NEW ORLEANS – Move over, 2007 New York Giants. There is a new greatest defensive-line performance in Super Bowl history. 

Even though that Giants contingent helped defeat Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots – with one of the league’s best statistical offenses of all time – in Super Bowl 42, their effort wasn’t as dominant compared to what the Philadelphia Eagles’ front did Sunday in Super Bowl 59 to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22. 

Their six sacks was one more than the Giants recorded on Feb. 3, 2008. And it was tied for the second most by a team in Super Bowl history; four teams had seven sacks in what were all winning efforts, the most recent being the Los Angeles Rams’ victory over the Cincinnati Bengals three years ago. 

How the Eagles rattled Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the most impressive part. 

They generated a 38.1% pressure rate without blitzing the three-time Super Bowl MVP once on his 42 dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. Philadelphia pressured him 16 times, and the six sacks he took were the most in a game in his career. Per TruMedia, it was Mahomes’ second-worst performance by EPA (expected points added) in a game in his career (-19.3).

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“We all believed in the dream, man,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “Everybody bought into it.” 

Edge rusher Josh Sweat led the way with 2½ sacks, while Milton Williams racked up a pair. Jordan Davis had one, while Jalyx Hunt contributed a half-sack. 

“They let me go crazy,” he said. “I don’t think I ever got more than two in a game.” 

That’s true. Sweat had sacked the quarterback twice in six regular-season games, and he had 1½ sacks two years ago against the New York Giants in the divisional round. But he had never reached this output. 

For Sweat, it was the culmination of a long journey to the game’s biggest stage. Once the top recruit in high school, he suffered a torn ACL his senior year before enrolling at Florida State. The Eagles drafted him in the fourth round of the 2018 draft (130th overall) and he was named to the Pro Bowl for the 2021 season. But a scary internal bleeding situation that required emergency surgery forced him to miss the team’s playoff game that year. He rebounded to have 11½ sacks as part of the team’s 2022 pass rush that constantly kept opposing quarterbacks under duress from all angles. Sweat finished this season with eight sacks.  

“Man, to have my biggest game of my career, in the biggest game of the season? I can’t explain. It’s beautiful. It’s amazing. I couldn’t be more happy,” Sweat told USA TODAY Sports. 

Because the Eagles kept getting home with four rushers, defensive coordinator Vince Fangio stayed in his traditional Cover 4 quarters scheme for most of the game. Philadelphia played zone coverage on all but two dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats, and were in Cover 4 for 59.5% of them – the third-highest rate by a defense in a game since 2018.

Fangio is 66 years old, but he can become the Steve Spagnuolo of the NFC – the Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator has been credited with plenty of the team’s success during their dynasty – with Philadelphia. He currently has a roster that will continue to be one of the best of the league on that side of the ball, and general manager Howie Roseman will always make sure that’s the case. 

“We are just competing with each other out there, I think that is what it is,” Sweat said. “We want to out play each other and that’s what’s setting the bar for each of us. We just want the bragging rights. That’s how we push each other, we want to see who can get it done. The beauty of it is that Vic gives us the call, we don’t question it and it he puts us in the positions to make the plays. I don’t know how he does it, we just run it, and we bring in our technique and we get it done.”

If the pressure didn’t result in a sack, it aided a turnover, as was the case for rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean’s pick-six. Or the time Mahomes felt pressure to his left, was bumped and threw an errant pass over the middle intercepted by linebacker Zack Baun to put the offense back in business at the Kansas City 14-yard line. 

“When you win on a four-man rush and you can just cycle guys through, and they are still winning, you don’t have to blitz,” Baun said. “Great game-planning, great communication, we were all on the same page all game.”

Davis said the defensive line knew that if the players collectively did their jobs, everything else would take care of itself.

“Take a look around, we got a lot of dogs out here,” Davis said. “All the things that we’ve been through, people were doubting us.”

As the blowout mounted, Davis said the Eagles played like the score was tied at 0-0. It showed.

 “We didn’t give a damn. We didn’t care,” he said. “We just wanted to go out there and keep playing our game.” 

Communication, bond and brotherhood were reasons Davis cited as to why the front rushed cohesively against Mahomes. 

