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The Eagles are Super Bowl underdogs, but don’t expect any dog masks this year

Coach Nick Sirianni has shown no desire to embrace the underdog label.

An Eagles fan wearing a dog mask cheers during the season finale against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 5.
An Eagles fan wearing a dog mask cheers during the season finale against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 5.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

The Eagles are technically underdogs in the Super Bowl. And while the fans may once again break out the dog masks, don’t expect to see that from any players, and especially not the head coach.

The Birds are only getting a point and a half from the Kansas City Chiefs (according to DraftKings). And while some might be quick to use that as a motivational factor, Nick Sirianni said Wednesday on WIP-FM that he won’t be going there.

For Sirianni, it’s more about having confidence in his team and less about motivational tactics. It’s also outside noise that he is trying to avoid as his team prepares for its second Super Bowl appearance in three years.

“We’re confident in our team,” Sirianni said. “You’re going in there against a team that’s won the last two Super Bowls. This is a heck of a football team that won 15 games in the regular season, has phenomenal players all over the field, has one of the greatest coaches of all time on the opposite sideline. I’ve got so much respect for this team, and so, again, those are things you can’t control.

“Yes, we are confident in our team and I love our team, but that’s something you can’t control, being the underdog. Like, whatever that means, we don’t care about that. It’s about controlling what we can control, because if you start thinking about those things that you can’t control, where does that stop? And so again, it’s: Here’s our process, here’s what we need to do, and let’s go out and do it.”

Many forget, but in Super Bowl LVII, the Eagles were actually 1.5-point favorites by the time the game arrived after the matchup opened as a pick ‘em.

The origin of the dog masks dates back to the Eagles’ lone Super Bowl win in 2018. Despite being the NFC’s top seed, the Birds found themselves playing as underdogs in each of their three postseason games, including in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. With Nick Foles replacing an injured Carson Wentz, the team — and city — embraced the underdog label. Players wore masks on the field after games, and Jason Kelce even punctuated his famous parade speech on the steps of the Art Museum with a quote he borrowed from offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland: “Hungry dogs run faster.”

While the underdog mentality worked for Doug Pederson’s Eagles seven years ago — and fans continue to wear dog masks to this day — Sirianni is ready to move on, perhaps because he doesn’t view his team as underdogs. He also understands this is a new year.

“I think a lot of people will be like, ‘Hey, this is the rematch.’ And it is a rematch, but this is a completely different team and they’re a completely different team,” Sirianni said. “There are elements that are the same, pieces that are the same, and so we’re not thinking [that way]. We’ll watch the [Super Bowl LII], we’ll watch the game we played last year against Kansas City in addition to all the film that you watch on them this year. But this is the 2024 season.”

In a week and a half, we’ll find out just how different it is.