An Improbable Win, a Terrible Loss
Sept. 22, 2025
The Eagles cashed in another winning lottery ticket at the Linc in an impossibly lucky start to the 2025 season, but the death of an extraordinary sports hero made it a bittersweet day for everyone who ever got to meet Bernie Parent.
We will cover both stories today, happy and sad.
The Birds are now 3-0, and if you can explain how they got there, please feel free to take over this blog. The self-appointed expert (me) has no logical explanation for how a team can come out flat, have no apparent game plan on offense, and fend off what today is the easiest of field goals with not one, but two blocks in the fourth quarter.
Who among us thought the Eagles would launch a comeback after falling behind, 26-7, to the talented Rams? Not me. I still have a hard time believing the Birds won that game, just as I was puzzled (in a joyful way) over the dropped passes by CeeDee Lamb and Travis Kelce that handed them win the first two games.
I can pin down the main reason why the Birds won on Sunday. His name is Jalen Hurts, who somehow was able to overcome an onslaught of rushers and a dreadful game plan to win his 19th contest in the past 20.
Sorry, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, the best QB in the NFL is working in Philadelphia right now.
There’s no way to prove this, since coach Nick Sirianni would rather face a firing squad than reveal any truths about the inner workings of his championship team, but it sure did look like Hurts took over the strategy in the second half when he opened up the offense and used as his prime target a fellow named A.J. Brown.
In fact, after a successful drive brought the Eagles closer at 26-21, Hurts was spotted on the sideline howling at Patullo, shouting something along the lines of: “This is how we run the bleepin’ offense!”
My best guess is, Hurts took over in the second half, leading the Birds to three big touchdown drives before the blocked field goals saved the improbable victory.
I was not a Kevin Patullo fan before his first play-call this season, knowing that he got the job because of a friendship with the head coach and not his underwhelming resume. I am less a supporter now than ever, despite the 3-0 record.
If I were still interviewing the coach after every Eagles contest, the first question today would have been: “Could you please explain what the offensive game plan was against the Rams.”
Based on what I witnessed, it did not include Brown, it did not account for run-blocking, and it was designed to exploit, . . . . hell if I know what the offense was trying to do. What I do know is, it did the impossible. It managed to make all of the Eagles biggest weapons disappear for the first five possessions.
There was no room to run for Saquan – a recurring theme so far this season – and there were few, if any, calls for the best wide receiver in Eagles history. (How many games will it take before Patullo uses Brown the way the Rams use Puka Nacua? How many games will it take before the novice OC realizes Brown should never be ignored?)
The only time the Eagles scored before yielding 26 straight points was on a short field and with a drive punctuated by Tush Pushes. Nothing they had planned worked offensively until they opened it up, in desperation. Then – to the shock of no one but Kevin Patullo – Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Barkley showed what they could do when the shackles are removed.
I know it’s hard to believe that the Birds have a big problem, being undefeated and all, but they do. If that offensive coaching staff thought their game plan made sense when they ran out onto the field, well, they have no clue what they’re doing.
The Eagles have a problem at 3-0.
Kevin Patullo is that problem.
Stay tuned for further developments.
The antidote for the OC’s shortcomings clearly has been Hurts, who rises to occasions like no Eagles QB since Norm Van Brocklin, who serves as a leader on the sidelines, exhorting his defensive partners for one more stop, and, above all, who offers a calmness in times of panic.
The Eagles are 3-0 because Jalen Hurts is great.
Oh, yeah. They are also lucky. The drops that led to the first two wins were mistakes by the opponent. The blocked field goals were a product of the two human walls in the middle of the defensive line, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, but also a terrified kicker named Joshua Karty.
I predicted the second block when the Fox TV cameras showed Karty on the sidelines before the climactic kick. He looked like he had just seen the ghost of Scott Norwood. He did not appear to be breathing.
And while you’re at it, watch the trajectory of the second blocked field goal before Davis swatted it out of the air, picked it up and ran it back for a touchdown. It looks to me like a shank right from the start.
Bill Parcells famously said many years ago that an NFL team is exactly what its record says it is. In that case, the Eagles are perfect so far.
Even though, deep down, we know that’s not true.
I cannot lie. I didn’t enjoy the Eagles win nearly as much as the first two because of the news a few hours before kickoff that Bernie Parent, the greatest goaltender in Flyers history, had passed away at 80.
The last time I saw Bernie – who was everybody’s friend, including me – was at a Joe Conklin show last winter. He looked a bit frailer than I had remembered him, but his smile was as wide and his hug as strong as ever.
When Bernie turned 70, we did a special show at WIP honoring him. Fans called in all morning, thrilled to talk directly to their hero – though many weren’t even born when he won two Stanley Cups in 1974 and 75. All of them said the same thing: Bernie was a champ on and off the ice.
I will go further now. Bernie Parent was the only superstar I ever met who embraced the role of sports hero with genuine humility and unrelenting class. He saw his exalted place in life as a vehicle to bring joy to others. His ego was small, his heart huge.
Unlike most star athletes, Bernie didn’t think he was better than anybody else. Every room he ever walked into became more fun and more interesting the moment he crossed the threshold.
And no one loved women more than Bernie. With that charming French-Canadian accent and that chiseled face, he was a magnet for all women. He was old-school, hugging every one of them, often with a twinkle in his eye.
Today he might get in trouble with some of his benign antics. Back in his prime years, though, no one was complaining, man or woman. He made everybody feel special.
It’s such a cliché to say someone will be missed after they die.
Still, I will say it now.
Bernie Parent will be missed – like no one who came before him, and like no one who will arrive in the future.
Heaven just became a happier place now that Bernie Parent is there, tending goal and launching laughs.
On behalf of a sad city today, thank you, Bernie.