“Our ability to solve problems,” Davis said. “It all came together. We knew we had a mission on our mind. We had to go out there and execute. And we did that tonight.”

There is something to that fraternal affection that played a role in the pass rush’s explosion. 

“Just the love we have for each other, man,” Sweat said. “The way we (are) connected. The way we made sure we didn’t do anything to hurt the guy next to us. We just played together. And then whoever makes the play makes the play. We don’t care.”  

Chiefs center Creed Humphrey said the Eagles didn’t show anything they hadn’t seen on tape prior. It came down to them playing harder. 

“We knew it was a really good defense, we knew they had a ton of talent everywhere,” Humphrey said. 

From the Chiefs’ first third-down attempt of the game, Mahomes was on the run. Edge rusher Nolan Smith Jr. pressured him from the right and Mahomes tried to escape the pocket left. A pair of Eagles were there to pin him back further in his scramble, and the quarterback had to launch himself just to release the ball, which fell incomplete and was nearly intercepted. 

“They played great from start to finish. They got after it,” Mahomes said. “Defensive line played really well. The DBs played well to complement them and linebackers as well.” 

Mahomes said that he can force defenses to blitz by attacking their zone coverage the right way and that it’s an area of his game in which he needs to keep improving. 

“They were gonna make me be a fundamental quarterback from the pocket and take what’s there, and that’s stuff I have to get better at,’ Mahomes said.

Coming back from a torn triceps that would have ended his season had the Eagles not made it to the final game of the year, Graham thought topping the 2017 defense, the last unit that won the Super Bowl for Philadelphia (yet surrendered 33 points to Brady in that game), or the 2022 squad’s defense (which fell in the Super Bowl to Mahomes and the Chiefs) would be difficult. 

“This defense, boy, they showed up in a big way,” said Graham. “I’m thankful that everything we worked hard for, everything showed up. Now it’s time to go celebrate.”

In the locker room, Smith crashed Sweat’s scrum and wrapped him in a hug. 

Smith yelled: “I love you, Sweat! We love you, Sweat! You the best (expletive) edge rusher in the East! You taught me everything I know!” 

When the Eagles go down Broad Street during their championship parade, Smith won’t be the only one yelling that about Sweat – or the other members of the Eagles’ defensive line.

The New York Jets brought in Aaron Rodgers hoping he could take the team to a Super Bowl. The two sides are expected to part after failing to reach that goal in two seasons together.

The only question now is exactly how that will happen. Will the Jets’ new brain trust of head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey try to find a willing trade partner to take on Rodgers’ services, or will they release him and allow him to traverse the free agent market on his own?

While getting compensation in return for Rodgers would be ideal, the Jets will also have to weigh the financial ramifications of trading him or releasing him without a post-June 1 designation.

Here’s what to know about Rodgers’ current contract and how much he could cost the Jets pending their method of departure.

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Aaron Rodgers contract details

Rodgers in entering the final year of a three-year restructured contract extension he signed with the Jets after being traded to New York in 2023. Below are the details of that contract, per Spotrac.com.

Term: 3 years
Total value: $112.5 million
Average annual value (AAV): $37.5 million
Guaranteed money: $75 million

Rodgers’ deal with the Jets was designed to give the team maximum flexibility to build a contender around him. That’s why his AAV of $37.5 million was tied for 16th among quarterbacks for the 2024 NFL season.

It’s also part of the reason Rodgers’ contract had four void years attached to it. Void years are an accounting mechanism used by NFL teams to defray the cap hit of a player by prorating it over a longer period. So, while Rodgers is only officially signed with the Jets through the 2025 NFL season, his deal won’t come off the books in full until 2029.

As a result, Rodgers’ cap hit will max out at just $23.5 million in 2025 after being just $8.9 million and $17.2 million in his first two seasons with the team. However, the Jets will also absorb future cap hits totaling $63 million even after Rodgers’ contract expires.

