Author: Jeff McLane

When Byron Young’s father died earlier this year, he asked his mother for his dad’s key chain.

It’s not your normal key chain. It’s made from the end of a snapped belt, the key ring looping into one of the belt’s holes. There’s a date carved into the brown leather on one side. It’s faint now, but Young said he thinks it reads “7-1-9” for July 1, 2009.

“I think the date that was on the belt was the date that he cut the belt and put it on his key chain,” Young said. “I want to say the belt was broken or something, and he just put it on there. I don’t think there was any deeper meaning.”

But the chain has great significance to Young, the Eagles’ 6-foot-3, 292-pound defensive tackle. When he first linked it to his keys, he marked the other side of the belt with the date “4-7-25,” nearly 16 years after his father’s original carving and just a week after Kenny Young, 62, suffered a fatal heart attack.

“It’s just something that I knew he always carried around since that day, I believe,” Byron said, “and so it’s just something I want to keep with me.”

Young grabbed the key chain from his locker stall when a reporter recently asked how he kept his father’s memory alive, crying as he gripped the belt. He doesn’t hide his emotion. He said he gets that from his father, who openly shed tears when he spoke about his love for his family or God.

“I think a part of being masculine is being able to show your emotions and explain the way you feel and express the way you feel to other people,” Young said. “Not just balling everything up and thinking, ‘Oh, I’m a man. I can’t talk about this.’”

When Young found out his father had died back home in Mississippi on March 31, he drove to teammate Gabe Hall’s house, overcome with grief. They met just before the 2024 season and spent the next six months as part of the same position group, training side by side nearly every day during the offseason. The goal was to make the Eagles’ 53-man roster after having served mostly as reserves. But his father’s death put Young’s football plans on hiatus. He flew home the next day.

“I expected him to be gone for the rest of summer,” Hall said. “I was like, ‘OK, he’s not going back. I’m going to miss him.’ But he came right back. And he was like, ‘Bro, it’s time to get to work.’ When I saw that, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s my dog.’”

Hall said Young trained with a “chip on his shoulder” that motivated him. They played golf — along with former Eagles tackle Laekin Vakalahi — to break the monotony. And they sometimes spoke about Young’s father.

Hall said he did his best to keep his friend from ruminating on the loss. Young had all the inspiration he needed.

“A lot of working out, man, a lot of working out ’cause it’s what he would have wanted,” Young said of his father.

Young and Hall initially made the active roster. The latter was soon moved to the practice squad where he remains, while the former has played in every game this season as the Eagles’ fourth defensive tackle.

The 25-year-old Young said he doesn’t dwell on his father’s absence or his last moment with him because it was like so many.

“He wasn’t the type that didn’t tell you that he loved you. He wasn’t the type that didn’t tell you he was proud of you,” Young said. “He would always let you know, to the day that he passed, that ‘I’m proud of you; you’ve done a lot of great stuff.

“‘I love you.’”

‘A passionate person’

Young didn’t play in Super Bowl LIX in February. His season ended in October when the Eagles placed him on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. But he was in New Orleans for the game, as was his family, which made the two-hour drive south from Taylorsville, Miss.

His parents, Kenny and Melissa, were unable to get on the field at the Superdome to celebrate with Byron after the Eagles toppled the Kansas City Chiefs. But the family had a proper party back home a month later with Byron and his brothers Kendrick, Regrick, and Brandon, and sister Shavon.

A day later, the Youngs gathered after Sunday church services to celebrate the birthday of Melissa’s sister. At one point, Kenny stood up and delivered a speech. He loved to talk. But he also wanted to express his love for his two sisters-in-law.

“He shed a few tears. What’s crazy is my uncle told him, ‘You get up there talking like you about to leave us,’” Byron said. “It just so happened that he did. I don’t know if he knew, or I don’t think he knew, but I don’t think anybody had any idea.

“But, man, he was just always a passionate person.”

