The Eagles Know How to Win
Sept. 29, 2025
Let’s try a different approach today after being wrong about the Eagles for the past two seasons. Maybe I have to regard their current 10-game winning streak (including the Super Bowl) with more respect and appreciation.
If 10 straight wins (and 19 out of 20) is not an occasion to tamp down my usual negativity, then what is? Though at times their success defies logic, these Eagles have mastered the art of winning.
It’s pretty stupid to complain about that, isn’t it?
After four weeks of the 2025 season, there are only two of the 32 teams with 4-0 records (the Eagles and Bills). The fact that all four Birds wins came down to the final seconds doesn’t change the fact that they won them all.
So, let’s run down the reasons for the success so far:
Jalen Hurts is the biggest one, by far. His calmness under pressure, his ability to slide past rushers and either spot a receiver or run for the first down are elite – better than every other NFL QB including Lamar Jackson.
I know very little about college football, but the notion that legendary coach Nick Saban chose Tua Tagovaiola over Hurts to lead Alabama a while back seems absurd now. Hurts is one of the smartest, most talented quarterbacks I have ever seen. Tua is proof that talent alone is not enough.
When the TV camera picks up defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in his booth calling plays, my visceral reaction is confidence. I feel more certain of Fangio’s acumen than any Eagles assistant since Jim Johnson. Vic knows how to assimilate young players into his system, he revives dormant careers by accentuating their strengths and he seems best in the biggest moments.
I watched the game on Sunday with Arson Arnie, Kenny Justice and the great Doc John Scanlon, and none of us expressed much optimism when the Birds lead shrunk to 31-23 in the fourth quarter.
At that point Tampa had a huge advantage, with the momentum, with the clutch reputation of QB Baker Mayfield and especially with a heat index of 103. Tampa plays in that weather all the time. The Eagles do not.
So what happened in those final minutes? The Birds forced an interception by rookie linebacker Jihad Campbell in the end zone and then closed out the win when Mayfield ran out of downs after a big sack by DT Moro Ojomo.
Fangio dialed up some terrific blitzes in those final series, a testament to his confidence in the reshaped defense. Fangio is one of the biggest reasons for that 10-game streak. No doubt about that.
And while we’re on the defensive side of the ball, there aren’t many NFL defenders playing at the level of CB Cooper DeJean and LB Zack Baun. It wasn’t so long ago (two seasons, actually) when the Eagles could cover no passes, short or long. Now, the coverage is a blanket.
Thank you, Vic Fangio.
On offense, center Cam Jurgens has been so good, no one even mentions Jason Kelce anymore. And Kelce is the greatest center in Eagles history.
Kicker Jake Elliott and punter Braden Mann have been huge plusses this season, especially when you consider that the Birds have scored two touchdowns on blocked kicks. No one is blocking those two big feet.
And OK, I grudgingly admit that my main early-season target of criticism, OC Kevin Patullo, designed some plays in the red zone (including the new twists to the Tush Push) against the Bucs that were creative and effective. (Normally, I would point out that his play-calling in the second half was atrocious, but I’m downsizing my negativity today.)
You may notice here that I haven’t mentioned many of the biggest stars on the team: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson (injured again), Jalen Carter and the MVP of last season, Saquon Barkley. The truth is, none of them are having great seasons so far.
And still, the wins are piling up.
Many people are trying to convince me that the real cause of all the winning is head coach Nick Sirianni. Sorry. I’m not there yet. I know lots of fans (including the ones at my house on Sunday) love when Sirianni acts like a fool on the sideline. I do not.
After the game, Sirianni – who had been heckling the opposition quarterback from the sideline all day – spoke about Baker Mayfield with great respect. Zzzzz. As usual, there was no clarity on why the coach thought it was smart to jaw with a gamer like Mayfield the whole game.
All that having been said, I cannot deny the 10 straight wins, the 19 of 20, the 4-0 start.
Sirianni wins.
How?
I have no idea.
I feel a responsibility at least to acknowledge that the Phillies have finally reached the only games that truly matter when you are a perennial playoff team. They will start the latest march to the World Series on Saturday right here in Philadelphia.
My first instinct is to write the Phillies off this October because they’re missing their best pitcher, Zack Wheeler. Of course, they were eliminated last year despite his brilliant one-hit effort against the Mets that was rudely interrupted by the robotic managing of Rob Thomson.
I will say it right now, Wheeler or no Wheeler, the biggest problem for the Phillies in the playoffs will be the stone face in the corner of the dugout. If Thomson manages with his spreadsheet instead of his brain, it will be another lost opportunity for perhaps the most talented roster in the franchise’s history.
The best thing I can say on this unusually positive Monday is that strange things happen in sports. The Eagles won their first Super Bowl with their top pitcher, Carson Wentz, on the sideline. Maybe history will repeat itself this fall.
Also, there is no great team in baseball this season. The Brewers had the best record, but they scare no one. The big-budget Dodgers have underperformed all year, and the wild-spending Mets were so bad, they didn’t even make the playoffs.
How great would it be if the Phillies won the World Series in the same year the Mets had another historic collapse?
Go, Phillies.
And if they don’t make it, go Rob Thomson.
As in: Leave. Depart. Retire.
(Hey I had to get one shot in, didn’t I?)