Below is a look at the cap hit Rodgers is set to carry in each of his four void years, per Spotrac.com:

2026: $21 million
2027: $21 million
2028: $14 million
2029: $7 million

How Aaron Rodgers trade, release would impact Jets

The structure of Rodgers’ contract will slightly complicate the Jets’ plans to move on from him ahead of the 2025 NFL season. New York would absorb a $49 million dead-cap hit if they part ways, which is much larger than the $23.5 million salary cap hit Rodgers is carrying.

As a result, the Jets may prefer to split the cost of Rodgers’ dead-cap hit over two seasons. The NFL allows teams to do that if they either designate a player as a post-June 1 release or wait until after that date to trade him.

It would be next to impossible for the Jets to wait to trade Rodgers until after June 1. By that point, the NFL’s quarterback carousel would already have largely stopped spinning, with all the major free agents and draft prospects landing with new organizations.

As such, the Jets would likely have to absorb the full $49 million dead-cap hit if they are able to find a suitor for Rodgers via trade. That would result in a net decrease of $25.5 million in cap space.

That said, if the Jets are more worried about saving cap space as they look to navigate Year 1 of a rebuild under Glenn and Mougey, they may prefer simply to release him.

New York could designate Rodgers as a post-June 1 release regardless of when they part with him. That would allow the quarterback to become a free agent immediately while also allowing the Jets to split his costs over two seasons after the June 1 deadline.

In that case, Rodgers would see his 2025 cap hit drop to $14 million, creating $9.5 million in cap space for the Jets. He would then carry a $35 million dead-cap hit for 2026, per Spotrac.com.

What happens if Aaron Rodgers retires?

If Rodgers decides to retire, he will no longer earn any base salary or roster bonuses owed to him by the Jets. However, any prorated portion of bonuses already paid to him will continue to count against New York’s salary cap.

Rodgers has just a $2.5 million base salary remaining for 2025, but he would also forfeit his $35 million option bonus due to him for this season. The Jets aren’t likely to exercise that option bonus anyway as they plan to part with Rodgers, so the net savings New York would earn from him retiring would be minimal.

Jets cap space 2025

The Jets are set to have just over $20.95 million in cap space for 2025, per OverTheCap.com. That ranks just 19th in the NFL entering the offseason.

New York is expected to open up extra cap space quickly by parting with receiver Davante Adams, so that will provide the Jets more flexibility as they examine their options with Rodgers.

Unless you’re in the Southeast, you’re probably getting tired of how deep SEC basketball is.

If that annoys you, wait until you hear this: four SEC No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

Is that even possible? It’s never happened since seeding began in 1979. The most is three, done by the ACC’s Virginia, Duke and North Carolina in 2019. But all of the top seeds hailing from the same conference? It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds.

In the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology, Auburn, Alabama and Florida were the slated as No. 1 seeds. Given how elite Auburn has been, they are comfortable in holding a top seed. Alabama escaped Arkansas and Florida got arguably the best win of the season, handling Auburn in the raucous Neville Arena to end the Tigers’ 14-game win streak.

But there are fellow conference teams lurking right behind for a No. 1 spot. Tennessee, which looked like it was starting to spiral, has won three straight, including a complete dominance over Florida when it was missing two starters. Then there’s Texas A&M, winners of four of its last five and coming off a tough road victory over Missouri.

The resumes for all of the five aforementioned SEC teams are No. 1 seed worthy. Auburn is No. 1 in the NET rankings, with Tennessee at No. 4, Florida at No. 5, Alabama at No. 6 and Texas A&M at No. 13. All of the possible contenders have at least five Quad 1 victories with plenty of chances to add more.

All five No. 1 seed contenders comprise the top of the SEC, and at this rate, one of them will have to be the No. 5 in the SEC tournament and play in the second round in Nashville. But that team will have a chance of hearing their name called at the top of one region come Selection Sunday, as well as three other conference members.

Of course, all of this hinges on whether the lone non-ACC projected No. 1 seed can keep its spot (more on that later), but the impossible is plausible in what is continuing to be a remarkable year in the SEC, and it leads the top storylines from the past weekend of hoops.

A warning for Duke

That all-No. 1 seed SEC multiverse is dependent on whether Duke can maintain it’s strong season, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey had to enjoy seeing what happened to the Blue Devils on Saturday.

