Philadelphia Eagles Hope To Plant Flag Atop Super Bowl Mountain After Climb From Bottom

NEW ORLEANS – We overlook the dark places the Philadelphia Eagles have been because here they are, at the dawn of another Super Bowl Sunday, and they're about to play on the NFL's grandest stage with a chance to win its most prized trophy.

The Eagles are at the top of the mountain, mere steps from reaching its pinnacle now. So, yes, their time in the sewer is not on anyone's mind now.

But that's where they've been.

That's where their ascent began – from the pits. The bottom.

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Eagles ‘Grateful’ Things Sucked

And they believe the difficult climb made them better. Stronger.

"This team’s embraced adversity," coach Nick Sirianni said this week. "You never know, but even going back to the 2023 season, which we haven’t talked about a lot since the start of the year, we’re grateful for that. We’re thankful for that.

"As bad as it sucked at the time, I know I’m grateful for that — I’ll speak for myself — because it shaped us into who we are now and a big reason why we’re back here."

The Eagles are back for their second Super Bowl game in three years against the Kansas City Chiefs. But unlike the Chiefs who got to the game three years ago and have remained plotted on that course, returning last year and again this season, the Eagles faded.

No, faded is the wrong word.

Sunk.

Nick Sirianni recast his coaching staff prior to 2024 season. (Credit: Getty Images)

The Eagles' Fall From Grace

The defending NFC champions from the 2022 season spent the latter part of the 2023 season in a terrible free fall. They lost five of their final six regular-season games. Then they got blown out by Tampa Bay in the wild card round the following week.

By the time the 2023 season ended, there were whispers Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts didn't get along.

And Sirianni, sources told OutKick, had to scramble to keep his job. He had to prove he deserved to, yes one year after getting to the Super Bowl, by addressing issues within his staff.

So he fired his second defensive coordinator in the span of one year – after going through a firing midseason – and also replaced his offensive coordinator.

The moves were signals to ownership that Sirianni was serious about addressing the problems of the season so they would not repeat.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 19: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Philadelphia Eagles carries the ball on a running play for a touchdown during the first half of the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field on January 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)

Troubles Remained Early This Season

And then, guess what? The problems looked to be repeating early in the 2024 season.

The Eagles were 2-2 after this season's first month. Sirianni was on hotseat betting lines.

No one was looking four months into the future and expecting the Eagles to be getting ready for a championship game after winning 15 of 16 games, including three in the postseason.

"This game and anything worthwhile in this world is not instant gratification," Sirianni said. "It takes getting better every single day. And that's really what we do. We put our head down. We felt we had a great training camp and it didn't start the way we envisioned it. 

"But we just continued to work and put the work in. We put our head down and go, and continually got better. And I think we're playing our best ball now."

The Eagles are a life lesson disguised as a football team.

They encounter hardship and their answer is to accept the failure as a lesson and grow. 

Jalen Hurts played through a ton of pain, according to coach Nick Sirianni. (Credit: Getty Images)

Hurts Embodies Eagles Embrace Of Difficulty

Quarterback Jalen Hurts has done that in his career.

He's played hurt, as he did much of this season while nursing a knee injury. He's played in an offense that he's felt hasn't always "unleashed" him.

And Sunday he's playing in a rematch against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and, well, no one expects him to be the better quarterback on the field. That is not an unfamiliar position for Hurts who faced the same expectations in Super Bowl LVII and was on the losing side. 

"It’s had a great driving force for me," Hurts said of that Super Bowl loss. "It lit a flame, lit a fire in me, and to have this opportunity again is exactly what you work for."

Much of America is rooting for the Eagles because, well, maybe people are embracing their East Coast bias, or Chiefs derangement syndrome.

Here's another reason to perhaps root for the Eagles: They climbed to the top of the mountain, fell violently, and climbed back up.

They're a lesson in overcoming failure.