The biggest matchup in Sunday’s wild-card playoff game might be Vic Fangio’s Eagles defense vs. Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense. But in another universe, Fangio could have been back on the other sideline alongside Shanahan.
Fangio had a brief tenure as defensive coordinator with San Francisco from 2011-14 under Jim Harbaugh, but he left the team when Harbaugh was fired at the end of the 2014 season.
Shanahan revealed that he has tried to bring Fangio back to the Bay numerous times since then, but something’s always gotten in the way, including in 2022, after DeMeco Ryans left to become head coach of the Texans. Shanahan hoped to hire Fangio to replace him, but two days earlier, Fangio ended up signing with Miami.
“I’ve tried all the times that there’s been an opportunity,” Shanahan told reporters Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif. “Just, he’s always been with someone else when that’s happened. I mean, I tried really hard in ’17 when we first came here and I tried like two other times on separate occasions.
“Vic’s a guy that I’ve always respected, gone against a number of times before I became a head coach, so that’s why I respect him so much and through the process have been able to become friends with him.”
A number of successful defensive coordinators have coached under Shanahan, including Ryans and current defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who returned to the Niners in 2025 after a stint as head coach of the Jets.
Vic Fangio was the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2011-14.
But Shanahan calls Fangio the best he’s ever seen. In four games against Fangio, Shanahan’s offenses have averaged 10.3 points and 290 yards.
“I mean, Vic schematically, he has always been the best to me,” Shanahan said. “As good as anyone there is. Has a very sound scheme that he doesn’t need to change up very much. It just naturally changes with how he does his coverages, how he does his fronts, the personnel groupings he does. He’s very good at getting a bead on what you’re trying to do and making you adjust.
The fourth season of The Traitors officially premieres Thursday night on Peacock, and it will feature a few Philly-adjacent stars, including Donna Kelce.
Whether you’re a reality TV aficionado or just hearing about the show for the first time, here’s everything you need to know about the show before you tune in …
What is ‘The Traitors?’
If you’ve never seen The Traitors, it’s basically a big-budget version of the party game “Mafia.” It’s also similar to The Mole, which, like The Traitors, is a spinoff of a Dutch-language show. It’s wildly popular globally, with over two dozen countries having their own version, and nearly a dozen more international spinoffs on the way.
In the American version, host Alan Cumming whisks the cast away to his castle in Scotland, and selects a handful of players to serve as “Traitors,” who then have to “kill” — or eliminate — the other contestants, known as “Faithfuls.” At the end of every episode, there’s a roundtable, where contestants interrogate and confront one another to pick one player to banish, with the goal of eliminating all of the traitors. In the middle, contestants compete in challenges to grow the cash prize pot, which can get up to $250,000. The Faithfuls win if they can eliminate all the Traitors and make it to the end, but if any Traitors make it to the finale, they keep the prize money for themselves.
Past contestants include former Bachelor stars like Gabby Windey and Peter Weber, iconic Survivor contestants like Boston Rob and Parvati Shallow, and members of the Real Housewives franchise like Phaedra Parks and Dolores Catania. Zac Efron’s brother, Dylan, won Season 3 of The Traitors despite no past reality TV experience, so Donna wouldn’t be the first nepo-Traitors winner. There’s also usually a random old British guy.
Host Alan Cumming won an Emmy for outstanding reality competition program for “The Traitors.”
Who is in the Season 4 cast?
For Philadelphians, Kelce might be the biggest name, but Olympic figure skaters with local ties (Johnny Weir, Coatesville, and Tara Lipinski, Sewell, N.J.) will also factor into this season, ahead of the Winter Olympics in February.
“That was so much fun, just being able to do that, especially at my age, it was just a blast,” Kelce told the Kansas City Star. “The [Scottish] Highlands are absolutely gorgeous. The people were so kind. And it just was kind of like a dream to be able to do something like that and to interact with individuals on such a high level.
“And it was a little bit daunting when it comes to some of the missions, but it was fun. It really was. It was a good time.”
Here’s the full cast list:
Donna Kelce
Johnny Weir
Tara Lipinski
Lisa Rinna, Real Housewives
Dorinda Medley, Real Housewives (and Traitors Season 3)
Rob Cesternino, Survivor
Natalie Anderson, Survivor
Tiffany Mitchell, Big Brother
Ian Terry, Big Brother
Yam Yam Arocho, Survivor
Monet X Change, RuPaul’s Drag Race
Colton Underwood, The Bachelor
Mark Ballas, Dancing with the Stars
Porsha Williams, Real Housewives
Candiace Bassett, Real Housewives
Maura Higgins, Love Island
Eric Nam, singer
Ron Funches, comedian
Rob Rausch, Love Island
Kristen Kish, Top Chef
Stephen Colletti, actor
Michael Rapaport, actor
Caroline Stanbury, Real Housewives
Can Donna Kelce win ‘The Traitors?’
