On Sunday, the Eagles brought Philadelphia its first Super Bowl title — and gained a measure of revenge in the process.
Eagles overcome history in their Super Bowl rematch vs. the Patriots
Rematches had only been won by the losing team two out of six times until this year.
The franchise’s second trip to the big game was ruined by the Patriots in 2005 as Tom Brady pushed his budding dynasty to its third NFL title in four seasons. Beating Brady, the only player still with the Patriots from Super Bowl XXXIX, helped justify the Eagles’ multiple rebuilds that followed the last postseason meeting between these teams.
But history wasn’t on the Eagles’ side coming into this one. There had been six Super Bowl rematches in NFL history before Sunday, but the team that lost the first game has only won a rematch twice — and one of those teams, the Cowboys, needed a third attempt (and Neil O’Donnell at quarterback) just to beat the Steelers.
That didn’t matter Philadelphia, however. The Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33 for their first ever Super Bowl title. In the process, they followed one recent trend: In rematches that have come at least 10 years apart, losing teams are now 3-0 against their former foes.
Here’s how the other Super Bowl rematches have broken down:
The Steelers-Cowboys triumvirate:
Super Bowl X: Steelers 21, Cowboys 17
Super Bowl XIII: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31
Super Bowl XXX: Cowboys 27, Steelers 17
Two of the NFL’s most storied franchises — and the two teams most likely to have satellite bars in outposts across the globe — have battled in three Super Bowls, with the Steelers coming out ahead in the first two before finally ceding ground 20 years later to a Cowboys team that would win three titles in four years behind the three-headed monster of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith. Pittsburgh, previously led by Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, couldn’t ride Neil O’Donnell to a clean sweep over Dallas, temporarily denying the franchise its fifth NFL title.
The Cowboys absolutely scorch the Bills:
Super Bowl XXVII: Cowboys 52, Bills 17
Super Bowl XXVIII: Cowboys 30, Bills 13
These blowouts marked Dallas’s transition from league bottom feeder to ascending dynasty, all while dooming Buffalo to a soul-crushing four straight Super Bowl losses. While they made history, these games also helped spark a 1990s trend in which TV ads were significantly more entertaining than any action on the field. The Bills had a cache of Hall of Famers between Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Bruce Smith — but still had no answer for the Cowboys.
Eli Manning beats the G.O.A.T., and therefore is the G.O.A.T.:
Super Bowl XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14
Super Bowl XLVI: Giants 21, Patriots 17
Manning’s comeback magic doomed New England to the only two Super Bowl losses in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. The longtime Giants quarterback has more title game victories as a starter than anyone in franchise history, derailing the team of the 2000s in the process. Four years of preparation failed to develop the kind of protection the Patriots needed to keep Brady comfortable in the pocket, as the league’s No. 1 and No. 3 ranked offenses were shut down by Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin’s indomitable pass rush.
Joe Montana ensures the Bengals know nothing but heartbreak:
Super Bowl XVI: 49ers 26, Bengals 21
Super Bowl XXIII: 49ers 20, Bengals 16
Montana’s claim as the greatest quarterback of all time has since been vacated by Brady’s postseason wizardry, but only Marvin Lewis has been better at extinguishing hope when it comes to Cincinnati football. While San Francisco’s first win over the Bengals was a relatively straightforward affair, the second cast the 49ers quarterback as a legend. Trailing 16-13 with 3:44 left in the game, Montana led his team on a 92-yard touchdown drive, hitting John Taylor for a game-winning score with just 34 seconds left and effectively ripping the hearts from Bengals fans across the nation.
The Dolphins need to be perfect to beat Washington:
Super Bowl VII: Dolphins 14, Washington 7
Super Bowl XVII: Washington 27, Dolphins 17
Miami’s first Super Bowl win capped off the 17-0 season and Mercury Morris and a handful of other nostalgic old men still celebrate with popped bottles of champagne to this day. Ten years later, Washington got its title game win back. John Riggins, aided by one of the league’s most punishing offensive lines, ran all over the Dolphins in an MVP performance. He gained 166 yards on the ground to help Washington become the first team to avenge a prior Super Bowl loss — and the only one until the Cowboys in 1996.
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