Eagles Intent On Making Second Time The Charm In Super Bowl LIX

Philadelphia's recent Super Bowl experience could help derail the two-time reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Jan 26, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the first half in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jan 26, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the first half in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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PHILADELPHIA - There was plenty of joy in the Eagles' locker room on Sunday after Philadelphia dismantled the Washington Commanders, 55-23, in the NFC Championship Game, a victory that ensured a second trip to the Super Bowl in three years and a mulligan to try to derail the Kansas City Chiefs dynasty.

Too Short's "Blow the Whistle" was pumping with Philadelphia rapper and Eagles' superfan Gillie Da Kid playing hype man. Victory cigars were smoked and the George Halas Trophy was passed around like Lord Stanley's Cup.

A more subdued A.J. Brown went the Bill Belichick route and was already onto New Orleans and thinking about the Super Bowl rematch with the mighty Chiefs.

Browns was excited after breaking out with six receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders but he also had his eye on the bigger prize.

“This is very different,” Brown said when asked to compare this NFC title to the 2023 version. “My emotions are intact. Of course, I’m excited for guys who haven’t been before. But I just want to win.

"I just want to win. Maybe I’ll let my emotions go if we get to do that.”

Brown has been on the doorstep, ironically putting together an identical stat line to Sunday's NFCCG in Super Bowl LVII (six catches for 96 yards and a TD). However, the difference was
38-35 Chiefs vs. a 32-point win for Philadelphia.

“Removing feeling," is how Brown described it. "Removing excitement, removing all those things because it doesn’t do anything for you."

The Super Bowl is unique vs. any other game with an extra week to prepare, four days of media commitments when the Eagles arrive in The Big Easy early next week, an extended halftime break, and another 10,000 distractions or so that can take the players in a million different directions.

“Last time I honestly felt like a paid actor during the whole week," Brown said. "So many interviews. The only part that felt like real football was the game. And so when you remove all those things and you’re just trying to focus on the game and that’s the only thing that matters.

"And just trying to win. Everything else is for everybody else.”

Everybody else is what the Super Bowl is about at least until Game Day when the players take back the narrative.

For Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, the groundwork has already been laid to take care of the distractions.

"There's obviously different things that go into the week. You have two weeks to prepare. You have media obligations when you get there and the game is a little different as far as the breaks that are taken," the coach said. "...So I think at the end of the day it does come back to what we've talked about all year which is controlling what you can control and being in the moment of where you are.

"I think when that is what you're conscious of and focused on for an entire year it serves you well in going into this. So it's gonna have to be the same stuff. Just under some different circumstances."

Those who've been through it like the core players on the Chiefs and the Eagles have an advantage over the others stepping into the circus for the first time.

“We’ve been there before,” Brown said. “I’m not saying that I’m used to it but you’ve been there before, you know what it’s like and you know what’s at stake. You know how to handle it now. That’s the only thing I’m focused on.

"Doing things differently. Trying to do everything in my power to try to get us a win.”

Sirianni did admit there will be some at least tweaks in the Eagles' Super Bowl process but wanted to keep them in-house.

"I won't get into details there of what we're changing, but after each week, you talk about what you can do better and what you did well. That's a constant every Monday," said Sirianni. "That's what we did after 2022 [season] as well. So we have notes that we're going through and that we've been going through.

"Couple tweaks here and there of what we will do differently, and a couple things that will stay the same. Of course any time you go through any situation like that, you take notes like that and you try to get better from each circumstance you go through."

The goal is turn experience into the four extra points the Eagles needed back in 2023.

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John McMullen
JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen