The last question Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was asked before his team headed off for the summer break was about researching what teams have done to sustain their success following a championship season.
That’s relevant for obvious reasons. The Eagles are going to attempt repeat as champions in 2025, a feat only nine other teams have accomplished during the Super Bowl era, which started in 1966 when the AFL’s Chiefs first played the NFL’s Packers ahead of the league merger.
Sirianni, even before the Eagles won the Super Bowl, had spent time picking the brains of successful coaches and athletes from various sports. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said during offseason workouts that he asked for advice from NBA legend Michael Jordan and Yankees legend Derek Jeter about maintaining success. Those two won a combined 11 championships.
Sirianni recently discussed the subject with former world-class sprinter Michael Johnson, a four-time Gold Medalist and said he’s constantly looking for “common denominators” of successful athletes and coaches.
“Without getting into everything, I think there are two sides of it,” Sirianni said. “The main thing is ... you’re going to have to be able to work extremely hard and you’re going to have to be able to overcome adversity. You always have to be right in the moment of where you are.
“We’re focused on our process and how we get better every single day. If your process is right, then it gives you the best chance to win. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to win, but it gives you the best chance to win. Our goal is just to focus on ... where we are at this particular moment ... put the work in, overcome the adversity and the rest will take care of itself.”
Sounds great from a coaching perspective, but not really any different than what other teams do regardless of where they finished in the standings. Every great athlete has the ability to hyper focus on the task at hand and move on from failure.
There are, however, some numerical indicators of what is needed for sustained success and the Eagles met them during the 2024 season.
Of the nine teams that won back-to-back Super Bowls, seven of them finished in the top 10 in points allowed, yards allowed, points scored and total yards. That’s a total of 77.8% of the repeat champions. The Eagles finished second in points allowed, first in yards allowed, seventh in points scored and eighth in total yards.
The other repeat Super Bowl champions to finish their first Super Bowl title season in the top 10 in all four of those categories were the 1966 Packers, the 1972 Dolphins, the 1974 Steelers, the 1978 Steelers, the 1988 49ers, the 1992 Cowboys and the 1997 Broncos.
The most impressive of that group, by the way, was the unbeaten Dolphins team in 1972, which was first in all four categories.
The exceptions to the rule were the 2003 Patriots and the 2022 Chiefs.
An argument could be made that all Super Bowl champions are probably really good on both offense and defense and there’s some truth to that.
A total of 30 of the 59 Super Bowl winners have finished in the top 10 in the four mentioned categories, which comes out to 50.8%.
But 14 of the 30 are accounted for among the nine repeat champions. The 1967 Packers, the 1973 Dolphins, the 1975 and 1979 Steelers, the 1989 49ers, the 1993 Cowboys and the 2004 Patriots were all in the top 10 in all four categories. The only repeat winners not among the top 10 in all four during their second title seasons were the 1998 Broncos and the 2023 Chiefs.
Andy Reid’s Chiefs were a particularly interesting case study because they had the No. 1 offense in points scored and total yards when they beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl, but the No. 16 defense in points allowed and No. 11 in yards allowed. When they beat the Chiefs the following year, however, they had the No. 2 defense in yards and points allowed, but had slipped to 15th in scoring and ninth in total yards.
The teams that finished in the top 10 in all four categories but did not repeat as champions were the 2020 Buccaneers, the 2017 Eagles, the 2016 Patriots, the 2010 Packers, the 1999 Rams, the 1996 Packers, the 1995 Cowboys, the 1994 49ers, the 1991 Redskins, the 1986 Giants, the 1985 Bears, the 1984 49ers, the 1977 and 1971 Cowboys, the 1969 Chiefs and the 1968 Jets.
The last two on that list are a bit deceiving because the AFL only had 10 teams, although the Chiefs and Jets were in the top four in all four categories.
Three of the 16 teams that were in the top 10 in all four categories but didn’t repeat as champions lost in the Super Bowl and 13 of the 16 at least made the playoffs the following year.
Further proof that finishing in the top 10 in those categories is proof of greatness can be found in just how good some of the teams that didn’t repeat were.
That group includes the 1999 Rams, who had a plus-284 point differential, the largest by any Super Bowl champion in history, and the 1985 Bears and 1984 49ers, both of whom went 18-1.
Only four Super Bowl champions in this century have finished in the top 10 in points scored, total yards, points allowed and yards allowed and the Eagles have done it twice. They also became the third team in history to win 18 games in a season last year.
The numbers tell us they have the pedigree to repeat as champions. It’s up to Sirianni and the players to conquer the other obstacles that make it so difficult to repeat.
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Bob Brookover can be reached atrbrookover@njadvancemedia.com