Eagles Are One Win from the Holy Grail
The Philadelphia Eagles are going back to the Super Bowl.
No words bring more excitement to Eagles fans than that glorious sentence. I know. I was on the air at WIP for three of their trips to the biggest game on the American sports calendar, and all three remain vivid in my mind.
The next two weeks will be so exciting, so immersive, that little kids all around the region will learn how to spell their first word: E-A-G-L-E-S. (Later, they can master their first sentence: Dallas sucks.)
Of course, no joy in my 33 years came close to the Eagles win over New England in the Super Bowl seven years ago, an epic battle that remains a major topic of conversation everywhere I go.
Just last week, at a speech I gave in Philadelphia, I was asked what I felt when Tom Brady launched that frightening Hail Mary at the end of the 41-33 victory. The ball eventually dropped to the ground, but not before it came dangerously close to the desperate leap of a couple of Patriot receivers.
“Relief” is my one-word reply.
This time, when the Eagles throttle the ref-friendly Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9, it will be a joy like none I have ever experienced as a sports fan, both because I still despise ex-Eagle coach Andy Reid and because I want to see what happens when Patrick Mahomes gets his ass kicked in the Super Bowl.
But let’s save all of that fun speculation for next week, when we explore why the Eagles are a better team than the Chiefs and why the only thing standing in their way are those seven guys with striped shirts.
For now, we need to step back and enjoy the historic nature of the Eagles’ 55-23 demolition of the Washington Commanders.
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There is never a time when I laugh during an Eagles game. The stakes are too high, my emotions too strained, for me ever to find anything funny.
After a win, sure.
Never during a game, however, before the final score favors the Eagles.
But there I was, screeching with delight at something I had never seen in an NFL game, and I have been a devout fan for over 60 years. With the score 34-23 early in the fourth quarter, the officials warned the Commanders that they would award a touchdown to the Eagles if the Washington defenders kept hurtling over the line during the now infamous Tush Push.
Linebacker Frankie Luvu twice dove before the snap, flying in the air past center Cam Jurgens and into quarterback Jalen Hurts. Eventually, the Eagles scored to make the game a blowout, but all I could think about was how silly the Commanders looked in trying to foil a play that almost always works.
Has a team’s futility ever been more obvious than in that sequence of plays?
Has a team ever announced more clearly to the world that it had no answers than right then, when they simply couldn’t stop Hurts from crossing the goal line and ending their season?
The truth is, the Commanders had no answers for anything the Eagles were doing on Sunday. It took Saquon Barkley one play – 18 seconds – to run 60 yards for a touchdown. They knew he was having one of the greatest seasons in running-back history, and they had no clue how to stop him. He gained almost eight yards per carry, and scored three touchdowns.
They also knew A.J. Brown was the biggest threat in the passing game, but he still managed six big catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, they knew the Eagles were ranked No. 1, and yet they offered nothing new or surprising, despite the undeniable talents of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
And everyone knows the key to every playoff game is turnovers, but Washington lost that battle decisively. The Commanders had four. The Eagles had none.
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Some other observations on a Sunday to be treasured. . . .
- Cam Jurgens embodies the indomitable spirit of his predecessor, Jason Kelce. After Landon Dickerson went down with a knee injury, Jurgens entered the game – bad back and all – rather than see the Eagles go to their third-string center. Jurgens is listed at 302 pounds, all of it heart.
- Jalen Hurts indeed can throw the ball effectively when needed. Everyone has been so concerned about his meager passing numbers during Barkley’s breakout season. Relax. Hurts went 20 for 28, covering 246 yards and zero turnovers. He knows what it takes to win.
- The Shawn Hochuli officiating crew did a terrific job letting the players play. Except for all of the offsides calls against Washington when they were trying to stop the Tush Push, the refs called 10 penalties in the game, five for each team. Perfect.
- Zack Baun remains the story of the season on defense, with 12 more tackles against Washington, including a huge forced fumble. GM Howie Roseman gets a ton of credit, deservedly, for signing Saquon Barkley as a free agent. Well, please don’t forget about Baun. He has been amazing, too.
- My wife Gail asked me this, and I will pass it on to you. Is it sad to you that the Eagles are going back to the Super Bowl with Jason Kelce in the broadcast booth instead of on the field? It is to me, only because Kelce set a standard of excellence that remained after he retired. (I would have loved to see him beat his brother Travis, too.)
- Maybe it’s just because the Eagles won so easily, but I actually, for the first time, enjoyed the commentary of Fox rookie analyst Tom Brady, I thought he offered quick, smart insights, and even a chuckle or two. Gail asked me near the end of the game if Brady was the same announcer I had been whining about. Not Sunday. I thought he was really, really good..
- For the 12th consecutive time in the playoffs since 2021, the Chiefs got the best of the officiating in their 32-29 win over Buffalo. They were penalized – ready for this? – a grand total of 11 yards. And the bogus replay decisions in their favor only made the situation worse. Is this just a coincidence? Or are these business decisions endorsed by an NFL that is obsessed with TV ratings? You decide. (I already have, of course.) More on this next week.
- The Philadelphia Eagles are going back to the Super Bowl.
(In case you missed the top of the column.)