On Sunday, Feb. 9, millions of Americans collectively watched as the Philadelphia Eagles triumphed over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, giving the Eagles their second-ever championship and preventing the Chiefs from accomplishing the National Football League’s first-ever three-peat. As the 2024 NFL season comes to a close, what remains to be seen is what happens now for the Chiefs and Eagles.

As the defending champions, the Eagles will be going into the 2025 season with a lot of pressure on them to keep up the momentum. To maintain their strong position in the league largely revolves around maintaining the things that propelled them to Super Bowl victory: strong offensive and defensive lines playing in near-perfect conjunction with each other. Some of the most prominent highlights of this year’s Super Bowl were the numerous interceptions that the Eagles achieved thanks to the efforts of players such as cornerback Cooper DeJean and linebacker Zack Baun, along with a strong defensive effort that was able to prevent Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs offense from making significant progress throughout much of the game. Keeping up these efforts is how the Eagles can continue to succeed through the next season.

Also on the Eagles’ side is the strength of their roster from the 2024 season. A big boost was given to the Eagles from their drafting last year of running back Saquon Barkley, who would go on to be named NFL Offensive Player of the Year; he and much of the roster are expected to remain for the next season. Priorities include retaining free agents such as Baun, linebacker Josh Sweat and defensive tackle Milton Williams. Also high on the priority list is to fill the hole left by the departure of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. While Moore’s replacement is unknown as of the writing of the article, speculation suggests that passing offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo could be promoted, a move that would help maintain continuity in the Eagles offense. By addressing these potential holes in the roster, the Eagles can maintain a strong cast of players and continue to build upon their successes in the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have much work to do when it comes to analyzing where they went wrong and how to come back up from it. As a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, I’d be remiss not to mention the high satisfaction I felt upon the Chiefs’ loss, following their overtime defeat of the Niners in last year’s Super Bowl LVIII. Not to mention, it seems safe to say that public sentiment was generally against the Chiefs in this game—even non-football fans I’ve talked to express annoyance about the Chiefs and a desire for them to lose the game. With that being said, it cannot be denied that this year’s game was a low point for the Chiefs given their widespread success for several years now.

To improve from such a loss requires looking at where things went wrong. As alluded to before, the Chiefs’ offense took a major beating throughout the contest, losing possession on numerous occasions and largely failing to break through the Eagles’ defense; not to mention Mahomes himself was sacked six times in the game—the most he’s ever been since joining the league for the 2017 season. Many of the Chiefs’ shortcomings can be attributed to Mahomes and his lackluster performance throughout the game, something that needs to be worked on going into the new season given his prominent role in the team’s roster.

Concerns about the Chiefs’ overall shortcomings may be alleviated by the return of wide receiver Rashee Rice following LCL surgery but are almost immediately countered by numerous key players hitting free agency; this includes guard Trey Smith and linebacker Nick Bolton. The potential retirement of high-profile tight end Travis Kelce also adds a massive hole in the roster in need of filling. These are all things that must be addressed by Chiefs leadership if they want to maintain a well-rounded roster.

Also worth addressing is the defense. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is known for being one of the best in the entire NFL, but even he couldn’t figure out how to stop the reign of Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts. Perhaps not enough of a focus was put on stopping Hurts to the point that he was able to lead his team to a commanding victory. Putting a bigger emphasis on countering such strong quarterbacks and, in general, focusing efforts on the key players of the opposing teams is how the Chiefs’ defense can rebuild from this loss. These are all things the Chiefs are known for being very good at and just happened to fall short on in the Super Bowl. Returning to the highs they’re known for is how the Chiefs can make a comeback.

The 2025 NFL season will present numerous potential ventures for the Eagles and Chiefs. Can the former maintain their strong showings, and can the latter pick themselves back up and bring back the domineering force they’ve been known to display for the past several seasons? Both remain to be seen.