Duke’s 16-game win streak came to an end after a valiant effort from Clemson in front of its home crowd to give the Tigers another signature win to boost their tournament resume. It was only the first conference loss for the Blue Devils, but it should serve as a warning: they can’t afford many of those if they want a No. 1 seed. It’s been well documented how the ACC isn’t what it usually is this year, giving Duke the easiest path toward a top spot.

But after Saturday’s loss, Duke doesn’t have any remaining Quad 1 opportunities in ACC play until the season finale against North Carolina, which is far from an impressive win at this point. It does have the matchup with Illinois on Feb. 22, but that team isn’t a strong looking as it was a few weeks ago. At the moment, Duke doesn’t have to worry about it’s spot, but any more conference losses and that security will fade away.

Arizona stays hot, sets up Big 12 showdown

In a matchup of the hottest teams in the Big 12, it’s the McKale magic that has Arizona continuing to raise its stock. The Wildcats won their sixth straight and avenged their only conference loss by taking down Texas Tech to move to 11-1 in the Big 12.

Tommy Lloyd continues a remarkable turnaround in Tucson with Arizona 13-1 since it fell into a 4-5 to start the campaign, and the Wildcats have become a team no one would like to play right now. Its last four games were all Quad 1 opportunities, and it capitalized on it to win seven of its last eight in such games.

Now No. 7 in the NET rankings, Arizona will host Houston on Saturday in what is a potential game of the year contender. Both teams have separated themselves as the Big 12’s elite, and it will be a solid measuring stick for whether these teams are national title worthy. Both the Wildcats and Cougars each have games it can’t look over prior to their meeting, but expect a magical environment inside the McKale Center on Saturday afternoon.

The curious case of Oregon

The two halves Oregon played on Saturday against Michigan State perfectly encapsulated how the season has gone for the Ducks. A near perfect start got them a 14-point lead on the road at halftime, but in the second half they fell apart to lose by 12 to the Spartans.

After starting the season with nine consecutive wins and then a 15-2 record, Oregon has struggled in the Big Ten are now on a five-game losing skid, are 5-8 in the conference and suddenly inching closer toward living on the bubble. It doesn’t make sense; to start the season, Oregon beat Texas A&M and Alabama and their seven Quad 1 victories are tied for third-most in the country. But those victories can only take it so far if it continues to lose.

In the first USA TODAY Sports Bracketology less than a month ago, Oregon was a No. 3 seed. Now, it’s a projected No. 8 and continuing to slide. The Ducks are in dangerous territory, just one game ahead of the cutline for the Big Ten tournament. The schedule does seem to get easier now, but Oregon will have to quickly put it together if it doesn’t want to waste all of those quality wins.

The Indiana job

There was plenty of hype for Indiana heading into season thanks to a highly regarded transfer haul, but once it was clear the Hoosiers weren’t going to able to succeed, it made sense for Mike Woodson to step away from his dismal tenure.

So who does Indiana get next?

It was too coincidental Indiana played Michigan on Saturday, going against the Wolverines’ new coach and former Indiana student Dusty May. After Michigan beat Indiana, May was asked about rumors of his interest in the Hoosiers’ coaching job and gave a not-so strong commitment to staying in Ann Arbor. But even if there is mutual interest in May returning to Bloomington, is it worth it?

Indiana has one of the most passionate fanbases in the country, filling up Assembly Hall no matter the record. That comes with high expectations and plenty of scrutiny for a place that hasn’t recaptured success, last appearing in the Final Four more than 20 years ago. Could May finally bring glory back? He has the track record to prove it, but it’ll be an uphill battle. It might be worth staying at Michigan − as crazy as it might seem − and let it be a warning for anyone else throwing their name in the ring: it’s not a job for the weak.

Watch out for this potential first time NCAA Tournament team

The reclassification process to Division I means no matter how good you are to start, you’ll have to wait a few years to make the tournament. After finally finishing the transition, UC San Diego is playing its best ball and trending toward making its first Division I tournament.

