The Philadelphia Eagles may have the best roster in the league and are fresh off scoring 55 points in the NFC Championship game, yet many believe this team is heading into this matchup as an underdog due to the pedigree of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs
Like the New England Patriots before them, Mahomes and the Chiefs have become one of the more disliked teams in the league after making it to seven straight AFC Championship games, and five Super Bowls in a six-year period. A win in New Orleans could give Mahomes his fourth Super Bowl and third in a row, which has never been done in the Super Bowl era.
Mahomes and the Chiefs are fully leaning into the "villain" narrative this time around, saying they are perfectly fine with getting this level of hate from the media if the byproduct is consistently winning championships.
As if Jalen Hurts and the rest of the Eagles didn't have enough motivation, they now have assumed the designated "hero" role ahead of one of the most anticipated Super Bowls ever. Can they slay the dragon?
Patrick Mahomes gives Eagles bulletin board material with "villain" talk
This isn't the only bit of disrespect the Eagles have been shouldering in the last few weeks, as there has been a nauseating discourse on exactly how good Hurts has been as a passer during this team's road to glory. Time to add more fuel to the fire.
The Eagles do have an admittedly daunting task ahead of them. Not only do they have to contend with the Mahomes quotient making life hard, but defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is the best in the business and likely won't allow another 35-point outburst against his unit.
Even in the fact of that adversity, Philly has been able to overcome narratives that Hurts isn't good enough with his arm, prove Nick Sirianni's quality as a coach, and shut down a Washington Commanders team everyone had crowned as the new NFC kings before they had won anything. This is nothing new for this team.
Constant success will be hated by the majority of the public, and the Eagles may be in this same situation if they reel off a few championships. However, they clearly have the support of the public going into this game, and it's all on them to take this added motivation and translate it to the field.