Canadian safety Sydney Brown is an NFL champion in his second season, helping the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX.
The native of London, Ont. is just the 18th Canadian to win a Lombardi Trophy, with the last being defensive lineman Michael Hoecht and offensive tackle Alaric Jackson with the L.A. Rams in 2022. He was the first defensive back from north of the border to ever play in the Super Bowl, finishing the game without recording a statistic.
“I can’t (put it into words). It still hasn’t really set in yet,” Brown told Sportsnet after the game. “I’m just trying to absorb everything right now. I’m at a loss for words. This is just a dream. We did everything we needed to do today. It’s crazy to even say I’m a Super Bowl champion right now.”
The Eagles dominated en route to the second Super Bowl in franchise history, shutting out the two-time defending champions in the first half. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 221 yards and rushed for 72 more with three total touchdowns to earn the MVP, while rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean added a 38-yard pick-six. Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times and picked off twice in the loss, before throwing three touchdowns in garbage time.
“It just starts with our preparation throughout the week. There’s not a day that we took off, there was not an opportunity throughout the week where we took a step back. We attacked practice this week, we attacked practice heavy last week. Our coaches push us,” Brown said of the win. “We embrace hard work, we embrace toughness, we embrace the detail. This team is together. I don’t think that I’ve been a part of a more connected team than what we have here and that makes the difference between good teams and great teams. The relationship that we all hold together, it’s special and I think it really reflected on the field today.”
Brown saw action in 11 games this season, making seven total tackles, two pass knockdowns, one interception, and one forced fumble. He also dressed for all three of the Eagles’ postseason contests, making a tackle in each.
The 24-year-old saw his role reduced this season after rushing back from a torn ACL suffered in January of 2024. Originally selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, he had worked his way into Philadelphia’s starting lineup as a rookie before suffering the injury.
Through 25 career NFL games, Brown has recorded 52 defensive tackles, one tackle for loss, two forced fumbles, five pass breakups, and two interceptions, including one returned 99 yards for a touchdown. The University of Illinois product is the identical twin brother of Cincinnati Bengals’ running back Chase Brown.