In a Big West clash against UC Irvine, the Tritons went up north and used a strong second half effort to get revenge on the Anteaters for an 18-point win. Now UC San Diego and UC Irvine are tied at the top of the Big West, and the Tritons have a compelling case to get the auto bid − and maybe even at large spot. UC San Diego is 2-1 in Quad 1 games and has a surprising NET ranking of 50. The resume is a strong one, and the Tritons could be punching a ticket to the big dance.

Some started fires. Others climbed garbage trucks and scaled light poles. Multitudes watched fireworks light up the night sky.

Philadelphia Eagles Fans took to the streets to celebrate in Eastern Pennsylvania Sunday night to celebrate their team’s 40-22 defeat of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59.

Following their team’s victory, photos show large crowds on streets surrounding City Hall cheering in the streets in the moments the team became two-time winning Super Bowl champions.

The team won its first big game during Super Bowl 52 in 2018 by beating the New England Patriots in Minneapolis. The game is known for the trick play ‘Philly Special’ that culminated in a touchdown for the victory.

See historic moments from Philadelphia Eagles fans celebrating:

Philadelphia police clash with some fans celebrating along city streets

Photos also show fires set by fans and other celebrators clashing with police in some photos.

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At some point, Philadelphia Police Department officials ordered the crowd to disperse, local emergency management officials reported.

It was not immediately known whether any arrests were made.

USA TODAY has reached out to police.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

NEW ORLEANS – So much for a three-peat.

Three points. Three first downs. Anything but three-and-out. Those turned out to be much more realistic goals for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59, when they proved without a doubt that past performance was not an indication of the here and now.

Because this blowout was hardly about taking a bow among the greatest champions in Super Bowl history. With the chance to be so special, the Chiefs demonstrated that they could be rather ordinary – or even worse.

Who knew?

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Rather than a three-peat, the Chiefs did themselves a solid by not becoming the first team to get shut out in a Super Bowl, finally getting on the scoreboard in the final minute of the third quarter. At halftime, when they trailed 24-zip, they had just one first down and 23 net yards. They were 0-for-6 on third-down conversions.

Now that was flirting with some kind of history.

How embarrassing. Sure, they saved some face by scoring their 22 points in the final 16 minutes. But that was mere window dressing. It was such a disaster for the Chiefs that Trump left the building way early, and the Eagles had the Gatorade shower before the two-minute warning.

Was that really Patrick Mahomes? The magnificent Chiefs quarterback was anything but that as he put his stamp on where the game was headed with interceptions on back-to-back passes in the second quarter that were quickly converted into 14 points.

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Sure, Mahomes’ best lineman, Joe Thuney, was pushed into the quarterback by Josh Sweat to influence the second pick over the middle to a diving Zack Baun. It led to Jalen Hurts’ 12-yard touchdown throw to A.J. Brown.

On his previous throw, a run-for-your-life situation, Mahomes threw across his body – uh-oh – at the wrong time. Rookie Cooper DeJean undercut the pass and didn’t stop until he dashed across the field for a 38-yard touchdown return.

In the days leading up to Sunday, Mahomes admitted that his previous Super Bowl loss, 31-9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers four years ago, is the game that stilll haunts him.

Well, the latest setback is the stuff of nightmares.

And it kept getting worse. A strip-sack in the fourth quarter – Milton Williams got the sack, forced fumble and recovery – led to another Jake Elliott field goal (his fourth) that made it 40-6. It was also a fitting snapshot for the punishment Mahomes absorbed throughout the game as his wall of protection was demolished by a deep, active and hungry Eagles defensive line that collected six sacks.

Some might suggest that karma finally caught up with Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Andy Reid and the rest their crew. If only it had come down to a one-possession game, of which the Chiefs have won a record 17 in a row.

The Eagles, though, made sure it was nowhere near being close.

And no, conspiracy theorists, the only way the officials could have pulled the Chiefs out of this mess was if they threw in the towel and declared the game over because of the mercy rule.

Yeah, Chiefs Fatigue is a thing. But not because they are tired of winning.

In this case, it seems as though the Chiefs had to be sick and tired of the beatdown.

Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell

NEW ORLEANS – The Philadelphia Eagles not only prevented history in Sunday’s Super Bowl 59, they might’ve altered it.