“Missions” plural? Could Mama Kelce be sticking around for a while?
Shortly after she was revealed to be a part of the cast, the three Kelce boys — Jason, Travis, and their father, Ed — discussed the matriarch’s chances on the show … but only after the brothers explained to dad what the show was all about. However, once they explained the game, Ed’s response was to snore.
“I haven’t got a [expletive] clue,” he said when asked about Donna’s chances. “I don’t know, I’m not a reality TV show type of person.”
Before their mother joined The Traitors cast, the Kelce brothers revealed they were fans of the show, but neither thought they would do well, especially if picked to be a traitor.
The first three episodes of the show will premiere on Peacock Thursday at 9 p.m. ET (although last season, they usually ended up dropping early, at around 8:30 p.m.). New episodes will premiere each subsequent Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. There will be 12 episodes total, including the reunion show, which is hosted by Andy Cohen.
Here’s a look at the full schedule:
Jan. 8: Episodes 1-3
Jan. 15: Episodes 4-5
Jan. 22: Episode 6
Jan. 29: Episode 7
Feb. 5: Episode 8
Feb. 12: Episode 9
Feb. 19: Episode 10
Feb. 26: Episode 11 (the finale) & Reunion
If you can’t wait, a pair of clips showing the contestants’ arrival at Cumming’s castle were recently unveiled.
On Tuesday evening, a few days ahead of the Eagles’ wild-card round matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, Center City bar Ladder 15 received an email, with a group of 100-200 people looking to book out the space over the weekend.
The only problem? It was a large group of Niners fans, looking for a place to take over on Friday night in preparation for Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Manager Steve Dowling, who handles event bookings at the bar, sent the email to fellow manager Joe Chilutti, who was at Tuesday’s Flyers game against Anaheim. The two lifelong Eagles fans quickly agreed they could not betray the city in a time like this.
“After very little consideration, we cannot in good conscience host anything that has to do with the 49ers,” the bar wrote back in response, in an email they shared on Instagram. “We’re Birds fans til the end. We Bleed Green. We Back our team even when it comes at a cost. Only reason I wish you luck, is because the 49ers are going to need it.”
“Was there a little part of me that felt bad sending that email? Somewhat, but minuscule,” Dowling said. “But what I felt better about was that we were backing our city.”
That said, turning down a large group did mean turning down a fair amount of money. Chilutti knew they couldn’t sell out by taking in a big group of opposing fans on playoff weekend, and Ladder 15 happily made that sacrifice — but he decided to post it on Instagram in hopes of making a funny moment out of it, and maybe attracting a little more attention to the bar.
The post quickly went viral on social media, and Chilutti’s phone has been blowing up ever since. Even if it hadn’t, though, no regrets.
“Obviously money’s green to us, and we love it and we need it in order to survive as a business,” Dowling said. “But in a weekend like this, going into the playoffs, the only green we really want to see is Birds green.”
That was the message from Flyers fans for former top prospect Cutter Gauthier on Tuesday in his second career game in Philadelphia — at least on some of the pregame signs.
If fans had somewhat gotten over the whole ordeal in warmups, Tuesday’s game — a 5-2 Flyers win over the Anaheim Ducks — unfolded perfectly to hook them back in.
“The crowd was outstanding,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “I remember the days when I played, that’s a loud building tonight. They were awesome. I think they really gave our team some juice. Even when they scored the first goal, they didn’t let up.”
Colin Meehan, a 19-year-old St. Joseph’s student, came armed with a sign he made with a picture of Jamie Drysdale and a picture of Gauthier to support the player the Flyers received in the trade out of Philly that Gauthier forced nearly two years ago.
Drysdale is having the best season of his young career, but Meehan still wondered pregame what could have been if Gauthier hadn’t asked out.
“Imagine if we had Trevor Zegras, [Matvei] Michkov, Cutter, [Travis] Konecny, we would have been unstoppable,” Meehan said. “I feel like we would have been first in the league.
“Jamie, he’s not a quitter,” Meehan added. “I’ll tell you that. He tried with the Ducks. The Ducks didn’t want him. We’ll happily take him.”
St. Joseph’s student Colin Meehan yells at Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier as he skates by during warmups before Tuesday’s game.
While Gauthier still got a healthy round of boos as the Ducks took the ice for warmups, most of the signs lining the glass weren’t about him at all. Many celebrated the addition of former Duck Trevor Zegras, who was playing his first game against his old team.
Gauthier did have a small group of supporters in the form of two Boston College students from Philadelphia who, for the second year in a row, made a sign supporting the player who’d brought their college hockey team to the national championship game.
“I think it’s a lot to put on someone who’s 21, 22 years old,” one of the students said. “It might be really loud in here and people are rooting against you, but there is someone in the building who’s rooting for you.”
Compared to his first game here last year, the proceedings in warmups were civil. Instead of a raucous crowd shouting expletives the entire warmup, fans mostly stayed quiet after the Ducks had taken the ice.
When the puck dropped, though, fans started chanting “We want Cutter!” Once Gauthier was on the ice, he was greeted by a loud chorus of boos.
But Gauthier quieted the crowd by scoring the first goal of the game to give Anaheim an early lead, and he gave it back to the crowd.
Not to be outdone, Zegras scored against his former team to tie it at 1 later in the first, and then hung up the phone on the Ducks, which he said postgame was meant to mimic the length of the phone call he got when he found out he was getting traded.
Zegras scored his second goal of the game from the same spot a few minutes later, pumping up the already-juiced crowd even more.
“This is home for me,” Zegras said. “I love being here. These guys are amazing. I’m having a blast, but it’s always going to feel good playing them for sure.”
But the game took a more somber turn after Ross Johnston checked Drysdale behind the play. Drysdale was down on the ice for a long time and nearly left the game on a stretcher, but he ultimately stood up and left the ice on his skates with assistance. The crowd rang out with a supportive “Jamie’s better” chant.
Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier carries the puck during second period while facing the Flyers on Tuesday.
Drysdale’s injury took some of the bite out of the crowd, but, as the game continued, Flyers fans got back in the hating spirit.
As the Flyers closed out their win, chants cursing Gauthier continued to ring out, and the team left the ice to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd.
It wasn’t quite as raucous as a year ago, but the crowd still created a playoff-type atmosphere. Cam York said postgame that what’s important now is continuing to play meaningful games so that Xfinity Mobile Arena doesn’t get loud only once a year.
“Pretty crazy, great atmosphere, felt like a playoff game,” York said. “It was really cool, a little bit different when there’s so much noise during the play, but I think I’d probably rather have it that way.”
The No. 2 seed in the NFC was on the line on Sunday during the late window — but Nick Sirianni and the Eagles instead chose to rest their starters against Washington. The Birds needed the Bears to lose to have a shot at it, but the two games were unfolding simultaneously.
Instead of playing for the win and hoping for a Bears loss, the Birds looked forward to the playoffs. But some other former NFL coaches didn’t understand that decision, including Rex Ryan.
“If we had a chance for the two seed? Hell yeah, you’re playing the whole game, we’ll rest in the offseason,” Ryan said of the Eagles’ opportunity to guarantee themselves a second home playoff game if they advance past the San Francisco 49ers.
"One thing I know about Philly, they are hard as hell to beat in the playoffs at home." 👀
The Birds earned the No. 2 seed in 2024, and had home-field advantage until the Super Bowl thanks to last year’s No. 1 seed, the Detroit Lions, losing in the divisional round. This year, the third-seeded Eagles could potentially get just one home game, Sunday’s wild-card round game against San Francisco.
“I don’t understand Nick Sirianni not playing for the 2 seed Sunday,“ Peter King wrote in his newsletter. ”Makes no sense. If you’re the 2 seed and you win the Wild Card game, you’re home for two playoff games. If you’re the 3 seed and the 2 seed wins the Wild Card game, you’re home for only one playoff game. Seems like a missed opportunity to me, sitting so many of your guys in a game you’d likely win. Sirianni said he opted for resting guys who needed it. We’ll see if impacts the next two weeks.”
Chad Johnson, however, disagreed. The former wide receiver said giving the players the week off and not concerning themselves with the results of the other teams was the best path forward, to make sure everyone was good to go for the games that matter.
“Honestly, I like it, especially with the way they’ve looked,” Johnson said on Nightcap. “They’ve been up and down all season long. It’s one game or go home. It doesn’t matter where we’re seeded. We still have to play the game.”
Former Eagles defensive end Chris Long agreed that due to the injuries along the offensive line, it was best to just rest everyone to avoid anyone else getting hurt ahead of the playoffs. After the previous game against the Commanders ended in a scuffle, Long believes it was also the safest outcome.
“It’s a bit of a rockhead take, but if Jalen Hurts were playing in that game, [Commanders LB Frankie] Luvu would have done some crazy [expletive] to him,” Long said on his Green Light podcast. “Dudes were head hunting. … You had to rest the offensive line. That’s the crux of it. That offensive line is hanging on by a thread. Jalen out there without that offensive line, it’s going to be terrible.”
Hurts — and the rest of the Eagles starters — will be back out on the field Sunday when they host the Niners at 4:30 p.m.
The Eagles dropped the final game of the regular season, 24-17, to the Commanders, locking them into the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and a matchup with the 49ers.
If you were at Lincoln Financial Field for the game, here’s everything you missed on the broadcast of the regular-season finale:
Mr. Smith goes for 1,000 vs. Washington
The Birds’ offensive starters sat out Sunday’s game — except for DeVonta Smith (well, also Tyler Steen).
Since Smith went into Sunday’s game just 44 yards shy of a 1,000-yard receiving season, the team wanted to get him on the field to have a chance at hitting that milestone for the third year, play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan said.
Smith surpassed 1,000 yards on a 27-yard catch to end the first quarter and promptly left the game, and he was all smiles on the sideline with Nick Sirianni.
Josh Johnson’s age is nothing but a number that is a major storyline
Commanders third-string quarterback Josh Johnson, who started Sunday, has played for 14 NFL teams since he was first drafted in 2008 — plus stints in the Alliance of American Football and the XFL.
Eagles fans are most familiar with him after he replaced an injured Brock Purdy in the 2023 NFC championship game in San Francisco, but the 39-year-old made just his 11th career start in Sunday’s season finale.
CBS listed all of his NFL stops. Johnson has played for five teams at least twice, including Baltimore, San Francisco, Cincinnati, the Jets, and Washington.
Reed Blankenship, like most of the other defensive starters, spent the game on the sideline, resting for the playoffs.
But these Birds love football too much to stay away. After rookie Brandon Johnson got shaken up in the second quarter and left the game, Blankenship, who was suited up, tried to get in the game to replace him.
The coaches didn’t let him.
Jalen Hurts was bundled up for some Week 18 rest.
Cold-weather mode activated for Hurts
Jalen Hurts, on the other hand, was nowhere close to getting into the game. He was bundled up in a balaclava and a winter hat on the sideline, with only his eyes visible.
In these freezing temperatures, who could blame him? I bet more than one of you in the stands was sporting a similar look.
Respect your elders?
Eagles first-round linebacker Jihaad Campbell grew up a Birds fan in Gloucester Township, N.J., but he almost missed out on the opportunity to play with one of his childhood heroes, Brandon Graham, who famously retired a year ago and then unretired during this season.
“How funny was it when we asked Jihaad Campbell who some of his favorite Eagles were growing up, and his answer was Brandon Graham?” Ross Tucker, the color analyst for Sunday’s game, said.
“Who’s playing right now!” play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan interrupted.
“He said, in middle school everybody liked Brandon Graham,” Tucker said.
Ross Tucker knows the two-deep
Tucker, who is part of the broadcast team for Eagles preseason games and also hosts a Birds podcast, called Sunday’s game alongside Harlan.
With most of the Birds starters sitting out the game, there may not have been a man with any network more qualified to share their insights.
“I’m pretty much the foremost expert on the Eagles backups,” Tucker joked.
Daily double falls short
As the Lions-Bears game went down to the wire, Harlan found himself calling two games at once, providing updates on the game in Chicago while also calling the Eagles-Commanders game.
The Lions hit the game-winning field goal, which could have propelled the Eagles into the second seed, just as Tanner McKee’s pass fell incomplete on fourth down, virtually ending their hopes to win the game.
The Eagles pulled out a nail-biter in the rain in Buffalo, stopping the Bills’ final two-point conversion attempt to stave off a comeback and win, 13-12.
Here’s everything you might have missed from the broadcast:
Weather woes?
It poured all through Sunday’s game in Orchard Park, N.Y. Bills quarterback Josh Allen told sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi pregame that he’d actually rather it pour than drizzle.
“Drizzle is harder to control,” Rinaldi said. “He said if it’s going to rain, let it rain. I find the ball more tacky, and it’s easier to control the pass game.”
Analyst Tom Brady, for his part, shared that back when he was an NFL QB, he downloaded basically every weather app on his phone and checked Weather Channel “about 75 times a day” before a start, so he’d know how to prepare.
Fox got a ton of mileage out of shots of just how hard it was raining.
