The Philadelphia Eagles absolutely dominated the Kansas City Chiefs en route to their 40-22 victory in Super Bowl LIX. Kansas City's loss will go down as one of the worst in Super Bowl history. That said, it seems like some Chiefs fans and players alike felt that a Kansas City win was a foregone conclusion.
While they were clearly wrong, their eagerness to overlook the Eagles lit a fire under Philadelphia's defense. Following the Eagles' Super Bowl victory, ESPN's Eagles reporter Tim McManus talked to some members of their defense and got their reactions to their dominant performance in the big game.
“They were talking about getting the copyright and all that B.S. Throw that s--- in the trash."
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) February 10, 2025
Chiefs three-peat chatter served as fuel for some Eagles defensive players in dominant performance.https://t.co/5ZMzFXXXgr
Chiefs Focus on Three-Peat Partially Led to Ultimate Downfall
"That was motivation because it was kind of a slap to us... It was like, they ain't seen us yet. So, we heard that all week. And when the game came, execution was on point and together"Brandon Graham
Obviously, the narrative of a potential Chiefs three-peat was going to be the main focus heading into Super Bowl LIX. No other team has achieved this feat in the Super Bowl era. The only team to ever three-peat was the 1960s Green Bay Packers, but one of their three victories was an NFL championship (before the merger), while the other two were Super Bowl victories.
Nevertheless, Graham's comments ring true on many levels. First off, it seems that Andy Reid felt that Patrick Mahomes would be the great equalizer and be able to deal with Philadelphia's dominant pass rush. Although Mahomes did a decent job of evading opponents' pass rushes in the season's final two months, the Eagles' pass rush was clearly a completely different animal.
However, Reid figured since he has one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the position, Mahomes would be able to figure it out.
Furthermore, Kansas City obtaining the right to use Pat Riley's trademarked phrase "Three-Peat" fueled the Eagles.
"They were talking about getting the copyright and all that B.S. Throw that s--- in the trash."Milton Williams
Evidently, Williams and other Eagles players didn't take too kindly to Kansas City acquiring the rights to use the term Three-Peat before they even won the championship. In the end, the Chiefs' focus on making history may have impacted their preparation for the big game.