Can the Philadelphia Eagles pick up where the 49ers left off?
The Eagles were 38-35 losers to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona at the conclusion of the 2022 season, giving Kansas City the first of back-to-back championships before a 25-22 overtime win over the 49ers in Las Vegas last season.
It’s the Eagles again in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on the strength of their 55-23 blowout over the upstart Washington Commanders.
Only Philadelphia stands in the way of the first “three-peat” in Super Bowl history and the Eagles will be sentimental favorites if only because there are few things the public enjoys more then seeing a team that gets all the breaks taken down a peg.
The Chiefs escaped Arrowhead Stadium with a 32-29 win over Buffalo in the championship nightcap in a tense, riveting affair that had social media scurrying for the latest examples of an NFL conspiracy to keep Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift in the public eye.
For the record, and there’s nothing worse than ruining a nonsense conspiracy, Kansas City has had 11 playoff drives with Mahomes since 2019 in the fourth quarter or overtime when down by one score. Associated Press statistical savant Josh Dubow reports the Chiefs scored seven touchdowns and kicked four field goals in those drives. With no first downs by penalty.
So while we wait for evidence that will never come to prove officials were instructed to rule in favor of Kansas City on plays that matter, we can thank the 49ers for bringing the whole “three-peat” term to light.
Following the 49ers’ 55-10 win over Denver to close out 1989, which came on the heels of beating Cincinnati 20-16 the previous year, the three-peat chatter began on the sideline and moved into the raucous postgame locker room as a chant.
It never happened, with Matt Bahr kicking the last of five field goals after a Roger Craig fumble, Joe Montana getting knocked out by Leonard Marshall and the 49ers’ losing 15-13 in one of the most bitter defeats in franchise history.
Mahomes passed Montana with his 17th postseason win. (He only needs 18 more to equal Tom Brady’s 35, kind of like how a modern pitcher will approach Cy Young’s 511 wins).
Mahomes already has three Super Bowl rings, the first coming after the 2019 season against the 49ers. He subsequently lost to Brady and Tampa Bay, but has won the last two over Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy.
As brutal as the 49ers’ season was at 6-11 in a season wracked by injuries, poor play and personal tragedy, they ought to at least get some kind of assist for getting the Eagles back on track to the Super Bowl after one year off.
It was the 49ers who exposed the Eagles on Dec. 3 of 2023, scoring touchdowns on six consecutive possessions for a 42-19 win in Week 13. The Eagles, 10-1 going into the game, came apart internally and won just once before embarrassing themselves 32-9 in a loss to Tampa Bay.
After management put coach Nick Sirianni’s feet to the fire, he dumped defensive coordinator Sean Desai and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, bringing in Vic Fangio to run the defense and Kellen Moore the offense. The personnel department added cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first two rounds of the draft. Free agency brought Saquon Barkley, a “keeping up with the McCaffreys” move that paid gigantic dividends.
Defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith Jr., drafted in the first round in 2023, blossomed in their second season.
Last offseason, when the 49ers were looking for someone to replace Dre Greenlaw, the Eagles snapped up linebacker Zack Baun with a one-year, $3.5 million contract. The 49ers? They signed De’Vondre Campbell for $5 million, and you know how that turned out. Baun forced a fumble and recovered a fumble against Washington and joined Fred Warner as a first-team All-Pro selection.
If that’s not enough, Oren Burks, a reserve linebacker and core special teams player, signed with Philadelphia and had the game of his life against the Commanders with nine tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
If the 49ers do manage to reverse course by staying healthier, upgrading the roster and get a shot at Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium, the playoffs that produced two conference champions without them provided plenty of intelligence on what it will take for a chance at snapping their own three-game Super Bowl losing streak.
The first thing is defending the run, a 49ers’ strength in previous years but a disaster over the final nine games of the season after a bye left them at 4-4.
Can Robert Saleh, rehired this week to replace Nick Sorensen as defensive coordinator, do for the 49ers what Fangio did for the Eagles? The 49ers were a sieve in their last nine games (178.2 yards per game), surrendering 100-yard runners weekly and rushing touchdowns galore. Compared to the way the Eagles and Chiefs play defensively, the 49ers look stuck in the mud.
The 49ers operated as if there were a law against forcing turnovers, going their last 552 defensive snaps without a takeaway and having just 17 all season. Philadelphia in three playoff wins didn’t turn the ball over and took it away 10 times — two of them coming on recovered fumbles on kickoff returns.
On offense, getting Christian McCaffrey back to something approaching a Barkley level — he’s not as good a scrimmage runner but is a better receiver — is a must. Trent Williams needs a return to his Hall of Fame level, and nailing a second consecutive draft would make a big difference especially if it includes a beast at defensive tackle.
Like the 49ers, Philadelphia has a quarterback in Hurts that divides both the fan base and careful observers in that he comes with flaws even though he’s been a consistent winner (46-20) since becoming the starter. Hurts is 5-3 in the postseason and was brilliant save for one lost fumble in Super Bowl LVII, a loss to the Chiefs in which Philadelphia — stop if you’ve heard this before — blew a 24-14 halftime lead.
Hurts gets another shot at Mahomes and the Chiefs on Feb. 9. Purdy and the 49ers can only hope they get another crack at their home field next year if Kansas City is looking to create a “four-peat.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch built up considerable equity by reaching four title games and two Super Bowls in five years even without the final victory. Another flame out with the big game coming to Santa Clara would radicalize a growing portion of the fan base that expects better.