After the kickoff, the Birds took a 5-yard illegal formation penalty on the opening play because offensive lineman Fred Johnson came on the field for the first drive sans helmet.
“Then you have Fred Johnson, who went on the field without a helmet somehow,” play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt said.
“Felt the raindrops on his head and realized he made a mistake,” Brady said jokingly.
Facing Vic Fangio
Over the course of his decades-long NFL career, Brady faced Vic Fangio’s defenses a few times.
With the Eagles on pace for another elite season under Fangio, Brady shared his personal reaction to their defensive coordinator.
“Vic Fangio is the type of coordinator where, when you know you’re going up against him you go, ‘Ugh. Do we have to?’” Brady joked. “Such a talented coach; he’s been doing this for four decades. Pretty remarkable, his success.”
Bills running back James Cook is having the best year of his career, and entered Sunday’s game leading the NFL in rushing yards for the first time.
Barkley sent Cook a message on Instagram telling him to “go finish it,” and claim the NFL rushing title. But Barkley told sideline reporter Erin Andrews that he’s still extremely competitive and was looking to outplay Cook on Sunday.
He put up 68 yards on 19 carries, compared to Cook’s 74 yards on 20 carries.
Brady vs. Buffalo
There’s no love lost between Brady, a longtime New England Patriot, and the Bills fan base, which was at his mercy for nearly two decades. Even now, when Brady comes to Buffalo, he brings former teammate Rob Gronkowski, who’s from the Buffalo area, with him to serve as a bit of a human shield.
The former quarterback didn’t get a warm welcome on Sunday at Highmark Stadium, though.
“Warm embrace, a lot of people, that one-finger salute they were giving me as I looked down from the press box, reminding me how much they enjoyed me coming to town, I guess,” Brady said.
🤣 @TomBrady says he got a "warm" embrace from Bills fans today as they gave him a "one finger salute"
The Birds’ first turnover of the game came off a fumble by Allen that almost got ruled an incomplete forward pass.
With Brady on the call, you may have thought he would broach the subject. He’s famous for the controversial tuck rule play in an AFC divisional-round game during the 2001 season, in which he avoided a fumble because of his forward arm motion.
Unfortunately, he did not broach the subject. Rules expert Dean Blandino did, though.
“It was really close; I think that’s why they let it stand,” Blandino said. “To me, it looks like a pass because once that hand comes forward, until he brings it back toward his body, you know the old tuck rule, Tom, it remains a pass. They probably said it was too close to change.”
Mewing?
Bills coach Sean McDermott is from Lansdale and got his coaching start as an intern with the Birds under Andy Reid. In some ways, he and Nick Sirianni swapped places. Sirianni grew up in Jamestown, N.Y., in far Western New York.
“We knew he was a wideout at Mount Union when he went to college,” Burkhardt said. “How about Southwestern Central High, in Jamestown? Look at him, looking lean and mean.”
Tom, you’re in your 40s, you shouldn’t know what mewing is. But for those of you who don’t know, it’s a facial expression that’s become a popular TikTok trend.
The two-point conversion
The Bills battled all the way back in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns, including one in the final five seconds. McDermott elected to go for two to effectively end the game, and Allen’s pass missed receiver Khalil Shakir by several yards. Fox caught him looking visibly frustrated after the miss.
On Monday at Xfinity Mobile Arena, Flyers fans would boo the Vancouver Canucks, like they do with every opposing team.
But one Canuck, defenseman Tyler Myers, had a cheering section to drown out the noise, led by his half brother, 76ers guard Quentin Grimes.
Grimes and Myers are the only pair of brothers to ever play in the NHL and NBA.
Their mother “gets on my dad a lot about who’s got the best genes in the family,” Grimes said jokingly. “She gets the bragging rights on that.”
Myers was born Feb. 1, 1990, 10 years before Grimes was born, in Houston. His father Paul, a former college hockey player, encouraged him to put on skates. Their mother, Tonja Stelly, and later Grimes’ father, Marshall Grimes, both former college basketball players, taught Myers how to play basketball.
“He said he had a pretty good crossover and stuff like that,” Grimes said. “He definitely [has] a little bit of game to him, for sure.”
When Grimes was much younger, he said the two sometimes would try and play one-on-one. “Just messing around, trying to play against the tallest guy I’ve ever seen,” he said. Myers is one of the NHL’s tallest players, standing at 6-foot-8, compared to Grimes, who is 6-4.
The brothers never lived together. Myers left Texas shortly after Grimes was born to live in Calgary with his father, where he grew into a professional hockey player. Grimes stayed behind in Texas, but the two of them would see each other as often as they could during the summer or school breaks.
