PHILADELPHIA — Not even two months ago, the Philadelphia Eagles lost a Super Bowl in one of the most heartbreaking ways the football gods could draw up.
A 10-point lead at halftime, your quarterback having the game of his life, outperforming the league MVP, and somehow it slipped away.
The good news? That didn’t feel like this team’s only shot at a ring.
The Eagles have an elite 24-year-old QB in Jalen Hurts, a top-tier head coach and general manager in Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni, and a star-filled nucleus on both sides of the ball made up of both young players and veterans.
Not to mention a plethora of top draft picks over the next two years.
In an NFC Conference that may not have a single elite signal-caller outside of Hurts, the Eagles have a great chance to run it back. But what does history tell us about teams getting back to the Super Bowl after suffering a loss on the brightest stage?
It is hard to get to a Super Bowl. Getting back there is even tougher, especially if the first appearance ended in heartbreak.
Some teams never recovered. The Seattle Seahawks were on the verge of becoming a dynasty before they were intercepted on the one yard-line to lose Super Bowl 49 in 2014. The legion of boom era was never the same. The 2016 Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl 51 and have only been back to the playoffs once since.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE LOCKED ON EAGLES PODCAST: Apple // Google Podcasts // Spotify // Stitcher // TuneIn
Looking back at the last 25 Super Bowls, teams that lost in the championship game made it back within four years just four times.
The New England Patriots fell to the New York Giants in 2007 and made it back in 2011, when they, yet again, lost to Eli Manning and the Giants.
The good news for Philadelphia is outside of the 2011 Patriots, the other three teams that made it back ended up getting redemption, hoisting the Lombardi trophy the second time around.
The Denver Broncos returned to the Super Bowl in 2015 after getting blown out by Seattle in 2013. They were able to upset MVP QB Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers to send Peyton Manning off into retirement with his second ring.
After losing to the Eagles in Super Bowl 52, the Patriots were able to get back to the big game in 2018, defeating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53.
Then there was this year’s Kansas City Chiefs who two years after falling to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55, came back against Philadelphia to win Super Bowl 57.
Of course, all situations are different. Just because other teams have struggled to get back to the Super Bowl doesn’t mean the Eagles will. They have the right makeup to make it back.
Their general manager has now rebuilt two disastrous rosters into contenders since returning to power in 2016.
Their head coach has a strict day-by-day philosophy that has allowed this team to go 23-8 including the playoffs since starting the 2021 season 2-5.
They have a quarterback that has consistently bounced back from adversity. Losing a close national championship, being benched in another one and dealing with the pressure of being a backup in Philadelphia that many didn’t believe could be the franchise QB.
Their roster has multiple veterans that know what it takes to overcome Super Bowl slumps.
This team feels like one that will fall into the history books next to Denver, New England, and Kansas City who, not only made it back, but completed their journey with confetti falling.