How Lane Johnson used Chiefs' parade T-shirts as motivation before Eagles' Super Bowl 2025 win
Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson took the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVII parade T-shirts personally and used them as fuel before Philadelphia's rematch in New Orleans.
If the Eagles looked like a determined force in their 40-22 dismantling of the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, the team's latest episode of "Unscripted" proved it.
Johnson was one of the Eagles who addressed the team before the Super Bowl. During his speech, he said he felt the team was "overemotional" two years ago but displayed confidence that the Birds were going to handle the Chiefs this time around.
"They're going to try to junk up a number of points. Because man for man, they're not going to let us just tee off on them because they will get [expletive] up. They're going to get [expletive] up tomorrow," Johnson said. "Just remember them [expletive] shirts they had on their parade a few years ago. Keep that in mind as you keep on [expletive] annihilating his [expletive] tomorrow."
Two years ago, the Eagles lost to the Chiefs, 38-35, in Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, Arizona, and failed to record a sack against Kansas City. During the 2022 season, the Birds set a franchise record with 70 sacks, falling two sacks shy of tying the 1984 Chicago Bears' NFL single-season record of 72 sacks. "The Sodfather" highlighted the poor field conditions, which caused several players to slip on the shoddy turf during the game.
During their Super Bowl victory parade in 2023, some members of the Chiefs were seen wearing T-shirts highlighting the zero sacks. One of the T-shirts worn by some Chiefs players read, "0 sacks, put it on a [expletive] T-shirt!!!!" Another simply read, "0 sacks."
The Eagles weren't held sackless in the Super Bowl rematch. In fact, the Eagles sacked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes six times and had a 38.1% pressure rate without blitzing him once. A Josh Sweat pressure directly led to Zach Baun intercepting Mahomes, which led to A.J. Brown's touchdown to put Philadelphia up 24-0.
Not many foresaw the lopsided outcome of Super Bowl LIX, but "Unscripted" provided a behind-the-scenes look at a confident Eagles team driven to capture the franchise's second Super Bowl team. Jalen Hurts said he left the Super Bowl 57 loss "so empty," so what did he do when he was on that stage again? Won the Super Bowl LIX MVP.
Saquon Barkley set record after record in his first season with the Eagles. He didn't think the Chiefs, seeking a three-peat, could hang with the Birds on the field.
"As I watch film throughout the whole week, my confidence is even grown even more, and I hope you're feeling the same thing," Barkley told his teammates. "These guys [expletive] with us. They really can't. I don't care how many times they've been here, how many times they've won it. They haven't seen a team like us."