Sixers guard Quentin Grimes has a half brother who plays for the Vancouver Canucks.
Myers became a mainstay in the NHL while Grimes established himself as a top basketball prospect. When Grimes was a junior in high school, the two got back in regular touch, with Grimes tapping into Myers’ years of experience as a professional athlete as he was just starting out.
“It’s been growing ever since I got pretty good at basketball,” Grimes said. “My mom was asking him some stuff to help me be a professional: eating habits, how to take care of your body, and stuff like that.”
The Canucks defenseman is one of just 28 active players to play more than 1,100 games in the NHL, a feat he has accomplished over 17 seasons. Myers had one goal and eight points this season. Grimes, in his fifth NBA season, is averaging a career-best 15.3 points for the Sixers.
The sports might be different, but the daily routines of the NBA and NHL schedules are nearly identical. They play 82 regular-season games from fall to spring, with a similar playoff and travel structure.
That means that whenever Grimes is going through something, Myers said usually has experienced it, too, and they’ll talk about it.
“Watching him on the court, you can tell his confidence and his mindset just have come such a long way,” Myers said. “I remember that progression when I was a young kid from 20 to 25, it looked very, very similar.”
Tyler Myers (left) of the Vancouver Canucks pursues former Flyer Cam Atkinson during a game in 2023.
Grimes said Myers has been critical in teaching him how to be a pro. He’s nowhere close to Myers’ longevity in his sport, but seeing the habits and routines up close helped him transition into the league.
“Listening to your body if you have nagging injuries,” Grimes said. “[Myers would] always say that he would take some lighter days or try to do that. Early in my career, I would just try to grind and grind and grind, and then an injury gets worse, and your body just breaks down a little bit.”
Myers, who has played in cities that don’t have NBA teams his entire career, has seen Grimes play in person in the NBA only once, when the Canucks’ extended road trip to New York gave him a day off on a night with a Knicks home game.
Unfortunately, Grimes played just a few seconds before he suffered an injury and missed the rest of the game.
“I showed up a couple minutes in; the game had started already,” Myers said. “A couple minutes went by, he came in, and like a minute later, he was laying on the floor, hurt. I was bad luck that day, and that was the only time I’ve been able to overlap with him.”
One day, Myers hopes to have another opportunity to see his younger brother play a full game in person, but he’s been following his career from afar. Grimes is a bit luckier — he gets to see Myers play about once a year, including on Monday night for the first time in Philly, since all the teams he has played on have been in cities with NHL teams of their own. He also has made trips to Vancouver and Buffalo.
“This is fun for me, to be a fan,” Grimes said. “Get rowdy, because hockey fans are completely different from NBA fans. They get real rowdy. I like to get rowdy with them, talk a lot of smack with the other fans if they’re in the arena.”
The Canucks had a cheering section at least 12 strong at the Flyers’ arena, including Grimes, their mother, and several other family members making the trip to celebrate having both brothers together around the holidays. The Canucks ultimately lost the game, 5-2, but Myers still gave them something to cheer about, earning a secondary assist on Vancouver’s first goal.
Myers, who now has three children of his own, couldn’t remember the last time they had a group this big together around the holiday season.
“Having this so close to Christmastime is a little bit more special,” Grimes said ahead of the game. “Knowing that Christmas is around the corner, our mom came up, a lot of our family came up for the game, so it’ll be pretty special.”
If you want to relive the big win, here were the best and worst moments from the broadcast:
Tush Push
Surprisingly, on an early fourth-and-1 near midfield, the Birds didn’t line up for their signature Tush Push play. Instead, Jalen Hurts set up in shotgun, and the Eagles unsuccessfully attempted to draw the Commanders offside.
Analyst Greg Olsen didn’t hate the decision to fake the fourth-down attempt — but thought the Birds tried it with the wrong formation.
“If you’re going to do it, make it look like quarterback sneak,” Olsen said. “Get under center. Those defensive linemen are champing at the bit trying to defend the Tush Push. Maybe a little more likely. You line up in the gun, you do some shifts and motions, it doesn’t have the same effect.”
After the Birds’ successful two-point conversion made it 29-10 with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter, we got a full-scale brawl worthy of the Broad Street Bullies.
“This has turned into a full-blown shoving match,” play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis said. “Tyler Steen is throwing punches.”
After Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez appeared to gain a first down on a second-quarter rushing play, replay review overturned it, forcing a fourth-and-1. Dan Quinn elected to challenge the call anyway.
