The Super Bowl Champion Eagles took the flight home and landed back in Philly on Monday afternoon.
The plane touched down at Philadelphia International Airport just shy of 4:30 p.m., and after it pulled in, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was the first to emerge from the door with the Lombardi Trophy in hand and a crowd of cheering fans there by the fence to welcome him and every other member of the team back.
Home Sweet Home 🏆 pic.twitter.com/44T8HoWOkZ
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 10, 2025
The players, who were likely in bad need of some sleep, exited the plane and hopped on the buses meant to take them back to the NovaCare Complex, but while they were at it, Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman, team president Don Smolenski, and head coach Nick Sirianni took the trophy up to the fence to greet the Eagles fans who had been waiting for them in the cold. Team security chief Big Dom DiSandro also went around with the Lombardi taking photos with airport staff and police officers before it was finally time to head back to NovaCare, where even more fans were waiting outside the gate.
The Eagles have landed
And our Lombardi Trophy is protected at all costs by the firm grip of Big Dom pic.twitter.com/bLT1Cg8Cjy— Life of a Philly Fan (@PhillyFanLife) February 10, 2025
The champs are home, and a victory parade Philadelphia used to think it'd never see once much less twice not all that long ago awaits them on Friday – check out the details on the parade and start time HERE.
The city is already preparing, as workers were moving to start getting the stage set up on the Art Museum steps into Monday night.
Jalen Hurts will be there, too, but he's just a bit behind.
As is tradition for the Super Bowl MVP, he went to Disney World the next day.
Here he is riding the Tron cycles:
Less than 24 hours after winning the Super Bowl, Jalen Hurts is riding roller coasters at @WaltDisneyWorld 😂 pic.twitter.com/iizolc36R9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 10, 2025
Some other odds and ends from the Super Bowl and the lead-up to Friday's parade…
Finished the story
Two years ago, Hurts played the game of his life in Super Bowl LVII, but against the Chiefs, he and the Eagles fell just short – with the lasting image of Hurts walking head down through a sea of red and yellow confetti leaving a bitter sting.
A couple of months later, Cody Rhodes, WWE's rapidly ascending superstar, challenged the powerhouse champion Roman Reigns for the title at WrestleMania. He had the match of his life, but he fell short – with the lasting image of Rhodes sitting in the middle of the ring staring blankly a thousand miles ahead leaving a bitter sting.
- MORE SUPER BOWL
- The Eagles' dominant romp to a Super Bowl title by the numbers
- These Eagles were special. Now they're immortal.
- Eagles fans celebrated on Broad Street, but the Super Bowl itself turned into a party well before that
But for the next 12 months, Rhodes kept building and rallying through the WWE's ranks behind the tagline "Finish the Story."
He was going to earn the right to face Reigns for the title again, and when he got it, it came down to the main event of the next WrestleMania this past April, at the Eagles' home of Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly.
Rhodes put on the performance of his life again, and this time, he won it all, in the biggest show and maybe the greatest build WWE had ever seen. He finished his story.
The Eagles didn't come right back with the 2023 season. That run, infamously, imploded in the back half. But with sky-high expectations and all the pressure on them because of it, the team mostly surged straight through 2024 to get back to the Super Bowl, and fittingly, got their rematch with the Chiefs for their title shot.
They rose to the occasion with possibly the most thorough thrashing ever handed down in franchise history – definitely the most cathartic, at least – and Hurts carved up the Kansas City defense through the air and on the ground to claim Super Bowl MVP honors, but above all else, that Lombardi Trophy.
Hurts stood on the stage with a smile and trophy in hand in a sea of green and white confetti.
He and the Eagles finished their story. Rhodes took a minute to recognize that.
Just a couple of QB1’s finishing their stories.
The greater challenge is what comes next, but @JalenHurts is certainly built for it.
Congrats to the @Eagles on becoming the #SBLIX Champions 🫡🏈 https://t.co/hXSVSV5iwZ— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) February 10, 2025
Pro wrestling and football can overlap beautifully sometimes.
Kelce's view
Jason Kelce, a bit shy of a year after retiring, just watched the Eagles win the Super Bowl from afar.
He also just saw his brother, Travis, play in another title game with the Chiefs, but this time in a brutal loss.
There were some mixed emotions because of it, and Kelce wrote them out on Twitter/X in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles, my former teammates, and friends on being SB LIX Champions!! There were a lot of emotions last night, and now that I’ve collected my thoughts, I’ll attempt to share them in the longest tweet ever.
That game was odd for me to watch if…— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) February 11, 2025
You'll have to click on the embed above to see what Kelce wrote in full, but here are a couple of excerpts on how he was feeling during the game, and on a title and a parade that the Eagles and Philadelphia very much earned:
That game was odd for me to watch if I’m being completely honest. I knew it was going to be mixed emotions before, during, and after, and I now know what my parents had to deal with two years ago. On one hand, I wanted what is best for my brother, and to see his success. And on the other hand, there are so many people, teammates, and coaches, in the Philadelphia Eagles organization that I care deeply about, many of whom I owe my own success to throughout my career.
…
Man I love this sport, the people that play it, and the fans that enjoy it. Nothing else like it. Congratulations Philadelphia, I look forward to the speeches and celebrations that will happen in the coming days. I mean who doesn’t love a parade! In the words of Chase Utley “World F***ing Champs”, and to all the haters out there, remember what my man Jay Ajayi said “F*** Em”
Go Birds
Kelce probably has a couple of good tips on parade speeches if any of the current Eagles ask.
To those looking ahead
The Eagles won the Super Bowl. That's going to keep Philadelphia and the entire Delaware Valley occupied for a while, but the NFL news cycle never stops, so looks ahead to the 2025 season are already starting to trickle in.
ESPN, for example, published its early power rankings almost right after the Super Bowl ended on Sunday night.
Somehow, the Chiefs are still No. 1, while the Eagles, the NFL Champions, are No. 4.
What Adam Teicher wrote about Kansas City:
Yes, the Chiefs lost in Super Bowl LIX, but they still have a loaded roster. General manager Brett Veach said "our free agency will be our draft" in the offseason with regard to key player acquisition because of a tight salary cap situation and a long list of the Chiefs' own potential free agents that they would like to re-sign. Kansas City will have four picks in the first three rounds, having acquired an additional pick early in Round 3 by trading cornerback L'Jarius Sneed to the Titans last offseason. [ESPN]
And what Tim McManus wrote about the Birds:
General manager Howie Roseman has had a very good batting average in recent offseasons, as evidenced by the Eagles' Super Bowl-winning roster. The additions of running back Saquon Barkley and linebacker Zack Baun in free agency, as well as the drafting of cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in 2024, speak to his hot hand. Roseman has a few key decisions in front of him, including whether to re-sign Baun to a lucrative contract. But the main goal is to continue the sound roster decisions, supporting the current nucleus and extending the team's title-contending window. [ESPN]
My quick two cents on the Chiefs part: That supposedly loaded roster just got embarrassed for three quarters until garbage time let them save a bit of face. Also, if a team's approach to the offseason is in the realm of trying to save themselves through the draft, that team's in trouble.
Also, for what it's worth, the Bills ranked at No. 2, the Lions at No. 3, and the Ravens at No. 5 to round out ESPN's top 5.
In the NFC East, Washington is 6th, Dallas is 18th, and the Giants are 31st.
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