We are less than two weeks away from Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on February 9th. After 284 regular season and playoff games, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will meet again in February, two years after their last meeting in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, where the Chiefs won 38-35 in one of the most spectacular Super Bowls in recent years. This season, both teams faced what has become a recurring threat to anyone with Super Bowl aspirations in recent years. And for the more superstitious, the Chiefs have already become the first team in NFL history to complete a three-peat, with Travis Kelce set to retire after proposing to Taylor Swift during the awards ceremony.
The Kirk Curse: How One Quarterback’s Wins Doom Super Bowl Dreams
This threat has a name: Kirk Cousins. Let’s call it the “Kirk Curse,” because since Cousins entered the league in 2012, no team that has ever lost to Kirk Cousins in the regular season has gone on to win the Super Bowl. Not one. So when the Eagles lost 22-21 to the Falcons on Monday night in Week 2, it sealed their season fate. The Chiefs also faced Kirk just one week after the Eagles, on Monday Night in Week 3. Unlike the Eagles, the Chiefs – aided, as usual, by some questionable officiating – defeated the Falcons 22-17, keeping their Super Bowl aspirations alive and seeking their fourth championship in six years. The “Kirk Curse” has struck eight times in the last eight years, so maybe there is something to it.
So to have it clear If Cousins started a game at any point in his career and you lost to him, that means you didn’t go on to win the Super Bowl in the same season where he beat you. Last year, the “Kirk Curse” shifted a bit. Originally, it meant that teams wouldn’t even make it to the Super Bowl, but the 49ers made it to the big game despite losing to Kirk’s Vikings 22-17. However, they still lost the Super Bowl, further fueling the curse with facts, not just words. Here’s how the “Kirk Curse” has worked in previous years. Let’s remember that Cousins was a backup in his first three years in the NFL (2012-2014), and he didn’t beat a playoff team in 2015. So the curse officially begins in 2016.
The Kirk Curse Through The Years
- 2016: Defeated the Packers, who advanced to the NFC Championship Game but were crushed by the Falcons, 44-21.
Defeated the Giants, who lost in the Wild Card round.
- 2017: Defeated the Rams, who won the NFC West but were eliminated in the Wild Card round.
- 2018: Defeated the Eagles, who finished second in the NFC East. The Eagles won one playoff game but were eliminated in the divisional round.
- 2019: Defeated the Eagles again. Despite winning the NFC East, the Eagles were eliminated in the Wild Card round by the Seahawks.
- 2020: Defeated two playoff teams during the regular season:
Bears: Lost in the Wild Card round.
Packers: Earned the top seed in the NFC, but lost to Tom Brady’s Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.
- 2021: Defeated two playoff teams during the regular season:
Steelers: Seventh seed in the AFC; eliminated in the wild-card round.
Packers: Secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but failed to reach the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year. Lost to the 49ers 13-10 in the divisional round.
- 2022: Defeated three playoff teams:
Bills: A serious Super Bowl contender, but eliminated in the divisional round.
Dolphins: Eliminated in the divisional round.
Giants: Eliminated in the divisional round.
- 2023: Defeated two playoff teams:
Packers: Eliminated by the 49ers in the divisional round, continuing their cursed playoff run.
49ers: In Week 7, Cousins had arguably his best game of the season, throwing for 378 yards and two touchdowns in a 22-17 comeback win. Lost the Super Bowl.
This season, Kirk only beat the Eagles and Buccaneers as far as teams that made the playoffs, the Bucs were eliminated in the wild-card round by the Commanders, and the Eagles will try to break this curse as Jalen Hurts broke it by becoming the first of the last 19 quarterbacks to return to play in a Super Bowl after losing his first Super Bowl.
