The Eagles are set up to be a Super Bowl contender for a long time

For the first time ever, the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions.

And what’s better than winning a Super Bowl? Winning two Super Bowls. And then three.

To get to the elusive Lombardi Trophy, the Eagles had to go through a team well-versed in racking up Super Bowl wins. The New England Patriots — winners of five of the last 17 — already earned the title of greatest dynasty in NFL history under Bill Belichick.

But with Tom Brady set to turn 41 this offseason, assistant coaches leaving and defensive issues aplenty, time at the top may be up for the Patriots. And the Eagles are as well set up as any team to take a seat on the throne for a long time.

It was Nick Foles who had to lead the Eagles to a win in Super Bowl 52. Philadelphia was forced to turn to its backup quarterback in December when Carson Wentz — in the midst of an MVP-caliber season — suffered a torn ACL.

And it was Halapoulivaati Vaitai protecting his blindside Sunday more than three months after nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters suffered a season-ending knee injury of his own in late October.

But despite those major injuries — as well as the loss of others like Darren Sproles and Jordan Hicks — the Eagles finished the regular season tied for the NFL’s best record and capped the year with a Super Bowl victory.

The Eagles are a team that did everything well in 2017. It was No. 3 in points scored and No. 4 in points allowed. The Eagles were one of seven teams that scored on more than 40 percent of its drives. And they joined the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings as the only teams to give up points on fewer than 28 percent of opponents’ drives.

It’s a testament to Philadelphia’s depth that the loss of Wentz and Peters didn’t derail the Eagles. And it’s a testament to the team’s balance that it could score just 15 points and win in the playoffs against the Atlanta Falcons, then give up 33 points three weeks later and beat the Patriots.

All six of the Eagles who were named to the Pro Bowl in December — Wentz, Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Fletcher Cox and Malcolm Jenkins — are under contract with the team until at least 2021.

The list of 13 Philadelphia players set to become free agents in March includes a few important defensive contributors — Nigel Bradham, Corey Graham and Patrick Robinson — but nobody who should demand a blockbuster deal if the Eagles choose to make an attempt to re-sign them.

Essentially, the same team that went 13-3 in 2017 will be back in Philadelphia in 2018.

The problem is that the Eagles don’t have much room to work with under the salary cap. The team also traded second-, third- and fourth-round draft picks as part of deals for Wentz, Ronald Darby and Jay Ajayi.

Trading away Foles after his Super Bowl MVP performance could free up his cap space and land the Eagles with more draft capital to work with. But the reality is that the Eagles in 2018 will probably look a whole lot like the Eagles of 2017.

Considering the end result, that’s certainly not a bad thing.

The Patriots are the early favorites to win Super Bowl 53, but the Eagles are just behind. And with a healthy Wentz returning, Philadelphia might be a Super Bowl favorite for years to come.