These prophetic words were written way back in September, before the Eagles' Week 2 home opener at Lincoln Financial Field:

"Baltimore Ravens – History Says They'll Win Super Bowl XLVII....It's because the Baltimore Ravens are playing the Philadelphia Eagles in the Eagles' home opener, and for the last three seasons, whoever plays that game against the Eagles wins, and goes on to win the Super Bowl."


2009: the Eagles are blown out in by the Saints in their home opener, and New Orleans goes on to win the Super Bowl. 2010: The Packers start their season in Philadelphia with a win, and go on to win the Super Bowl. 2011: the Eagles don't play at home until Week 3, when they're beaten by the Giants. The Giants would eventually become champions.

It's a completely random quirk of scheduling indicative of nothing—except perhaps that the Eagles lose to good teams, too. But that was blown up this year, as the Eagles actually won their home opener. They beat Baltimore by a point despite turning the ball over four times, as Michael Vick led Philly to the winning score with two minutes left. Yet even that wasn't enough to shake the inexorable pull of coincidence. The Ravens made it four in a row. (It was almost five—in 2008, eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh played the second game of the season in Philadelphia.)


It's a day for defeated teams to bask in the reflected glory of the Lombardi Trophy—maybe the Broncos were the second-best team in the NFL, maybe they just happened to run into the best—but the NFC East seems especially invested in tenuous connections. It's the seventh consecutive season the Redskins have played the eventual champs, and the third straight year they've beaten them. Congratulations to Washington and Philadelphia—your fluke accomplishments may not warrant a trip to Disney World, but maybe at least Busch Gardens.