The Philadelphia Eagles are one win away from immortality.
For the second time in three years, the Birds are flying to the Super Bowl to face the Kansas City Chiefs. Super Bowl LIX will feature a Super Bowl LVII rematch in the beautiful city of New Orleans, with the red-hot Eagles battling the seemingly insurmountable Chiefs.
I'm not sure anybody expected the Eagles to trounce the Washington Commanders so convincingly this past Sunday. Philly was the betting favorite, but Jayden Daniels has been on a special run. At times, it felt like that Commanders team was ordained by the football gods. Well, 55 points and seven rushing touchdowns proved otherwise. The Eagles won going away behind another MVP-caliber performance from Saquon Barkley, not to mention Jalen Hurts' best outing of the playoffs to date.
Now comes a chance for Philadelphia to avenge its Super Bowl loss from a couple years ago. The Chiefs are not necessarily better or worse this time around — just different. Patrick Mahomes can still pull out his magic wand late in games, but the Chiefs' defense got them here. Steve Spagnuolo has his unit humming at a level very few groups ever reach.
The same can be said for the Eagles, whose offensive philosophy was shifted dramatically with Barkley in the backfield. Hurts is playing a far more reserved brand of football than he was a couple years ago. Barkley has run for 442 yards through the Eagles' first three postseason dubs. Kansas City's defense is a different beast, but with Philadelphia's O-line depth and Barkley's uncommon ability to locate even the slimmest of gaps, it might not matter.
Perhaps the funniest storyline here, though, is Kenny Pickett. That is, unless you're a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, in which case it's an exceedingly grim development.
Kenny Pickett can get ultimate revenge on Steelers in Super Bowl LIX
Odds are Pickett won't see the field on Feb. 9, unless the worst-case scenario unfolds with Jalen Hurts. That said, the Eagles' backup quarterback has a chance to ascend the mountaintop with the rest of his team in a couple weeks. Winning the Super Bowl is an accomplishment regardless of your role. For Pickett, who grew up an Eagles fan, getting his first ring in a Philadelphia uniform would be incredibly special.
It would also be a great middle finger to the Steelers organization. Pickett lost his starting job to Russell Wilson early in the offseason and essentially forced his way out the door. The Eagles took advantage, grooming him behind Hurts in one of the NFL's most talent-rich offensive ecosystems. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, went and traded for another flunked former first-round pick in Justin Fields.
The Steelers were hoping to meaningfully improve once freed of Pickett and his maddeningly risk-averse approach. Well, the Steelers finished 10-7 — the same record as last season — and lost in the first round of the playoffs... just like last season. Pittsburgh was 6-5 with Wilson under center in the regular season. The Steelers went 7-5 with Pickett at the commands a year prior.
In the end, there wasn't much setting this Steelers team apart from past, Pickett-infused iterations. Arthur Smith is ostensibly an upgrade over Matt Canada, but that's like saying a Hershey bar is healthier than a slice of chocolate cake. Pittsburgh's offense still stalled in spectacular fashion down the stretch, hamstrung by an annoying reluctance to uncork explosive plays.
Pickett hasn't seen the field much at all in Philadelphia, but he has looked solid when those rare opportunities arise. The disparity in talent around him with the Eagles, compared to what he was working with down the road in Pittsburgh, is vast. Now he has a chance to win the Super Bowl — the ultimate reward for the ego he sacrificed in accepting a backup gig.
Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are a remarkably consistent and competent organization, but if the ceiling is 10 wins and a first-round exit, fans will eventually go insane. The same issues seem to bite them every. single. campaign. Pickett has, from the looks of it, escaped a futile situation and given his career a new life ahead of free agency. It would be nice if he can pick up some hardware, too.