Who will win Super Bowl XLVIII? Check Eagles' 2013 home-opener

If the trend holds, we'll know the winner of the 2014 Super Bowl when Philadelphia's schedule is announced. (US Presswire)

If you want to know who's going to win Super Bowl XLVIII next season, you need to do just two things: Wait for the NFL to release the 2013 schedule, then look at the team Philadelphia plays in its home-opener.

In a weird twist of football fate that's spanned four seasons, the Eagles' opponent in their home-opener has gone on to win the Super Bowl.

In 2009, Philadelphia opened its home slate in Week 2 with a 48-22 loss to New Orleans. Five months later, the Saints were beating the Colts to win Super Bowl XLIV.

In 2010, the Eagles opened their home schedule in Week 1 with a 27-20 loss to Green Bay. The Packers rode the momentum of that opening-week win all the way to Super Bowl XLV, where they beat the Steelers 31-25.

There's an old saying that goes, "Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend." In that case, the trend officially began in 2011, when the Eagles played the New York Giants in Week 3 to open the home portion of their schedule. The Giants beat the Eagles and made it all the way to Indianapolis, where they beat the Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI.

The trend continued in 2012, when the Ravens beat the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. Philadelphia opened its home schedule this season with a 24-23 win over Baltimore.

This twist of fate is theoretically good news for teams on Philadelphia's 2013 home schedule, which include: Kansas City, San Diego, Chicago, Detroit, Arizona, Dallas, Washington and the Giants.

After coaching the Eagles in their last four home-openers, you can bet new Chiefs coach Andy Reid would love to be team No. 5 to win the Super Bowl after opening against Philadelphia.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, they can't play themselves. Philadelphia has never won a Super Bowl in franchise history and is 0-2 all-time in the big game.

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