What the Eagles can learn from the NFL's repeat champions
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Saquon Barkley clutching the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Photo: Kara Durrette/Getty Images
The road from dynasty-buster to dynasty-builder stands before Philly, and on the other side is a silver-plated path to Canton, Ohio.
Why it matters: It's too early to start fitting Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni for gold Hall of Fame jackets, but repeating as Super Bowl champs is one of the surest ways to football immortality.
Stunning stat: Only eight teams in NFL history have won back-to-back Super Bowls (Pittsburgh did it twice).
- Half of those teams were led by future Hall of Fame quarterback-coach duos, including the Packers' Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi and the Steelers' Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll.
- Or likely Hall of Famers in the cases of New England's Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.
State of play: After denying the Chiefs an unprecedented three-peat, the Eagles now find themselves staring down a leap from great to legendary.
- Axios Philly looked back at NFL history to try to figure out the ultimate back-to-back blueprint. Here are our takeaways:
1. Accept that greatness takes different forms
Truth bomb: Saquon Barkley likely will not rush for 2,000 yards this season. Hurts may not match his career-best quarterback rating. Teams could finally find a way to stuff the "Tush Push."
Yes, but: The 1972-73 Dolphins are a case study in greatness looking different year to year.
- Led by Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history, the '72 Dolphins remain the only NFL franchise to go undefeated, capped by a Super Bowl win.
- The next year, they lost two games, one early on, but still beat the Vikings in the Super Bowl.
The intrigue: Some argue the '73 Dolphins were better than the undefeated team.
- They played more competitive opponents. Their smothering defense conceded a record-low 150 points. And they are one of only two teams to have 12 players selected for the Pro Bowl in a single year.
2. Picture yourself again as a "Hungry Dog"
How does a fed dog convince itself it's still hungry?
Zoom out: Former Patriots safety-turned-analyst Rodney Harrison talked about how Belichick grounded his team against the pitfalls of complacency by nitpicking all their mistakes.
- The Eagles are already doing a good job of telling themselves they're not a purebred with pedigree but a mutt in search of mutton.
What they're saying: "Nothing I've accomplished in the past will get me what I desire in the future," Hurts said in a radio interview.
3. Stay steady, stay ready
We live in a world of sports sophistry and gambling simulations. Numbers crunched, outcomes overanalyzed, dumb thoughts praised as revelations.
- Blocking out the noise isn't always helpful, but neither is taking it all in.
The middle path: Psychologists call it equanimity, staying centered no matter the pressure.
- It's often cultivated through mindfulness — or as scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn puts it, nonjudgmental devotion to "paying attention in a particular way."
- Athletes who regularly practice mindfulness develop more self-awareness and emotional control, qualities researchers say are "instrumental in achieving peak performance."
- Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana added another layer, visualization. He would visualize perfection because "if you miss perfect, you end up with great."
4. Embrace those rare magical moments
Despite all the prep work, you can't manufacture magic.
- Without Barkley's gravity-defying "Birdle," or A.J. Brown's "Inner Excellence" moment that got a nation behind the Birds, or Sirianni's Cleveland chastening of sky-is-falling fans, maybe there's no chance to run it back.