Kenny Young didn’t have anything close to an ideal upbringing, according to his wife and son. But he was a man of faith and found mentors through the Friendship Church of God in Christ in Collins, Miss. He had just ended a relationship when one day in church he prayed that his next girlfriend would become his wife, according to an oft-repeated family anecdote.

His plea was answered when he met Melissa in the library at the University of Southern Mississippi. She was a student, and he liked to go there to read the magazines. They started dating and married two years later.

Kenny was a “hands-on man,” as his wife described him. He worked on farms growing up and was mechanically inclined. He was a laborer at Georgia-Pacific and pulled the wood that the company manufactured into paper products.

The work was physically grinding. Byron recalled his father’s long hours and hearing his keys jingle in the early mornings as he was leaving for the next 12-hour shift. But Kenny also was a present dad to five children, Melissa said.

There were rules and discipline. He coached his sons in youth football and sometimes took them to chop firewood for parishioners who needed warmth during the winter months. He loved to joke and laugh.

“The best way to describe Kenny is he loved well,” Melissa said. “He had a great love, reverence for God, and he spoke the truth out of love, and he didn’t want anybody to go to hell. … He was a deacon in our church.”

Kenny had been promoted to less strenuous jobs in his later years at Georgia-Pacific. He was a lathe machine operator who “pushed buttons,” Byron said, to keep wood on the straight and narrow. He could have retired, Melissa said, but he told her he was needed to spread the gospel at work.

“We had talked about the two of us retiring at age 65, maybe coming out the same year, but God retired him at age 62, and his work was done,” said Melissa, who’s still a pre-K teacher. “And I feel like God said to my husband, ‘Well done, that good and faithful servant.’

“He slipped away quickly and easily. He didn’t go through any suffering.”

‘A mini-him’

Kenny worked on Monday, the day after his sister-in-law’s birthday, after Byron flew back to Philly. Later that night, Kenny got into bed with his wife.

“He liked to play. And I thought he was making a sound just playing with me,” Melissa said. “And I said, ‘Well, Ken is gonna quit making that sound in a little bit.’ So I guess it may have been a moment, and he kept making the sound. … I got up and I turned the light on, I called his name and I pushed him, and he was not responsive.”

Melissa called Shavon and they dialed 911. They got Kenny off the bed, elevated his head, and tried chest compressions. One of Byron’s brothers called him immediately. There was nothing that could be done.

“He wanted to turn around and come drive right back,” Melissa said of Byron. “But one of his brothers convinced him not to. … They told him to get a flight, because he will get here by plane quicker than he would if he got on the road and drove.

“And he probably was not in any condition to be on the road anyway.”

Young called Hall instead. He wanted to know if he could watch his dog while he was away. They had worked out at NovaCare Complex, the Eagles’ practice facility, earlier that day. Hall sensed something was wrong.

“I was like, ‘You OK?’” Hall said. “This was late. You don’t just call me late.”

Young told him about his father and asked if he could drive over.

“He allowed me to cry on his shoulder,” Young said. “We just sat in silence because there was nothing really to be said.”

At one point, Hall said, Young cracked a joke. Hall had never met Young’s father, but he had heard stories about his sense of humor.

“You could tell he was kind of a mini-him, in a sort of way,” Hall said. “I just knew that was a person he always talked about. He talked about his dad at least a few times a week.

“You could just tell when a man respects somebody in their life.”

Kenny played football growing up, but couldn’t pursue it beyond high school because he had family responsibilities, his son said.

“According to him, he was one of the best ever,” Byron said. “And I don’t doubt it.”

He stopped coaching his sons when they reached a certain level. But he influenced their every decision. Byron wanted to play at Ole Miss, but Kenny felt Alabama and coach Nick Saban would be best for his son.

The first training camp was difficult.

“I remember calling him one day and not wanting to be there anymore,” Young said of his father. “He just told me that’s what I signed up for. … I didn’t really tell anybody else but him. He told me that wasn’t something that he wanted me to do because I gave Alabama my word that I would be there for four years.

