It’s been nearly a week since the Super Bowl and I still can’t sleep through the night without thinking about that devastating loss. I’ll get to my thoughts on the game in a little but I’ve been spending quite a bit of time pondering why I, as well as so many others around the world, care so much about the teams we root for. We have 0.00% control over what happens from play to play, week to week and season to season, yet I still place my emotional well being in my favorite teams. When they win, all is great but when they lose, it feels like a small part of me dies inside. Throw in losing on the biggest stage in the manner in which the Eagles lost and that small part becomes much larger. It’s stupid! Why the fuck do I care so much? Maybe it’s because as we get older the number of things that bring us joy in this world dwindles. Maybe I just need more hobbies? Idk.

I’ve watched my team play in the NFCCG countless times, I’ve seen 3 Super Bowls and each time it is an emotional roller coaster. A normal person would be grateful to witness all of that in 30 years on this earth. 3 Super Bowl appearances in less than 20 years is incredible…who am I kidding, I’m trying to spin this into something positive. It doesn’t matter, we want more. That’s the world we live in. Making a Super Bowl is incredibly difficult and you never know when your team will get there again.

…sigh.

At least it was an incredible season. From the draft day acquisition of AJ to Jalen’s continued development, man was it a fun season. Combing through some of the early season highlights and stats, this team was fucking awesome. They could beat you in some many different ways. Jalen Hurts is so damn good. Certified baller. I was extremely skeptical all year and he proved me wrong in so many ways. I truly believe the Eagles have the best pass catching group in the NFL. Nobody is running out a better trio than AJ, Smitty & Dallas. Ok I’m just rambling and reminiscing, let’s get to the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl 57

Coming into the week, I was cautiously optimistic. I believed the Eagles had the advantage at most positions and with Mahomes “allegedly” having a high ankle sprain, I didn’t think the difference at the QB position was as wide as many probably thought. What kept me cautious all week was simply this: Jonathon Gannon. I’ve said all year Gannon stinks and is overrated. He was given the keys to a Maserati and drove it like it was a 1995 Honda Accord with 200,000 miles on it- Dad I know you’d appreciate the car reference.

Saw a stat post Super Bowl regarding a Gannon defense against “good” (don’t know how you qualify that, but whatever) QBs:

….like what??? 297 attempts over the last 2 years vs good QBs and his defense let up a mind blowing 81(!!)% of passes being complete. So yeah, knowing we had to play Mahomes had me cautious. What gave me hope was the way the Bengals and even the Jags had gotten pressure on Patty. Surely if those two teams could do it, the 70 sack Eagles team should be able to.

I’m not one to talk much about the field because both teams played but it would have been interesting to see if or how the playing conditions would’ve changed the way the game was played. Kudos to KC and the game plan they had. Dink and dunk, get the ball out quickly. Run the ball against the Eagles because Gannon is so fucking stubborn. That was what I was afraid of. And that’s how it went…

Even with alllllll of that, I still thought the Eagles were good enough to win. There are a few plays every game that completely change the outcome of a game. Here are the plays I am still thinking about:

• Q1 (6:57) Holding on Zach Paschal…it sucks because they called this so inconsistently, not just this game but all year. KC had just answered the bell to knot the score at 7. Eagles second drive and instead of it being a 2nd and short it turned into 1st and 20. Drive killer. Can’t have empty possessions against Mahomes.
• Q2 (10:39 & 10:12) 2nd and 1, Gainwell gets stuffed at the line (granted he slipped, smh). Then Isaac with the false start on 3rd and 1 that ultimately led to the Jalen unforced error (even though it appears he had his face masked grabbed?) and the scoop and score, just brutal.
• Q4 (10:40) 3rd and 2, KC had just scored to go up 28-27. Only time the Eagles looked lost on pass protection all game, free rusher off the edge forced Hurts to roll and didn’t have anywhere to go with it…can’t go for it on 4th and 2 in your own territory..although in hindsight this Eagles defense couldn’t get a stop so what’s the difference between Mahomes getting it on his own 35 compared to the Eagles 35? I felt like it was over after this, probably because Toney made half our team miss on the ensuing punt return and got the ball down to our 5.
• Q4 (3:37 & 2:55) 3rd and 1 and Pacheco runs untouched for 10 yards followed by bum ankle Mahomes scrambling for 26 yards. I mean it’s pretty sad typing this as well as reliving those moments. The defense needed ONE stop in the 2nd half and they simply couldn’t get it done.
• Q4 (1:54) Holding on 3rd and 8, on a ball that wasn’t going to be caught either way. Pain.

It sucks. It really sucks knowing this was the best team I’ve ever seen on a football field. It sucks knowing things will look much different next year. It sucks having my heart ripped out from inside of me and there’s nothing I can do about it.

…and yet, I will willingly do this all over again in 6.5 months. Go Birds.