season. This was an incredibly disappointing result, and fans were upset, to say the least. There were calls to fire Nick Sirianni and to overhaul the defense. As a result, Howie Roseman got to work, bringing in Vic Fangio to help turn the struggling defense around. The team decided to draft defense-heavy, taking key guys like Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, while also signing big-time starters like Saquon Barkley and Zack Baun in free agency. Philadelphia’s front office decided to bring back the controversial Nick Sirianni for another season.
The Eagles started their season in Brazil against the Green Bay Packers. They survived in an offensive shootout with a score of 34-29. While the season started on a high note, the new Philadelphia team had their fair share of growing pains. By Week Four they had a middling record of 2-2. The defense was playing great, but the offense only scored more than 24 points once during that span. After that, however, the Eagles team flipped a switch.
From weeks five through seventeen, The Philadelphia Eagles were a force to be reckoned with. Remove late-game heroics by Jayden Daniels, Philly was unstoppable. Saquon Barkley elevated the offense to unbelievable levels, rushing for 2000+ yards by the end of the season. He gave the offense the dimension needed to let Jalen Hurts flourish as well, putting up 2903 yards, 18 passing touchdowns, as well as an extra 14 on the ground. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was also an integral piece in elevating this offense to new heights.
The defense under Vic Fangio was a complete 180 from last season. Going from a bottom-two defense in the league last season to the best defense in the NFL was a pleasant turnaround for fans. With the help of Vic Fangio, Howie Roseman rebuilt the defense with the help of the draft and free agency. Rookies Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell made immediate impacts in their first season. Another feel-good story is Zack Baun. Struggling in New Orleans, he was brought into Philly and switched to middle linebacker. There, he found massive success, being one of Philadelphia’s key defensive players. It was clear that while Philly’s offense was flashy, the defense was the piece of the puzzle needed for another deep postseason run.
Philadelphia went into the 2024-2025 playoffs as the number two seed as the winners of the NFC East. In their first two games, it was all defense, as they only allowed 10 and 22 points against the Packers and Rams respectively. While the offense had some trouble putting games away, one thing was consistent. Saquon Barkley. He dominated in his first postseason run with the Eagles. Rushing for 324 in those first two games, Barkley helped the Eagles get back to the NFC Championship game.
The NFC Championship game was a rematch with the Washington Commanders. As division rivals, the two teams played each other twice during the regular season. The Eagles went 1-1, with the Commanders being the only team to beat them during their 12-1 stretch. With lots of concerns about the Eagles offense putting games away, and the hype around Jayden Daniels, many thought this was going to be a close game.
Unfortunately for the Commanders, their Cinderella run was ended by the Eagles in dominant fashion. The defense stifled the Commander’s high-flying offense, forcing four giveaways, three of those being fumbles. Through the first three games of the postseason, the Eagle’s defense didn’t allow more than 23 points. This made it quite easy for the offense to put up the 55 points that they did. Saquon rushed for another three touchdowns, While Jalen Hurts did an amazing job of taking care of the football, throwing no interceptions, and completing 20 of his 28 passes for 246 yards. Returning to the Super Bowl once again, they would go up against a familiar opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Headed into New Orleans, the Eagles were tasked with defeating the back-to-back Super Bowl Champions. While on paper, Philly had the better roster, Kansas City has been known for beating the odds and winning close games all year. The game plan was simple, contain Patrick Mahomes and take care of the football, and Philadelphia did just that. The Eagles decimated the Chiefs in every possible way, early on it was apparent that Mahomes and company stood no chance against Vic Fangio’s defense. Jalen Hurts did his part as well, only throwing one interception en route to being named Super Bowl MVP.
The Eagle’s front seven had their best game of the season. Sacking Patrick Mahomes a career-high six times, and picking him off twice (one of them for a pick-six). They suffocated the offensive line, and the secondary did a phenomenal job of clamping up Kansas City’s receivers. Jalen Hurts played one of the best games in his career. He looked poised and confident in every one of his throws and runs. He wasn’t afraid to let the ball fly, connecting for big plays all game. Saquon Barkley had a quiet night by his standards but still found ways to be impactful, like in the passing game where he had 40 yards. A complete game by every Philly player helped them to a Super Bowl LIX win, beating the Chiefs with a score of 40-22.
Honestly, I bet against the Eagles throughout the majority of the playoffs, but when it mattered most the team found ways to win. This was an amazing game that all Philly fans and players should be proud of. Nick Sirianni redeemed himself, and Vic Fangio got his first Super Bowl ring. The defense played lights throughout the entire season and should be extremely proud of themselves. Saquon Barkley, in his first year as an Eagle played a large role in getting them to this point. While his QB Jalen Hurts tops off a great season with one of his best performances. The Philadelphia Eagles earned this win and should revel in it for the rest of the offseason.
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