For the fifth time in three seasons, the Eagles and Chiefs are getting together to play a football game.
You may remember the last one.
It was just seven months ago the Birds ended Kansas City’s dream of a third straight title by a 40-6 score (the real ones know), a thorough trouncing in which the Eagles shocked the world with their sheer dominance of this era’s greatest quarterback. It was one of the finest defensive performances ever witnessed in a Super Bowl, backed by the spectacular play of Jalen Hurts, who earned MVP honors by completing 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, while rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Now, in Week 2, the two Super Bowl participants will take the field against each other once more. Jalen Hurts vs. Patrick Mahomes, a budding rivalry that only appears to be building each year.
In their first-ever meeting, Mahomes and Chiefs beat up on the Eagles 42-30 in 2021, Hurts’ rookie season. They didn’t face off again until Super Bowl 57, won by Kansas City 38-35. Similarly, the two Super Bowl participants played again a few months later in K.C., albeit in the middle of the 2023 season, won by the Birds 21-17.
By now, you’ve surely seen this game being billed as “revenge” for the Chiefs. After all, this is the team that destroyed them for a title just a few months ago. There’s no doubt Mahomes and Co. would love to avoid an 0-2 start and prove to themselves that last February’s Super Bowl loss was a fluke.
But revenge? Hardly.
This sentiment is 100% correct.
Super Bowl 59 was truly a “revenge” game for the Eagles. They had lost the Super Bowl two years before, with the cores of the rosters and the head coaches all returning. Jalen Hurts’ screen saver on his phone was a picture of him walking along the sidelines in the moments after Super Bowl 57, the red-and-yellow confetti falling from the ceiling above him, serving as motivation to get back to the Big Game. Ultimately, two years later, the Eagles and Hurts got their chance to win a title they believed was taken from them, against the very same team that did the taking.
That is revenge. It is not winning a regular season game the following season.
When the Eagles came back to defeat the Chiefs in 2003, did it even come close to healing the wounds of Super Bowl 57? Did Hurts change his screen saver after that contest? Of course not. Did the Minnesota Vikings feel vindicated in 2018 when they came to Philadelphia and beat the Eagles 23-21 eight months after losing the NFC Championship Game? I doubt it. They were nice victories in the moment, but did little to salve the wounds of crushing defeats with much, much more on the line.
You also cannot compare a Super Bowl to a regular season game by calling it a “rematch.” In baseball, you wouldn’t call a three-game series in May against the team you played in the World Series a true “rematch.” A “rematch” is getting that team in the same circumstances you had them before and trying again.
You can compare to regular season games as a “revenge” game or a “rematch.” And certainly, two postseason victories are comparable. If the Commanders somehow beat the Eagles in a wild card or divisional round match-up this January, those would absolutely fit the definition of a “revenge” victory.
I don’t know Mahomes personally, but I am reasonably sure that even if he rolls up a 35-10 win over the Eagles on Sunday, he won’t feel any sense of revenge. The pain of a 40-6 shellacking (yep, I’m sticking with that score) won’t be dissipated by a Week 2 victory. And the Eagles won’t feel soul-crushed if they lose, certainly not like they felt after Super Bowl 57.
In order to truly gain revenge, the two situations must be equal, or very close to it.
Right now, the Chiefs have bigger fish to fry. They are coming off a loss to their division rival Chargers in which L.A. looked like the superior and more explosive team in Week 1. The Denver Broncos have one of the best defenses in the league and should be much improved this season. K.C. is woefully short on impact wide receivers, the offensive line remains in flux, and there is still no running game to speak of.
Their season certainly doesn’t hinge on avoiding an 0-2 start, but their motivation likely hinges on the impact a defeat to the Eagles would have on their sense of invulnerability. There are other, more immediate concerns and considerations in play for them.
So no, this isn’t a “rematch,” nor is it a “revenge” game.
It is simply the two representatives from the previous Super Bowl meeting up for a Week 2 match-up in Kansas City. It’s a marquee contest, no doubt, but it could never have the same kind of stakes or intensity that a Super Bowl had.
0 CommentsSee More:
