PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles declared from the first day of training camp and throughout another season that included an NFC East title that the word “repeat” is not part of the locker-room vernacular for the 2024 Super Bowl champions.
“We’re not defending nothing,” offensive lineman Jordan Mailata said.
However the Eagles want to spin it, this much is true: Philadelphia is a contender to repeat.
Yes, the offense has lacked the spark of a season ago, when every snap had the promise of a spectacular play. Yes, there’s been some unhappiness about everything from play-calling to a worn-out offensive line to the kicking game. Even the Eagles’ playoff seeding — No. 3 in the NFC — was scrutinized after coach Nick Sirianni rested his starters in the season finale, costing them a shot at the No. 2 seed and perhaps more home games.
The Eagles (11-6) believe little of that matters once they open their bid for a third Super Bowl appearance in four seasons on Sunday against San Francisco (12-5).
“We are here in this spot because you want to run it back, and you want to play and compete again,” Sirianni said. “That’s part of the reason why you’re here. There’s a reason that the people are in this building, that are in this building. They have that hunger.”
They have that trophy, too.
Jalen Hurts is one of three quarterbacks in this season’s playoffs who has won a Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford are the others.
San Francisco’s Brock Purdy lost in his only Super Bowl appearance. His shot at another was derailed three years ago when he injured his elbow in the NFC championship game and was ineffective in a 31-7 loss at Philadelphia.
“I haven’t reviewed that game for a little bit,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Led by Purdy, the 49ers have one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses, but they stalled with a shot at the top seed at stake in last Saturday’s 13-3 home loss to Seattle. Purdy threw for only 127 yards, and Christian McCaffrey finished with a season-low 57 yards from scrimmage against a strong Seahawks defense.
The Eagles lost their season finale to Washington with many starters resting. The move backfired in the moment because a win would have given Philadelphia the No. 2 seed, but it could pay off in the postseason if the Eagles have the extra juice needed for another long playoff run.
“Incredibly beneficial for us,” Mailata said. “It’s more like delayed gratification. You feel (the rest) more toward the end of the week. At the start of the week, kind of rusty, feel a little slow. As you practice during the week, you get your legs, you get everything firing again.”
Counting last weekend’s finale, the wild-card game marks the first time all season the Eagles will play consecutive home games.
The road to last season’s Super Bowl ran through Philadelphia. The Eagles say they’re ready to pack their bags for the rest of January — as long as they can beat the 49ers.
McCaffrey made it through the season healthy, playing all 17 games for San Francisco with a league-leading 413 touches from scrimmage, the most by any player since 2014. McCaffrey said he feels “great” and is excited for the playoffs, and Shanahan sees no reason to limit McCaffrey’s workload.
“I look at it as Christian’s made it through that and this is all we have guaranteed right now is Sunday,” Shanahan said. “We have nothing guaranteed after that. So, once you get to this part of the year, no one thinks about anything like that.”