Every one knows that it is tough to repeat. It is common knowledge that there is a thing called the Super Bowl hangover. Teams that make the Super Bowl, tend to struggle the next season, whether they won or lost the game. Play those extra games, and later into the season, is tough to bounce back from. And it is hard to come back from the emotional high of either winning or losing the Super Bowl. We mostly consider that as a fact. And so many people this offseason have said the Eagles need to beware the Super Bowl hangover.
There is one problem with all of that, it isn’t true. It is a myth. There is no Super Bowl hangover, at least not for the losing team. Its one of those fake facts people just accept because they have been told it is true enough. Like how if you drop a penny from the Empire State Building, it can kill someone, or that you can see the Great Wall of China from Space. None of these things are real.
I went back through the last 10 Super Bowl losers. The reality of what they all did the next season, should make Eagles fans worried about a hangover feel better. Because while some teams did fall off, most continued to play well. The vast majority made it back to the playoffs. Several made it back to their Conference Championship game. One team even won the Super Bowl the next year. And this Eagles team is way more similar to the teams that carried over their success than the ones who did not.
So let’s bust this myth. Here is what the last 10 teams that lost the Super Bowl got up to the following season:
Cincinnati Bengals- 2022-2023
The Bengals surprised some people by putting together quite the run to get to the Super Bowl in the 2021-2022 season. They came up short, losing 23-20 to the Rams. But with Joe Burrow under center, and Jamarr Chase catching passes form him, they were set up to be good for a while.
So how did they follow that up? Well even after starting out 0-2, they went on to win the AFC North and finish 12-4. Then they beat the Ravens, and the Bills in the playoffs, to get all the way to the AFC Championship game. They could not beat the Chiefs again, dropping that game 23-20. But no one could call last season a disappointment or a regression. They clearly still belonged in the category of elite teams, and just lost a close game to the eventual champions.
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs- 2021-2022
The Chiefs’ second trip to the Super Bowl in the Andy Reid era did not go very well for them. They managed just 9 points and got crushed by Tom Brady and the Bucs. It was the first time they looked vulnerable with Patrick Mahomes under center. And it raised serious concerns about their O-Line.
It did not stop them though. They followed that up by going 12-5, winning the AFC West, and getting back to the AFC Championship game. Yes they lost to the Bengals, but you can’t call losing the AFC Championship game a regression. Of course, we all know they would then go on to win it all the next season, still hurts. Losing one Super Bowl did nothing to slow down the Chiefs. Having a great QB, and great talent around them, tends to help avoid any hangover it seems.
. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers- 2020-2021
The 49ers are the first example where we see they fell off hard. After falling short and losing to the Chiefs in the 2019-2020 season, they went just 6-10 the next season. But their issues went far beyond just it being a hangover.
They had 18 players on the IR by the end of the season. Including QB Jimmy Garoppolo, and Defensive MVP Nick Bosa. They also had to uproot their home stadium at one point due to the pandemic. It was a season doomed from early on. Did they lose because of a hangover, or was it because CJ Beathard was their QB? id bet it was the latter.
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Rams- 2019-2020
After going 13-3 and making it all the way to the Super Bowl the prior season, the rams could not recapture that magic the in 2019. They went 9-7, despite starting 3-0, and missed the playoffs.
To be fair, the writing was on the wall after the Super Bowl. They couldn’t move the ball at all, scoring just 3 points vs the Patriots. That game exposed a lot of flaws. They still had Jared Goff at QB in 2019 though, who the Rams would eventually realize was not the answer. They eventually ditched Goff for Matt Stafford, and then won a Super Bowl. Again, QBs seem to be the key to avoiding a drop off after the Super Bowl.
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
New England Patriots- 2018-2019
How did the Patriots respond to losing the Super Bowl to the Eagles the prior season? By beating the Rams in the Super Bowl in 2018-2019. You definitely cannot call that a hangover. It all fell apart for the Patriots after this Super Bowl win. They lost early in the playoffs the next year, and then Tom Brady left. But they had one more great season in the tank even after losing to the Eagles in Super Bowl 52.
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Atlanta Falcons- 2017-2018
Obviously going forward, things did not go well for the Falcons. But even after that heartbreaking collapse vs Patriots in the Super Bowl, they followed it up with another good year. In 2017 they went 10-6, made the playoffs, and beat the Rams. Yes, they lost to the Eagles in the Divisional Round. But losing to the Champions is not a crime. And they gave them a better game than anyone else did honestly. They were the only defense to stop Nick Foles.
Now if the Eagles finished in the Wild Card, then lost in the second round of the playoffs, that would probably be a disappointment. But still, it is hard to say the Falcons suffered from some Super Bowl Hangover.
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Carolina Panthers- 2016-2017
If any of these teams would give Eagles fans pause, it is the Panthers. They went from a team that seemed unstoppable, 15-1 in 2015, to a 6-10 team. Cam Newton went from MVP, to barely having more TDs than interceptions. The Panthers were exposed as a flash in the pan.
The question is, do you think Cam Newton is similar to Jalen Hurts. You could say yes if you just look at their playstyle, since they are both dangerous runners. But Hurts also had some elite production throwing the ball and may have the best mind and work ethic of any QB in the league. We also had a larger sample size of Newton by that point, whereas last year was Hurts 2nd year as the starter.
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Seattle Seahawks- 2015-2016
In 2014, the Seahawks went 12-4, and made it all the way to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Patriots. If they had just run the ball, they might have been reigning Super Bowl champions and not just reigning NFC Champions. Alas, they did not, and they lost 28-24.
The next season was not as great. But they did go 10-6 and won a playoff game. They ran into the 15-1 Panthers and lost in the Divisional Round. But it was a solid, though underwhelming season. There was not some huge drop off. They started the season super slow, then finished 8-2.
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Denver Broncos- 2014-2015
The Broncos has one of the most embarrassing Super Bowl losses of all time in 2014, losing 43-8 to the Seahawks. They followed that up by going 12-4, winning the AFC West again, and getting the 2 seed. Unfortunately for them, they lost to Andrew Luck and the Colts in the Divisional Round after their bye week.
Obviously, a disappointment. But they were still one of the best teams in the NFL. They just choked. And Peyton manning has a history of playoff chokes. You can’t put that in it being a Super Bowl hangover. They got to the playoffs and got a bye week. They didn’t do everything in the regular season they needed to. Winning in the playoffs is hard. If the Eagles go 13-4, get the bye, but then lose to the 49ers, will we say it was a hangover, or that they choked? Probably the latter.
(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers 2013-2014
And finally we come to the Niners. In 2012, they went 11-4-1, and made it all the way to the Super Bowl, before losing to the Ravens. They followed that up by going 12-4, and making it to the NFC Championship game, where they lost to the Seahawks. They were just as good, if not better, than they were the year they made it to the Super Bowl. They just couldn’t beat the Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl in a blowout. They gave the Seahawks a better game than the Broncos did though.
Again, hard to call that a Super Bowl hangover. They ran into a great team. It happens. Winning the Super Bowl is very hard.
(Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