“They’re going to challenge the challenge!” Davis said. “Replay, take a look at the replay that you just replayed.”
After a commercial break, the call stood, as expected.
“Replay room saying, ‘Did we stutter?’” Davis said, after returning from commercial to the call standing on the field.
The Commanders still converted the fourth down and scored a touchdown on that possession, though.
Tush Push Part 2
There’s never been more attention on the Tush Push than this season, after the NFL spent the offseason debating whether to ban the play.
But as the season began, the conversation shifted toward the Eagles’ offensive line, and whether the Birds were gaining their advantage by jumping early on the play. Since then, it’s been officiated pretty harshly, including two false-start penalties on Saturday.
“These officials have incredible eyes, because we’re looking, I don’t know the fancy terms of frames per second, but we’re looking at super slow-mo, and he is moving a frame early,” Olsen said after Landon Dickerson’s third-quarter false start. “That’s how they want this enforced. If they’re going to let Philly continue to run this, which I am a huge proponent of the quarterback sneak and the way Philly does it, I think it’s a huge weapon and they should be allowed to do it, but obviously they’re going to officiate it very tightly.”
Has the discourse over the play moved it too far in the opposite direction? Olsen wasn’t sure.
“That is a fraction, I think we can get carried away trying to overdo it, but his hands do move,” Olsen said. “That official’s got good eyes.”
Marcus Mariota’s injury
Josh Johnson, famous to Eagles fans for his appearance in the NFC championship game for the 49ers following the 2022 season, made an appearance of his own after Marcus Mariota suffered an injury.
Footage later showed that Nolan Smith accidentally stepped on his hand, and Mariota was seen with a bandage on his right hand on the bench later in the game.
Josh Johnson was pressed into action after Commanders starting quarterback Marcus Mariota went down. Here, he’s being tackled by Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith.
Road warriors
After the Birds’ third touchdown, Davis remarked on the game as a reflection of their 2025 season.
“This game is kind of emblematic of the whole year for Philadelphia — not easy, but they’re in front,” Davis said. “They’ve grown this lead, silenced this crowd.”
The first part is mostly true, but Joe, I don’t know what stadium you were in, but it sounded pretty darn loud every time the Eagles did anything on the broadcast. The “COOP” after the Cooper DeJean interception spoke for itself.
The Eagles also hit a great celebration afterward.
Cooper DeJean and the #Eagles defense just hit a Five Knuckle Shuffle celebration after their INT. 🔥
2025 has been Jordan Davis’ breakout year, but Joe Davis said Saturday was “the game of his life,” with six tackles and two tackles for losses.
“He’s having an unbelievable season,” Olsen said.
“I don’t know if he’s making that tackle in previous years,” Joe Davis said. “He dropped about 25 pounds this offseason, and he’s been a different guy. He thanks Peloton and Ally Love rides for helping him drop all that weight.”
If you haven’t read this great Alex Coffey story about Love, you’re missing out.
The last team to win a Super Bowl with as large a disparity between the defense and the offense was the 2015 Denver Broncos, who rode an elite defense to victory.
But Olsen is not as concerned with the offense as it seems like a lot of the fans are.
“This offense is better than people give it credit,” Olsen said. “There’s something about this Eagles offense that, I think they’re better than their stats; I think they’re better than their trends. The talent, the fact that they just went on a historic run just a year ago.”
It’s a short(-ish) week for the Eagles, who are set for the NFL’s first Saturday slate of the year, and with another NFC East title on the line.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Eagles-Commanders game…
How to watch
The game will kick off on Fox from Northwest Stadium at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Joe Davis and Greg Olsen will call the game from the booth, with Pam Oliver on the sideline.
If you’d rather listen to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick call the game, the radio broadcast can be found on 94.1 WIP, and if you want to watch the game with your fellow Birds fans, here are a few spots to check out.
Final Week 16 injury report
The Eagles ruled out Lane Johnson (foot) and Jalen Carter (shoulders) for Saturday’s game against the Commanders. Neither player practiced all week.
Tight end Cam Latu (stinger) and offensive tackle Cameron Williams (shoulder; injured reserve) are listed as questionable to play.
The battered Commanders, meanwhile, issued a lengthy injury report on Thursday.
The Eagles are 6.5-point favorites at DraftKings and FanDuel, with the total set at 44.5 points at both sportsbooks. For more betting props, check out our betting guide here.
It could help the Eagles in the seeding picture if the Packers overtake the Bears in the NFC North.