“And that was kind of the end of me thinking that I was going to transfer.”

Young played in 13 games as a freshman, won a national title as a sophomore, and was All-SEC by his senior season. When the Las Vegas Raiders drafted him in 2023, he and his father had a long, knowing embrace.

The NFL brought its own struggles. Young played in only six games as a rookie and was cut by the Raiders the following August. He still has the voicemail his father left him offering encouragement and advice.

“It’s something like the last thing that I have on my phone of his voice,” Young said. “And … I just always keep that in my mind.”

The Eagles signed him off waivers the next day. Exactly one year later, Young made the 53-man roster out of 2025 training camp. He said he wasn’t surprised “because I knew the work that I had put in.” He just wished his dad could have been there to see it.

“I believe that he knows, and that he’s in heaven or resting right now,” Young said, “and eventually I’ll see him again.”

For now, he has mementos. There’s Kenny’s 1967 Pontiac GTO parked in the shed his father built that Byron hopes to finish restoring. And, always with him, his father’s key chain.

“Hopefully, one day I have a son or a daughter,” Young said, “and I can give it to them.”

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Eagles didn’t place right tackle Lane Johnson on injured reserve on Saturday after they learned he wouldn’t need foot surgery and may be back earlier than original estimates, NFL sources told The Inquirer.

Johnson suffered a Lisfranc injury in the first quarter against the Lions last Sunday and didn’t return. Initial tests indicated he would miss four to six weeks, which would have likely sent him to IR until the postseason.

The inflammation in Johnson’s right foot needed to go down before he could have X-rays. The results may be the best-case scenario for the 13-year veteran and the Eagles.

If Johnson were to miss just three games, the perennial Pro Bowl offensive lineman would be back in time for the Raiders game on Dec. 14. The Eagles’ next three games are at the Cowboys on Sunday, home vs. the Bears on Black Friday, and at the Chargers on Dec. 8.

Fred Johnson, who has jumped in at right tackle several times this season, will be at the position at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Eagles are 120-62-1 in games Lane Johnson has played and 15-24 in games he has not, including the playoffs, over his career.

He played in each of the first 10 games of this season, but has missed parts of four with various dings. Johnson has endured his share of injuries in his career, playing through many. In 2022, he delayed surgery to a torn adductor tendon in his groin until after the Eagles played in the Super Bowl.

The Eagles travel to face the Dallas Cowboys in a Week 12 matchup at AT&T Stadium on Sunday (4:25 p.m., Fox 29).

Here’s what you need to know about the game:

When the Eagles have the ball: The offense has a golden opportunity to get back on track against a Matt Eberflus-led defense that has been among the worst in the NFL. The Cowboys have been marginally better of late thanks to reinforcements that came either via trade or from the medical ward. But the Eagles won’t be facing anything near a dominant unit in Arlington, Texas, and may need to open the floodgates if the Dallas offense plays at its explosive best.

Nick Sirianni’s conservatism has made sense, overall. His team is 40-2 when it has won the turnover battle. The Eagles have given the ball away a league-low four times in 2025, while the Cowboys have forced only eight turnovers all season. But this game may call for more aggressiveness.

Being aggressive doesn’t just mean having Jalen Hurts drop back to pass and throw deep. The Eagles, more than most offenses, need their run game to be efficient, so there will be another effort to establish Saquon Barkley on the ground. But Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo should have a game plan that forces Dallas to counter their moves rather than the opposite.

That should mean more three-receiver sets that force Eberflus into nickel personnel, more 3 x 1 formations, and more empty backfields. Run the ball, obviously. The Cowboys have allowed 131.4 yards a game and rank 30th in expected points added (EPA) per rush. But get out of the sets that have exposed the weaknesses in run blocking at the tight end position.

