5 reasons the 2024 Eagles are better prepared to beat the Chiefs than the 2022 Eagles

Eagles fans should feel much more confident heading into this Super Bowl than the last one.

Well, here we are again.

For the second time in seven seasons, the Philadelphia Eagles find themselves in the Super Bowl playing against a Greatest Of All Time quarterback (this time it’s Patrick Mahomes, not Tom Brady), and trying to prevent a dynasty from winning another title while, at the same time, attempting to avenge a Super Bowl defeat at the hands of that same QB.

Not only that, the Eagles are playing this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, the site of their first appearance, Super Bowl XV, in which the Birds fell to the Oakland Raiders 27-10.

The parallels are eerie.

For the Eagles to walk out of The Big Easy holding the Lombardi Trophy, they must once again slay a Goliath. They nearly did so two years ago with many of these same players. Jalen Hurts played the game of his life (outside of one costly fumble), A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith were monsters, and the offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage for most of the game. Normally, 35 points is enough to win a Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, two years ago, it wasn’t. This year’s team is different, and significantly better in some areas. In fact, I see five reasons why the 2024 Eagles are better equipped to beat the Chiefs this time around than the 2022 Eagles were.

Saquon Barkley

In ‘22, the Eagles backfield consisted of Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott. Sanders had seven carries for 16 yards, Gainwell had seven for 21 and Scott ran three times for just eight yards. That’s 17 carries for 45 yards from the team’s trio of running backs, good for an average of 2.6 yards per attempt.

I’m thinking the Eagles can expect more from Saquon Barkley on Sunday.

Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has not allowed a 100-yard rusher this year, and if that trend holds in Super Bowl 59, his Chiefs will likely take home their third straight title, with two of them coming at the Birds’ expense. But Barkley simply hasn’t been stopped by anyone this year.

The Ravens’ defense allowed a league-best 3.6 yards per carry this season. In Week 13’s 24-19 win, Barkley ran 23 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. The Packers gave up an average of 4.0 yards per carry, tied with the Vikings for third-fewest. Barkley ran for 109 yards on 24 carries in Week 1, then for 119 yards on 25 attempts in the wild card round of the playoffs. The Steelers gave up just 4.1 yards per carry, and while Barkley was held to just 65 yards on 19 attempts, it was also a game in which the offense primarily focused on throwing the football, with great success.

It really hasn’t mattered what kind of defense the Eagles have faced this year. Saquon Barkley has run on them all. And given Spagnuolo likes to live in dime packages and blitz frequently, there chances of Saquon breaking off one or two home runs is pretty solid.

No. 1 Defense

The 2022 Eagles were led by a wildly effective defensive line that nearly set a new NFL record in sacks. However, that D-line, and decent play by their top two cornerbacks, covered up a lot of Jonathan Gannon’s warts. When the pass rush wasn’t getting home, the defense was sunk.

This year’s group is not as talented at edge rusher, but they are better everywhere else. The interior of the defensive line features perhaps the best tackle in football right now, Jalen Carter, an emerging star, Milton Williams, a red-hot edge player in Nolan Smith, and returning spiritual leader Brandon Graham, who was having one of his best seasons before injuring his triceps.

The 2022 Eagles also didn’t have a first-team All-Pro linebacker in Zack Baun. He has revolutionized the middle of the Eagles defense, and despite losing Nakobe Dean to a torn patella in the wild card win over the Packers, Oren Burks has stepped in and made big plays.

The secondary is even more loaded. Darius Slay continues to play at a high level, but he now had an actual shut-down corner on the other side of the field in rookie Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper Dejean is a massive upgrade over what Avonte Maddox was in 2022. Add in Reed Blankenship and you’ve got a swarming defense that specializes in forcing fumbles and creating turnovers, forcing field goals, limiting the big play and putting a hurt on opponents.

This defense is better prepared and, more importantly, better coached, to deal with Andy Reid’s quick-strike, short passing game.

Normal Field Conditions

There is no Chiefs-adjacent turf manager around to make sure the Eagles’ pass rush is slipping and sliding all over the turf in this Super Bowl.

I’m not a big conspiracy theorist normally, but it was extremely odd that the man responsible for the turf at Super Bowl 57 was a huge Chiefs fan. It’s a coincidence that the Eagles’ only way of stopping Mahomes two years ago was for their fearsome pass rush to get home, and that specifically is what was affected most negatively by the slippery sod.

This year’s field uses synthetic turf and is a surface the Eagles have already played on this season in their 15-12 win over the Saints in Week 3. Just make sure the Sodfather isn’t around this time.

Experience

Lane Johnson said something interesting this week that shed some light on the difficulty some teams face playing in their first Super Bowl.

You’ll recall the Eagles went into the locker room with a 24-14 lead, and in reality, the Eagles handed Kansas City seven points with Hurts’ fumble-six. It should have been, at worst, 24-7. The Birds dominated the first half. Kansas City then outscored the Eagles 24-11 in the second half. It was a defensive meltdown from top to bottom, although the offense wasn’t as efficient as it had been earlier in the game, either.

Johnson seems to be saying the longer halftime affected them negatively, resulting in that second half “meltdown.” Reid and the Chiefs, meanwhile, had been there before and knew just how to handle it. Something tells me this time around, Nick Sirianni and the veterans who were there two years ago will come out of the locker room sharper than they did in Super Bowl 57.

Law of Averages

There’s a reason no NFL team in history has won three Super Bowls in a row. There are eight teams that had a shot at it in the Super Bowl era, legendary teams filled with Hall of Famers, and all eight of them fell short.

• Green Bay Packers, won Super Bowl in 1966 & ‘67, went 6-7-1 in 1968
• Miami Dolphins, winners of Super Bowls in 1972 and ‘73, lost to Raiders in the Sea of Hands Game in AFC Divisional Round
• Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of Super Bowls in 1974 and ‘75, lost to Oakland in the AFC Championship Game
• Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of Super Bowls in 1978 and ‘79, went 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the first time in 9 years in ‘80
• San Francisco 49ers, winners of Super Bowls in 1988 and ‘89, lost to Giants 15-13 in NFC Championship Game
• Dallas Cowboys, winners of Super Bowls in 1992 and ‘93, fell to Steve Young’s 49ers in the NFC Championship Game
• Denver Broncos, winners of Super Bowls in 1997 and ‘98, failed to reach postseason in 1999
• New England Patriots, winners of Super Bowls in 2003 and ‘04, lost in the divisional round to the Broncos in 2005

It should be noted, the Chiefs are the first of these teams to actually make it all the way back to the Super Bowl for a third crack at it, so there is something to be said for that. Still, I’m resting my hope in history.

Not only that, Mahomes and the Chiefs have won nine playoff games in a row over the last three seasons. NINE. At some point, something has to bounce the other team’s way, doesn’t it? Aren’t they due for a let-down at some point?

I say, yes.

Eagles 35, Chiefs 23