The Philadelphia Eagles were not looking so Super as they entered their Week 5 bye. However, that bye week may have saved their season. It turns out the Super Bowl Odds timing of that bye week was perfect. The Eagles this season limped into that bye with a disappointing 2-2 record and were coming off a 33-16 loss to the Buccaneers in Tampa, where the Eagles’ 2023 season ended miserably in the wild-card round. After a bunch of changes to the team in the offseason, Nick Sirianni was back. and the hope was that this very talented team would compete for a Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LIX Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
| Date and Time: | Sunday, February 9, 2025, 6:30 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA |
| TV Coverage: | FOX |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | -1 -110 | 48½ -110 | -118 |  |
| Eagles | +1 -110 | 48½ -110 | -102 | |
| ||||
Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl Team Overview
At the beginning of the online wagering season, there was hope for a Super Bowl run by Philadelphia. They beat the Saints in New Orleans, the Packers in Brazil and were a Saquon Barkley catch away from beating the Falcons and having a 3-1 record. But they were far from the team that will face the Chiefs on Sunday for the Lombardi Trophy. Thus, things didn’t look great after four games.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Week 5 bye saved the Eagles season. Correlate that it offered the team a chance to correct some things early on. It was one of the important inflection points of the season.
So, what happened during the bye week? At the onset, the Eagles came back with Cooper DeJean as their nickel cornerback. After DeJean missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury, the Eagles were patient with their second-round pick. Philly played Avonte Maddox through the first quarter of the season.
However, beginning with Week 6, DeJean has been the guy and that switch has helped transform the defense. Along with teammate Quinyon Mitchell, DeJean, this season was named a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The NFL Betting bye week was also when offensive linemen Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, and Landon Dickerson walked into Sirianni’s office. Specifically, they wanted a more run-heavy offense that would lean on their strengths. After Jalen Hurts averaged 33 passing attempts through four games, the Eagles became a run-first team. Subsequently, Saquon Barkley became just the ninth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history. That great rushing offense has continued in the playoffs, where Barkley has averaged over 147 yards per game.
And then there were the conversations between Sirianni and Hurts. The relationship between those two was a major storyline coming out of the 2023 season. But Hurts coming back from the bye week said he and the head coach shared some “great moments” together during the week off.
Following the bye, the Eagles rattled off 10 straight wins and have now won 15 of 16 going into the Super Bowl. The only game they lost was to the Commanders in Week 16 when Hurts was knocked out early. Still, they were able to avenge that loss with a 55-23 win in the NFC Championship Game.
Sirianni pushed back against the idea that there was something miraculous about the Eagles’ bye week. Even though the season didn’t get off to the best start, he didn’t want to lose sight of all the work the team put in during OTAs and training camp. Overall, the bye week was just one important step in this journey.