
Super Bowl 59: This Eagles Team is Much Better than the One that Lost to the Chiefs Two Years Ago
We went through Super Bowl 57 earlier, looking for some pieces of information we could use from 2023 and apply to the Eagles/Chiefs rematch this Sunday.
One of the takeaways is the Eagles’ roster improvement since then.
It sounds strange to say, since the previous team was stacked, and features a lot of the same players just two years later, but when you put the two Super Bowl squads side by side, it really feels like a much better group than the one that lost by three points to KC in Arizona. Let’s take a look, shall we?
quarterback
Jalen Hurts is the same guy, albeit playing a bit of a different role. He’s more game manager and less gunslinger, but played well twice this season in games that took place directly after critics questioned his passing chops. That was against Pittsburgh and then Washington in the NFC Championship Game. As far as we’re concerned, he’s still the same guy we saw in 2022, it’s just a matter of what’s being asked of QB1.
advantage – wash
running back
Pro Bowler Miles Sanders ran for more than 1,200 yards in 2022. Saquon Barkley ran for more than 2,000. They’re both backed up by Kenny Gainwell while Will Shipley replaced Boston Scott this year.
advantage – 2024
receiver
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith at the top, so mostly a wash. Jahan Dotson has been mostly a non-factor this season, while Quez Watkins put up better regular season numbers in 2022 but had a Super Bowl drop. The guys behind WR3 barely see the ball at all.
advantage – wash
tight end
Dallas Goedert at the top with an improved Grant Calcaterra behind him. Jack Stoll was more important to the run game in 2022 while Calcaterra didn’t play much.
Based on the latter’s improvement this season, we’ll give a slight edge to 2024 because the 1-2 punch is more reliable. Calcaterra played really well while Goedert was injured.
advantage – 2024
offensive line
It’s near-sacrilege to suggest that a unit without Jason Kelce is somehow better, or even the same, but the fact of the matter is that the Eagles really did not skip a beat without him. Three-fifths of the line is the same, with both tackle positions intact, and going from Isaac Seumalo to a converted Mekhi Becton feels like an even move.
advantage – wash
edge group
This is the one area where you can clearly give the nod to the 2022 team. Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham, and Josh Sweat combined for 38 sacks despite blitzing at a relative-low rate in Jonathan Gannon’s two-safety scheme.
Sweat and an almost-retired Graham remain, but their combined production was down even before B.G.’s injury. Nolan Smith has taken some excellent strides in year #2 but Bryce Huff looks like a rare Howie Roseman miss and Jalyx Hunt is only a rookie.
advantage – 2022
interior defensive line
It’s hard to convince anyone that a unit with Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave should take a backseat to anyone, but Jalen Carter’s 2024 is the Eagles’ best individual DT season since Cox was in his prime.
So you evaluate the group as a whole, and note that while the 2022 Eagles had a young Milton Williams, they went out and got Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph to help against the run at the season’s midway point. This current group of Carter, Jordan Davis, Williams, Thomas Booker, and Moro Ojomo has been getting the job done all season long, and at worst the units are comparable.
advantage – wash
linebackers
This one comes with an asterisk. If Nakobe Dean was not injured, you’d feel a lot better going into the Super Bowl with a Zack Baun and Dean combo, as opposed to Baun and Oren Burks. T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White played well in 2022, but neither hit Baun’s ceiling, and so when you factor in just how well Baun has played this year, the nod goes to his group.
advantage – 2024, with the injury caveat
safeties
CJGJ was on the 2022 squad, but Reed Blankenship had not yet replaced Marcus Epps. There’s not much separating the two. Blankenship probably has better ball-hawking skills in the middle of the field. They both had super-similar career paths, one a 6th round draft pick and the other a UDFA, both coming from non-Power 5 programs and not expected to do much of anything in the NFL. That said, just based on what my eyes tell me, I’ll give Blankenship the slightest of advantages here. You could go either way.
advantage – 2024
corners
Without a doubt, the additions of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have changed the game entirely. Slay is still Slay, for the most part, but replacing James Bradberry and Avonte Maddox is an improvement. Bradberry had the penalty that basically ended Super Bowl 57, and while the call was iffy, the contact was there. You have to feel good going into this game with the rookies, who have looked like experienced vets all season long. Even beyond them, Kelee Ringo is a decent backup and the overall depth is just better.
advantage – 2024
special teams
Jake Elliott’s 2022 was much better than his 2024. You feel really strange going into this game and not being 100% confident in him.
But Braden Mann is an upgrade over Arryn Siposs and they’ve got sure hands in Britain Covey, Gainwell, and DeJean returning kicks and punts. Looking at the rest of the special teams guys, you feel like Sydney Brown, Hunt, Ringo, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., and Burks are always making plays and always around the ball, maybe moreso than the group of rookie Dean, K’Von Wallace, Zech McPhearson, Patrick Johnson, and Shaun Bradley.
It’s close, but because of Elliot’s issues, we have to call it even.
advantage – wash
coaching
Nick Sirianni is still in charge, albeit with a diminished role, or so we think. Kellen Moore and Shane Steichen both did an excellent job, and while Vic Fangio’s record against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes is not great, the fact that he’s going into this game as a veteran who is not being courted by the Arizona Cardinals makes you feel a lot more comfortable.
advantage – 2024