In dominating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22, Philly averted what would have been the first-ever Super Bowl three-peat. But did the Eagles also rip the guts out of a dynasty?

Never before had an established NFL empire crumbled so spectacularly on Super Sunday the way Chiefs Kingdom did.

The 1960s Green Bay Packers, 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, 1980s San Francisco 49ers and 1990s Dallas Cowboys never lost a Super Bowl, those juggernauts a combined 14-0 in their heydays (which includes the Niners’ Super Bowl 29 win following the 1994 season). The 21st-century New England Patriots lost three of their nine Super Bowl appearances, but those defeats were by a combined 15 points in three classic matchups (two narrow defeats to the New York Giants and another to the Eagles).

The Chiefs were embarrassed 31-9 four years ago by Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but that was before Kansas City had officially waded into dynastic story (and K.C. was dealing with major injuries, particularly along its offensive line, during that loss in Tampa).

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But the 2024 Chiefs crumbled like a house of cards.

And there were no excuses. No significant injuries to speak of. No impact from the refs (K.C. even benefiting from a less-than-definitive pass interference against the Eagles’ A.J. Brown to kill Philadelphia’s opening possession). Nothing but ideal playing conditions on an optimal field and under cover in the Caesars Superdome.

There were no Chiefs points until the very end of the third quarter. Weren’t many yards, first downs or much time with the ball, either. But there were a pair of Patrick Mahomes picks – he now has nine INTs in five Super Bowl starts – one a pick-six to rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean. A team that managed to effectively go 17-1 this season prior to Sunday – just throw out that Week 18 loss to the Denver Broncos when Kansas City’s key players took the day off – with a slew of nip-and-tuck victories finally fell off its high wire with nary a safety net down below.

This doesn’t mean the Chiefs lose their dynasty card. That hay’s been in the barn since last year. And they are the first team to win consecutive Super Bowls and then manage to return for a third crack the following season.

But it is worth wondering how Kansas City recovers.

“You don’t ever get over them,” Brady, who has first-hand knowledge, said of demoralizing losses during Fox’s broadcast Sunday.

Moving forward, it’s unclear how much longer tight end Travis Kelce will continue to play – and he wasn’t a factor at all Sunday – but it is apparent that he’s slowing down and might soon have to cede significant snaps to Noah Gray. Per OverTheCap, the Chiefs only have about $11 million to spend on free agents next month – not much to import new bodies, much less retain the likes of core players such as safety Justin Reid, linebacker Nick Bolton and guard Trey Smith. (And boy does this team need a different answer at left tackle.) And, as AFC champs, K.C. will effectively be drafting near the end of every round.

Did we witness the death of a dynasty Sunday? Mahomes is only 29, and this roster has evolved significantly since Kansas City ended its 50-year Super Bowl drought five years ago – which means head coach Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach certainly know how to retool on the fly.

But from emotional and personnel perspectives – to say nothing of several rising powers in the AFC to contend with – the reanimation of the Chiefs could take a while.

If it happens at all.

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NEW ORLEANS – Nick Sirianni appeared as if he’d broken a sweat after winning his first Super Bowl.

But barely.

Following Sunday’s 40-22 thrashing of the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles’ fourth-year head coach was cool, calm and collected in his postgame news conference – appropriate given he’s pushed almost all of the right buttons over the past four months but maybe also indicative of how he’s grown into his role.

“Outside world had an opinion on what was going on and everything there. And we just stuck to our process and got better from it,” Sirianni said of a team that finished 16-1 after a Week 5 bye preceded by a 2-2 start.

The Eagles’ lone loss since September occurred Dec. 22 at Washington in a game when quarterback Jalen Hurts was concussed.

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“I think, at the end of the day, you saw this team embrace adversity throughout the entire year,” continued Sirianni, his temperament amazingly even for a 43-year-old man who’d just reached the summit of his profession.

“Now it’s hard to say that when you’ve won sixteen out of your last seventeen, but there was adversity – there’s adversity constantly. And I think we did a good job of embracing that.”

So well, actually, that any adversity in 2024 hardly seemed noticeable given the myriad issues this team and its coach have grappled with over the years.

