PHILADELPHIA — Over the last two years, several Eagles players, including edge rusher Brandon Graham, have dealt with the regret of losing Super Bowl LVII to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023, and they never want to experience that pain again.
So Graham and his teammates are extra motivated to beat the Chiefs, who are led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid, in a Super Bowl rematch next Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“We don’t want to feel how we felt last time. That loss stung,” Graham, who is questionable to play against the Chiefs with a triceps injury, told NJ Advance Media on Friday.
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The Eagles have many reasons to feel confident heading into Super Bowl LIX.
In the playoffs, running back Saquon Barkley has dominated, the defense has forced eight turnovers and even the special teams unit has made big plays in consecutive games. Barkley could run through Kansas City’s defense, the defense could force more takeaways, and the special teams unit could make a big play, too, which would make it difficult for the Chiefs to win.
“As long as we go out there and play our game, and continue to play football the way we’ve been playing it, we should come out successful,” Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith said on Friday.
The Eagles’ 2022 Super Bowl team made a few mistakes against the Chiefs that cost them a championship, including giving up a 65-yard punt return to Kadarius Toney in the fourth quarter.
This time around, Philadelphia has to make better in-game adjustments and avoid costly errors.
“We know it’s going to be a dogfight,” Eagles long snapper Rick Lovato said. “You know this game isn’t going to be something that you can push over and focus on one thing and that’s it. You have to be ready for everything, whether it’s fakes or something you’re not used to seeing being run.”
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert, kicker Jake Elliott and offensive tackle Jordan Mailata all struggled to move past the Super Bowl loss and want to get pay back.
“The hurt of it when it doesn’t work out your way,” Elliot said. “That leaves a sour taste in our mouth and makes us want to finish the job.”
“That whole offseason up until the next season started really, you were kind of thinking about it, thinking about how it could have gone different, thinking about being on the other side of it,” Goedert said. “Now, we have an opportunity to do it.”
“I’m going to keep it short and simple, yes, yes it does (give me motivation),” said Mailata on 94WIP this week about getting revenge on the Chiefs.
Smith, who said he’s not motivated by the revenge factor, watched the 2023 Super Bowl again to study Kansas City’s defenders.
“We played some of those guys,” Smith said. “Seeing what they were doing then and if they are doing anything different now.”
The Eagles have a tighter bond this year compared to the 2022 team, Mailata said this week, and they learned lessons from Super Bowl LVII that will help them play better in this year’s game.
“Hindsight from a perspective of that everyone has not really experienced that before and everything that comes with the week ,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “I think that something that’s big is just being of good influence on the guys that haven’t been there before, being able to answer questions, opening that door so everyone is that much closer when we go out there and experience (it).”
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