The Philadelphia Eagles put a halt to what seemed to be an inevitability, a “Love Story” if you will, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the record books in Super Bowl 59 with the upset victory.
You’re aware of that. You, like the majority of the population in the United States, tuned in for the final game of the NFL season and are now sad that you have to wait until September for the next meaningful NFL game. To help you pass some of the time, humor me — are the Eagles now the bully on the block? Should we be recognizing their recent run one that is on the outskirts of the dynastic conversation?
It’s not as crazy as it sounds.
Philadelphia Eagles: The Profile of a Dynasty
Not all eras are created equal, so it’s hard to draw parallels between Purple People Eating Vikings or even the Greatest Show on Turf Rams. The players and the game evolved so much that what won years ago is no longer how to approach team building today.
The two most recent dynasties, one of which you could obviously argue is still very much in progress, are Bill Belichick’s Patriots and Andy Reid’s Chiefs. At first blush, you, like my editor, scoff at the idea of Nick Sirianni’s Eagles being lumped into that conversation, but with a title now in their trophy case, hear me out.
For the sake of this exercise, I’m picking a middle four-year stretch from the Patriots, given how lengthy that run was and the first four years of the Chiefs, to compare with what I am labeling the first four of the NFC’s answer to the AFC domination.
2011-14 New England Patriots:
- Four playoff trips, 76.6% win rate
- Two conference titles
- One Super Bowl
2018-21 Kansas City Chiefs:
- Four playoff trips, 76.9% regular season win rate
- Two conference titles
- One Super Bowl
2021-24 Philadelphia Eagles:
- Four playoff trips, 70.6% regular season win rate
- Two conference titles
- One Super Bowl
At a glance, those resumes look pretty similar. The minor outlier would be Philadelphia’s regular season win percentage (still very good, but not quite on par). Still, if you acknowledge that Jalen Hurts wasn’t healthy over the final month of the 2023 season, we are looking at a 75.8% rate that aligns with their dynastic brethren.
If you want a little more specific commonality, worry not. Patrick Mahomes took over from a former top-2 overall pick (Alex Smith), who had made the playoffs in three of the previous four seasons. He’s obviously great, but it’s not as if he walked into a train wreck that demanded him to wear the cape to succeed.
Sound familiar? Remember those Carson Wentz years in Philadelphia?
The Patriots’ on-field production on the offensive side of the ball looks awfully similar, even if they were getting there in very different ways.
2021-24 Philadelphia Eagles (regular season)
- Points per Drive: 2.42
- Touchdown Rate: 28%
2011-14 New England Patriots (regular season)
- Points per Drive: 2.47
- Touchdown Rate: 27.8%
Do I have your attention yet?
Sirianni is a young coach (43) with an offensive-based resume in a league that continues to favor that side of the ball. Best of all, he appears to have his nucleus locked in in a way that allows him to sustain this level of success for, at the very least, a few more seasons.
We saw Tom Brady pair nicely with Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman while cycling through various other options carefully selected to tweak a roster preloaded with offensive stability.
In Kansas City, it’s been Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, with some sharp investment via the NFL Draft (Trent Mcduffie in 2022 and Xavier Worthy in 2024) and free agent pool (Hollywood Brown and Kareem Hunt being the recent examples).
Only time will tell if the Eagles can build around the edges as successfully as the two dynasties that preceded them did, but they have the hardest part taken care of – the rock-solid offensive options.
- Jalen Hurts: 26 years old, signed through 2028
- Saquon Barkley: 28 years old, signed through 2026
- A.J. Brown: 27 years old, signed through 2029
- DeVonta Smith: 26 years old, signed through 2028
The teams that are able to go on extended runs have been able to handle their business at home. This not only ensures them a nice record during the regular season, but it also positions them to host playoff games, a box the Eagles certainly check (21-5 over the past three regular seasons in front of their devoted fanbase, a mark that ranks second, between the Bills and Chiefs).
2025 Opponents
- HOME: Cowboys, Giants, Commanders, Bears, Lions, Broncos, Raiders, and Rams
- ROAD: Cowboys, Giants, Commanders, Packers, Vikings, Buccaneers, Bills, Chiefs, and Chargers
It’s difficult to pencil in anything short of another elite season at home for the Birds, a floor elevator that has them in, at the very least, a decent position to defend their title in San Francisco this time next year.