Sirianni infamously bombed during his introductory news conference in 2021. He was roasted for not running the ball sufficiently at the start of that first season. The sideline antics early in his tenure rubbed some the wrong way. There was the heartbreaking loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57, a steady disintegration on and off the field down the stretch in 2023, and an ESPN report last summer suggesting a significant rift between Hurts and Sirianni – the latter’s job security often a major point of speculation in Philadelphia and beyond.

And yet we’re talking about a coach who is 54-23 (.701) – statistically, positively Belichick-ian – has gone to two Super Bowls and never missed the playoffs.

“It’s crazy,” said Sirianni, “sometimes we’re answering questions on how we win. It’s hard to win in this league. It’s a struggle every week to win in this league, and just because we’re not winning a certain way or the way people perceive that we should win doesn’t mean that we can’t.

“Long story short, you can’t be great without the greatness of others.”

And that’s become his constant mantra.

A coach who’s so often been in the spotlight – whether it be woofing at opponents, woofing at fans, for bringing his kids to the podium at news conferences – has successfully turned it around on his magnificent team and hardly been a story himself.

Aside from the fact that he’s now only the second Eagles coach to win a championship in the past 64 seasons, something even the great Andy Reid couldn’t manage in Philadelphia.

“I’ve been saying it a lot today and throughout the whole year that, ‘You cannot be great without the greatness of others.’ That applies to coaches, that applies player to player,” said Sirianni.

“This is the ultimate team game. And I know that it takes selflessness.”

And that approach was reflected by a team built in the trenches. Reflected by Hurts, a gritty QB who always prioritizes winning over all else – even if his stats, if taken out of context, would suggest otherwise. Reflected by running back Saquon Barkley, who piled up all kinds of numbers after joining the Eagles in 2024 but did so with a humble attitude that immediately made him beloved among his new teammates – and an advocate for his coach.

“A year ago, I probably despised him,” Barkley said of Sirianni this week. “But now our relationship has grown so much. He genuinely cares about players and that don’t get talked about enough.

“He’s an awesome person.”

Super Bowl 59 was something of a microcosm of Steady Sirianni. He certainly wasn’t happy with the offensive pass interference flag against receiver A.J. Brown on Philly’s first drive, a penalty that negated a conversion on fourth down and forced the team to punt.

“Mad about that at first but, again, these (officials) are making split-second decisions. And that was an All-Star crew out there,” said Sirianni.

“I thought they did a good job, regardless of what I thought about that one.”

From that point forward, the Eagles just steadily wore down the Chiefs on both sides of the ball, one line mauling Kansas City’s defensive front while the other constantly roughed up quarterback Patrick Mahomes without any blitz assistance.

“We do what we think we need to do win,” Sirianni said of the approach to rush just four defenders, “not what anybody else thinks we gotta do to win.”

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By halftime, the Eagles led 24-0, though their coaches were urging them to be ready for anything given Mahomes’ historical penchant for digging out of double-digit Super Bowl deficits. And that message apparently also sank in as the advantage bulged to 34-0 before K.C. finally got on the board in the waning ticks of the third quarter.

It was quite the culmination for an organization that appeared to be in crisis by the end of the 2023 campaign, when the team lost six of its final seven games – trounced at Tampa Bay in the wild-card round – before the retirement of team leader Jason Kelce.

But Sirianni said matters maybe weren’t as dire as they seemed.

“We had great OTAs, we had a great training camp, we were developing as a team. And just because the outside world tells you to feel a certain way doesn’t mean we were feeling that way, right? We knew we had a special team, we knew we had a group of guys who could do some special things,” he said. “It was just putting your head down and working.”

And just about everything did, Barkley seemingly the capstone piece the offense needed, and new coordinator Vic Fangio turning the defense into a juggernaut – one that beat down Mahomes constantly Sunday night. And that allowed the Eagles to do what they couldn’t in Super Bowl 57, a 38-35 loss to Kansas City.

“When we won the NFC championship game in 2022, there was so much joy – and I don’t want to say there wasn’t joy this year – it was like, ‘Alright, let’s go, we’ve gotta go finish the job now,’” said Sirianni.

“And that’s what we did.”

A job very well done by coach and team.

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