The expression “Defense of Super Bowl Champions” is about as popular in Philadelphia at the moment that “Let’s Go Mets”, “How ‘Bout Dem Cowboys” or “Joel Embiid’s Left Knee”.
“We do not defend S —“, explained the left platform Jordan Malata when the Eagles opened the training camp last month. “I don’t like to hear (that).”
We hear you, Big Fella. Rather than risking the anger of a former 6 -foot rugby player 8 inches and 365 pounds from Australia, let us put aside the subject of a second consecutive Lombardi trophy and we focus on the most immediate – and perhaps more important – of Philadelphia faces: defend its title NFC East Division.
In one way or another, no team has succeeded in repeating as champions in this division in more than two decades – not since Andy Reid led the Eagles to four of 2001 to 2004. Do Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, Jalen Carter and the company have what it takes to break the confusing curse of the division?
Philadelphia, with the reigning champions (sorry, Mr. Mailata) of the other NFL divisions, faces many hen nests along the road to a rehearsal. This applies to Kansas City chiefs, unbalanced losers from the Super Bowl Lix, but winners of an incredible nine consecutive titles from AFC West with Reid on the sidelines.
The Eagles and the Chiefs are among the favorites of the bets to fight again in the Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, on February 8. To get there, the two teams have s — to take care first, to borrow a bad word from a great human.
When we saw the chiefs for the last time, the Humbled Heartland Heroes stumbled from the punch of the French district after a Big Beatdown 40-22. Philadelphia led 40-6 with three minutes to do, with the Pick-Six of the Cooper Dejean recruit putting as many points on the table for the Eagles to the point as Patrick Mahomes and the AFC champions.
But there have been major changes to the best classified defense of Eagles since February, and it is potentially their biggest obstacle to stay at the top.
The defense of the Coordinator Vic Fangio lost the rushers at point Brandon Graham (retired) and Josh Sweat (Arizona Cardinals), the secondary stars Darius Slay Jr. (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Cj Gardner-Johnson (Houston Texans) and Sneaky-Good Tackle Milton Williams (New England Patriots). Philadelphia has drafted the second Alabama Jihaad Campbell in the first round and the security of Texas Andrew Mukuba in the second and signed the seconds Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche, as well as Jackson de Cornerback adores.
The way these new parts adapt – and at what speed – will greatly contribute to determining whether the Eagles can retain the Ascendant commanders of Washington, the desperate cowboys of Dallas and, at least technically speaking, the Giants of New York.
As for the chiefs, which have played in five of the last six Super Bowls, the most urgent concern of this off -season was to find their own mailata to protect the blind side of Mahomas. They caught Josh Simmons from Ohio State in the first round and signed the former replacement for the 49ers Jaylon Moore after shooting four players in the post in 2024, which led to 36 career bags and a 245.5 yoke record per match per match for Mahomas.
A 10th consecutive AFC West Crown would make the Chiefs just the second NFL team with a two-digit division sequence, after the 11-year race in New England in the 2009 to 2019 AFC.
The second longest active sequence is found in AFC East, where the Buffalo Bills took the Brady / Belichick torch and won five in a row. Speaking of Tom Brady, Baker Mayfield has extended the NFC South sequence of the Buccaneers of Tampa Bay to four consecutive division titles. The Ravens of Baltimore (AFC North), the Texans of Houston (AFC South) and Detroit Lions (NFC North) each won two games in a row. Like Philly and Kansas City, all of the above is favored to finish again at the top of the ranking in 2025.
This leaves the NFC West, where the title champion of Los Angeles Rams will try to make two in a row and will also spoil the dream of the 49ers of San Francisco of a Super Bowl on the ground.
The season is almost there. Eight division titles are to be won, and seven reigning champions – as well as the team of M. Malata – seek to keep their thrones.
