With the thrills of every Super Bowl championship comes hand in hand with the soul crushing feeling of despair for the losing team. It is a feeling the Philadelphia Eagles are experiencing following their 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
For as down as Eagles fans are at the moment, they are not alone when it comes to empathy, as the 12th Man certainly understands their pain. Philadelphia’s recent loss does bring a few parallels to the Seattle Seahawks’ defeat in Super Bowl XLIX.
The obvious comparisons are the fact both teams feature the color green in their uniforms, have bird-themed mascots, and lost a Super Bowl in Arizona despite a regular season victory in the same stadium earlier in the year. They also both lost as the designated home team to an opponent led by the best quarterback in the NFL in their current moments.
Also, for grins, they lost to teams with two names for their city/regional designation. Kansas City. New England.
But for me, one parallel sticking out is the fact the Seahawks and the Eagles led by a margin of 24-14, yet still lost. Seattle and Philadelphia were defined by their vaunted defenses, and both had second half meltdowns.
For the Seahawks, the Legion of Boom – decimated by injuries – could not slow down Tom Brady. After falling behind 10 points, Brady completed 13-of-15 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns to put the Patriots ahead.
Similarly, the Eagles had no answer for Patrick Mahomes, who was obviously hobbled by a sprained ankle. Mahomes completed 13-of-14 passes with two touchdowns as the Chiefs scoured on all four second half possessions. Kansas City found the end zone on the first three, while the fourth and final resulted in the game-winning field goal.
While Seattle was responsible for the largest blown lead in Super Bowl history at the time, Philadelphia’s defensive collapse was far more drastic. The Eagles were outscored 24-11 in the second half, and their defensive line which recorded the second most sacks in a single season in NFL history were unable to make Mahomes uncomfortable once. It should also be noted Philadelphia was far more healthy than the Legion of Boom was.