The Cowboys’ most significant addition has been defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, acquired from the Jets at the trade deadline. He can wreck games. Williams had 1½ sacks and five pressures in his debut last week against the Raiders. The Eagles’ interior offensive line will have its hands full whether Williams is paired with Osa Odighizuwa or Kenny Clark.

Eagles center Cam Jurgens is questionable with another recent injury (concussion), but right tackle Lane Johnson (foot) will be out for an extended period. That is a significant loss, even if this isn’t replacement Fred Johnson’s first rodeo. The Eagles are 120-62-1 in games Lane Johnson has played and 15-24 in games he has not, including the playoffs, across his 13 seasons.

Dallas’ edge rush has improved with the emergence of rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku. If Hurts has time, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith should have advantages when matched up opposite cornerback Kaiir Elam and slot Reddy Steward. Eberflus leans heavy on his zone coverages, which the Eagles have struggled against. It’s time to break out more crossing-route concepts, even if it puts Hurts’ throws more at risk.

When the Cowboys have the ball: Dallas’ anemic run game from 2024 has been upgraded with former Broncos running back Javonte Williams. He has rushed for 806 yards at 5 yards a clip and has eight touchdowns. Overall, the Cowboys rank 11th in EPA/rush and are strongest on zone runs in between the tackles.

Their stout interior O-line is led by left tackle Tyler Smith. But they can be susceptible on the flanks with tackles Tyler Guyton and Terrence Steele, particularly in pass protection. I’ll get to the Eagles’ pass rush further down, but their improvement in stopping the run has been consequential.

After allowing 4.7 yards a carry in the first six games, opposing offenses have averaged just 3.6 yards per rush over the last four. Linebacker Nakobe Dean’s insertion has been significant, and defensive tackle Jalen Carter has increasingly looked his 2024 self. Carter will be in the lineup this time around, assuming that he doesn’t have extra saliva for Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott.

Jaelan Phillips has also buoyed the run defense, but his impact on the pass rush can’t be overstated. The Eagles’ front hounded Jordan Love and Jared Goff in the last two games, and getting to Prescott will be imperative if the league’s top-ranked passing offense can be curtailed. Vic Fangio has been able to rely on his four-man rush and, as a result, has blitzed less in the last two weeks than previously.

When the defensive coordinator has sent extra rushers, Dean has been most effective. But Prescott has long been poised when throwing hot. He’s having another great regular season with 21 touchdowns against just six interceptions. It’s the playoffs that have historically given him trouble.

The Cowboys came darn near close to beating the Eagles in the season opener. If receiver CeeDee Lamb didn’t drop a few late throws, they might have pulled off the comeback. Lamb is back from injury, but George Pickens (58 catches for 908 yards and seven touchdowns) has become Prescott’s most dangerous weapon.

Fangio had Quinyon Mitchell follow Pickens in the first meeting, but that exposed Adoree’ Jackson vs. Lamb. Safeties Reed Blankenship and Drew Mukuba might be the Cowboys’ primary targets on throws over the middle, typically where Prescott loves to eat.

Extra point: If the Eagles can’t move the ball and score points against this defense, the offense may never be saved. Winning on the road can be tough. The Eagles had lost six straight at JerryDome until last season’s 34-6 demolition of the Prescott-less Cowboys. Each team and season is different, but Dallas is normally a different team at home, as is its quarterback, who has won 70% of his starts there.

Over the course of the season, we’ve seen Fangio make changes in personnel that have benefited the unit. Having Dean in over Jihaad Campbell and Mukuba over Sydney Brown and decreasing Jordan Davis’ snaps has paid off. Howie Roseman helped with the trade for Phillips, but Fangio hasn’t been afraid to bruise egos.

On offense, the Eagles have emphasized ball security and efficiency. That likely has rubbed some players the wrong way. Sirianni and Hurts seem to be doing what’s best in the name of winning. But there’s a chance here to reverse course. I see a potential trap in Dallas, but I think the Eagles’ defense will be able to keep Prescott from going off.

Prediction: Eagles 24, Cowboys 20.