February 02, 2023
The Eagles are the favorites against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LVII. They are favored for good reason because they are the better team. We will talk more about the Chiefs next week when both teams arrive in Arizona.
The Eagles are not only the best team in the NFL, but they are also the best team in the history of the franchise. I don’t think that it is very close.
No disrespect to the 1960 league champion Eagles, but we know that that team would lose 75-0 against this team. The only teams that could possibly compare is the 2004 team that lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl and the 2017 team that beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. (Man did Tom Brady have a long, great run).
Just look position by position and it becomes clear that this team would be 10-point favorites against either of the more modern Eagles teams. This exercise is not to diss those other teams, it is to uplift this one — a team that is historically excellent.
Look at the '04 team for example. Brian Westbrook would start over Miles Sanders due to his overall versatility.
• You can make an argument that McNabb could start over Hurts, but that isn’t a given and you trust Hurts’ mental makeup over basically everyone else’s.
• Terrell Owens is Terrell Owens, but when you add Todd Pinkston, you would much rather have the pairing of AJ Brown and Devonta Smith.
• Tra Thomas would likely get the nod over Jordan Mailata, but that also isn’t a lock.
When you look at the other side of the ball, only Brian Dawkins would start on this team.
• Dawkins is better than Marcus Epps. (No disrespect, the guy is a hall of famer) The other 10 starters for that team would be backups.
• Corey Simon would be in the rotation along with Jevon Kearse, but starters like Derrick Burgess, Mark Simoneau, and Dhani Jones would likely not even dress on this team.
• Some of you may be thinking about right tackle Jon Runyan, but unfortunately for him, Lane Johnson is one of the best players in all of football. Impactful starters on that team would basically be Jack Driscoll on this one. When you look at the 22 starters, it is clear this team is historically good.
When you compare the 2017 team that won the Super Bowl in 2018, you get the same thing. This Eagles team has a gigantic advantage at QB, RB, and WR. Yes, Nick Foles was magical during the NFC title game and the Super Bowl. I am including the games when he took over for Carson Wentz before that too.
• Alshon Jeffery had 9 TDs that year before he became the locker room snitch, but both A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith are light years better.
• You can make an argument for Zach Ertz over Dallas Goedert, but Goedert is the much better blocker.
• Mailata is better than Big V (remember Jason Peters got hurt the Super Bowl year), and Landon Dickerson is better than Steve Wisniewski.
• Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson were on that team and have had zero drop off.
• Brandon Brooks would likely start over Isaac Seumalo.
• Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox were obviously on both teams with Graham being better now than ever while Cox isn’t as good. That is more than balanced by the fact that Josh Sweat is much better than Vinny Curry and Javon Hargrave is much better than Timmy Jernigan.
• There was nobody resembling Haason Reddick on that team. That man is a game wrecker.
• In the back seven, only Malcolm Jenkins would start over Epps. (Not picking on him, because Jenkins was incredible here)
This Eagles team is way better than a team that won 13 games and the Super Bowl. We don’t know the outcome of next Sunday’s game yet, but they would tattoo that Patriots team if they got the shot. Brady wouldn’t throw for 505 yards on this defense.
When you add in the magic, I still give the edge to this team because they aren’t reliant on the magic. This team creates its own magic. Hurts is now 16-1 on the season. That is magical. He is a pure winner.
The Eagles didn’t need magic against the Giants like the 2017 team did with the Falcons. They just destroyed them. The Eagles didn’t need magic to beat the 49ers. They took out both quarterbacks. Injuries are bad, but with national media saying the 49ers “lost” their QBs, it should be noted that they didn’t lose them. The Eagles were un-block able and physically removed them from the game.
Doug Pederson did a hell of a job in 2017, but Nick Sirianni has been even better. Again, this is the best team in Eagles history. The best team in the city’s history is likely the 82-83 Sixers led by the late Moses Malone and known Embiid hater, Julius Erving. The Eagles are one game away from passing them too. We will be talking about this team for a very long time so enjoy every moment from now until kickoff next Sunday.
Tyrone Johnson is the host of "The Best Show Ever?" on 97.5 The Fanatic, airing Monday through Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
You can follow him on Twitter: @TyJohnsonNews