Eagles playoff picture
The Birds can clinch a playoff berth with a win or Cowboys loss this week. The Eagles have the NFC East nearly locked up — in order to lose the division to the Cowboys, the team would need to lose all three remaining games, and the Cowboys would need to win all three.
In the conference standings, the Birds are in third, one game back of the Chicago Bears and 2½ games back of the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks (12-3) overtook the Rams (11-4) with a win over L.A. on Thursday night. The Eagles and Packers both have nine wins, but the Packers have one tie on their record. If the Packers manage to overtake the Bears, the Eagles do own the tiebreaker against them.
Story lines to watch
Can the Eagles continue to cruise against a bad team?
The Commanders haven’t followed up their NFC Championship game appearance the way they hoped. Jayden Daniels is shut down for the year because of injury, and the Commanders sit at a dismal 4-10. It’s the second game in a row where the Birds will face one of their former backups, with Marcus Mariota set to start for Washington.
The Eagles took care of business against the Raiders, shutting out Las Vegas in the second-shortest game in recorded NFL history. Going for the record this week?
1: The Eagles’ magic number to clinch a playoff berth
Our Eagles vs. Commanders predictions
Here’s how our beat writers are predicting Saturday’s game:
Jeff McLane: “[Marcus] Mariota has three lost fumbles and the running backs collectively have four. I think the Eagles will take the ball away a few times. And as long as they win the turnover battle, I see a victory. It might not be the cakewalk some have predicted, but despite all the outside dissatisfaction about the team this season, the Eagles exit Northwest Stadium with a second straight division crown. Eagles 30, Commanders 20
Olivia Reiner: “The big question facing the Eagles offense going forward: Can it sustain the success it established in the win over the Raiders? The Eagles ought to have a good chance of doing so against the Commanders in two of their final three games. Even with Dan Quinn taking over the defensive coordinator duties, Washington still has struggled against the pass and the run.” Eagles 28, Commanders 20.
Jeff Neiburg: But the Eagles should be ready to pounce Saturday. They’re facing another team starting a backup quarterback. They’re facing an even worse defense than the one they beat up on Sunday. And they can clinch the NFC East with a victory. It’s hard to envision that not happening Saturday night. Eagles 27, Commanders 13.
National media predictions
Here’s how the national media is predicting Saturday’s game.
What we’re saying about the Eagles
Here’s a look at the latest from our columnists, starting with Mike Sielski, who broke down why the Eagles are about to win the NFC East again.
Sielski: Whatever crises the Eagles might be undergoing are framed through a different lens from any other team in the division. They judge themselves and are judged by the answer to one question: Are we good enough to win the Super Bowl? Their divisional foes’ standard has not been quite as high: Are we good enough to keep from embarrassing ourselves again?
Marcus Hayes: “Which brings us to the 9-5 Eagles, who, contrary to much of the commentary and punditry, are nearing the end of a very good season. Saquon Barkley isn’t going to break rushing records this season, and the passing game hasn’t equaled its pedigree, and the defense won’t finish ranked No. 1, but none of that matters. What matters is who they beat, who they lost to, and where they stand.”
What the Commanders are saying about the Eagles
This year’s Commanders team has been struggling mightily compared to last year, which made the NFC Championship game. But coach Dan Quinn is still taking things away from their three matchups last year.
“Playing against us last year in the three games, they were exceptional at taking the ball away,” Quinn said. “I thought that was the biggest deal for us. … And offensively, I thought from a line standpoint, the size, the movement, the pulling, Jeff Stoutland is one of the best there is in the offensive line spot. … I think it’s a good balance of what they have from the run game and the shots down the field with Jalen [Hurts]. Those are kind of the yin and yang of a good offense.”
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury: “It’s certainly a tough matchup. They’ve been playing at a super high level, defensively. I think they gave up less than 90 yards last week against Las Vegas. So, it’s going to be a great challenge. They can roll in five, six guys deep that all play at a pretty high level. They can rush the passer, can stop the run. So, you got to be creative in how you attack them and we’ll have our hands full, there’s no doubt.”
Quarterback Marcus Mariota: “[They have] a great defense, Vic [Fangio] got them playing really well. You can talk about every single player on that front and on the back end. They’re great players. Being there for a year and being around those guys, it’ll be fun to play against some of those old friends. I’m looking forward to it. It’s always a great atmosphere to play Philly. It’ll be a fun game on Saturday.”
What else we’re reading (and watching)
🎁 Saquon Barkley’s foundation hosts toy drive for local children
🏈 Jalen Hurts gave a fan a touchdown ball. What happened next led to a lawsuit.
