The Philadelphia Eagles can’t seem to win the Super Bowl, despite being close to the several Super Bowl champion. In fact, Chris Chase of USA TODAY Sports found out just how much of a lucky charm the Eagles have been to past and present champions lately.
According to Chase on Feb. 4, the Eagles have hosted the eventual Super Bowl winner in their home opener in the last four seasons. The Baltimore Ravens were the latest example, as they blew a 10-point lead to the Eagles last Sept. 16, nearly five months before they almost blew a 22-point lead to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.
Losing to the Eagles didn’t stop the Ravens, although they were the first recent Super Bowl champion to lose in Philadelphia’s home opener. The New York Giants rallied over the Eagles in Week 3 of the 2011 season, before rallying over the New England Patriots in that year’s Super Bowl.
In addition, the Green Bay Packers knocked out Kevin Kolb and beat the Eagles in 2010’s opening game, before beating Michael Vick’s Eagles to start their Super Bowl winning playoff run months later. This came a year after the New Orleans Saints hung 48 points on Philadelphia in Week 2 of the 2009 season, which was a harbinger of things to come for those eventual champions.
The Eagles have usually been a platform for NFC and Super Bowl champions over the years, without ever winning anything themselves. Still, although they lost four NFC title games under Andy Reid, only the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers went on to win it all afterwards. But Philadelphia clearly isn’t heading back to the NFC title game anytime soon.
Therefore, the best way for opponents to launch a Super Bowl winning run is to play the Eagles in their home opener. However, would they have the same luck after playing Chip Kelly’s Eagles than they did after playing Reid’s Eagles? Perhaps Kelly’s arrival will change his opponents’ luck, although changing it for the Eagles would be a greater accomplishment.
Nevertheless, future visitors like the Giants, Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers and Reid’s own Kansas City Chiefs should still pray to take part in Kelly’s first home game, if history means anything.
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