The world will need to wait 12 days to find out who wins Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, but those who believe in curses know what’s already going to happen.
How the ‘Kirk Cousins Curse’ could decide the Super Bowl
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Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
According to the “Cousins Curse” the Eagles will lose to the Chiefs, allowing Kansas City to complete their three-peat. Travis Kelce will propose to Taylor Swift at midfield with confetti raining down, and the dynasty will be cemented.
So, what exactly is the Cousins Curse and how has it affected past Super Bowls?
What is the Cousins Curse?
Quite simply, no team that has ever lost to Kirk Cousins during the regular season has gone on to win the Super Bowl. Not a single one. So, when the Eagles lost 22-21 to the Falcons on September 16th, it sealed their postseason fate.
Originally the curse applied to even making the Super Bowl, but last season the 49ers broke this by losing to Cousins and still making it to the end. However, the Curse has now morphed to being about winning the Super Bowl itself.
How has the Cousins Curse struck in the past?
It might just seem coincidental, but the Cousins Curse has been pretty damning. It has struck eight times in the last eight years, meaning there really might be something to this.
- 2016: Packers lose to Cousins. Get destroyed in the NFC Championship Game by the Falcons despite being heavily favored
- 2017: Rams win the NFC West, but lose to Kirk Cousins. Los Angeles is eliminated in the Wild Card round
- 2018: Eagles lose to Cousins and the Vikings, go on to lose in the Divisional Playoffs
- 2019: Eagles lose to Cousins again, lose to the Seahawks despite winning the NFC East
- 2020: Packers lose to Cousins, and despite being the top seed in the NFC, they lose to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game
- 2021: The Packers are once again the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but lose to the 49ers after losing to Cousins in the regular season
- 2022: The curse hits the Bills, who go on to lose in the playoffs after losing to Cousins. They were a Super Bowl favorite this year
- 2023: 49ers lose to Cousins and the Vikings in Week 7, go on to lose the Super Bowl to the Chiefs
So while the curse has morphed from simply making it to the Super Bowl to now being about winning it, there is still an incredible history of no team hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after losing to Kirk Cousins.
I’m an Eagles fan, should I be worried?
Only if you believe in coincidence being a curse.
Are there any grounds to this curse?
There is something to be said about Cousins being a good, but unremarkable player. He’s the exact kind of offensive player you need to beat in order to show that you can beat the league’s best.
The shared DNA of the curse is that losing to Cousins has led to a defensive collapse in the playoffs to better quarterbacks. To this end he serves as a litmus test for a team’s ability — and it makes sense. If you can’t handle Kirk Cousins then what luck do you have against Patrick Mahomes?
Time will tell, and we’ll know if the Cousins Curse is broken once and for all on Super Bowl Sunday.
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