Category: Eagles/NFL

Five Eagles players, including two first-timers, were named to the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster for 2026 on Tuesday.

Inside linebacker Zack Baun, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, defensive back Cooper DeJean, center Cam Jurgens, and cornerback Quinyon Mitchell have been voted to the Pro Bowl, which is Feb. 3 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco during the week leading up to the Super Bowl.

Carter, now a two-time Pro Bowler, is slated to be the lone starter in the game. DeJean and Mitchell have been named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in their careers. Baun and Jurgens also were Pro Bowlers in the 2024 season.

The Eagles had five selections, which is tied for second in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Chargers. The Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks led the way with six players.

According to the Eagles, five players are alternates at their respective positions — outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips (second alternate), running back Saquon Barkley (third), tight end Dallas Goedert (third), special-teamer Kelee Ringo (fourth), and quarterback Jalen Hurts (fifth).

Pro Bowl selections are determined in voting by fans, coaches, and fellow NFL players.

To play, or not to play, that is the question that will face Eagles coach Nick Sirianni over the final two weeks of the season.

The No. 2 seed in the NFC is still up for grabs, and will be at the time the Eagles kick off Sunday afternoon in Orchard Park, N.Y., for a marquee matchup with the Buffalo Bills. But the seeding could be decided before the Week 18 finale vs. the Washington Commanders, and we know how the Eagles went about their business last season when they rested almost all of their starters in the season finale.

As it pertains to offensive tackle Lane Johnson and defensive tackle Jalen Carter, though, Sirianni will have to weigh risk vs. reward for two of his best players in the trenches. According to a report from ESPN, both players are in line to be available for Sunday’s game vs. the Bills. Carter has missed the last three games after undergoing procedures to both of his shoulders. Johnson, meanwhile, has been out since the first quarter of Week 11 with a Lisfranc sprain in his left foot.

“Every guy is a little different,” Sirianni said Monday. “Every scenario is a little different.”

Sirianni pointed to last season’s finale vs. the New York Giants. The Eagles rested their starters, but tight end Dallas Goedert had been out for more than a month and the Eagles decided to get him on the field for two series at the beginning of the game and threw six targets his way. “That was good for him,” Sirianni said.

“You do think about your past situations and when you’ve been through those things before,” he said. “But you’re trying to do and make the best decision for each guy and everyone’s just a little bit different.”

Carter and Johnson are certainly different, and the Eagles are likely to weigh getting Carter on the field as a higher priority than Johnson given Carter’s early-season struggles with conditioning.

Still, the Eagles will enter Sunday with plenty to play for. There is a realistic path to the No. 2 seed, a spot that would ensure a second home game with a win in the wild-card round. The simplest math is for the Chicago Bears, the current No. 2 seed, to lose their final two games and the Eagles to win their final two. The Bears play at San Francisco in Week 17 before hosting the Lions, who could be in desperation mode, in Week 18.

What’s the math look like?

According to FTN Fantasy‘s playoff projections, the Eagles are at 10.3% to get the No. 2 seed based on thousands of simulations. They’re at 88.7% to stay in the No. 3 spot and have minuscule chances at the No. 1 seed (0.1%) and No. 4 seed (0.9%).

Time will tell how the Eagles approach the last two weeks of the season.

No competition coming for Jake Elliott

Sirianni reiterated his confidence in Jake Elliott after the kicker missed two field goals and had another miss negated by a penalty during Saturday’s win.

Elliott has missed five field goals over the Eagles’ last five games and also has a missed point-after attempt during that stretch. His 70.8% conversion rate (17-for-24) on field goals this season is the lowest of his nine-year NFL career.

Sirianni said the Eagles will not be bringing in outside competition. He pointed to Elliott’s struggles late in the season last year and how he rebounded in the Super Bowl as something to draw confidence from.

“All I’ve ever seen him do was get up out of that and rise from that,” Sirianni said. “I have no doubt in my mind of the competitor he is and how mentally tough he is to be able to rise from this situation as well.”

Report: No suspension for Tyler Steen

According to a report from ESPN, there will be no suspensions following the kerfuffle near the end of the Eagles-Commanders game after the Eagles’ two-point conversion. The league will review the play for fines.

The skirmish happened after the successful try that bumped the Eagles’ lead to 29-10, a decision Sirianni said was analytics-based and not an attempt to run up the score, though it appeared that Commanders coach Dan Quinn was not pleased with the choice.

In the middle of it all for the Eagles was right guard Tyler Steen, who was ejected for his role in the scuffle.

Sirianni, as he normally does, declined to go into details about his conversations with Steen.

“But we never want anything like that to take place,” he said. “We want to play fast and physical and we want to be able to do that all within the rules of the game. I understand the game gets chippy at times, but we always want to make sure we’re keeping our cool in those scenarios.”

Christmas came early for Eagles fans on Saturday.

After a slow start that saw them trail 10-7 at halftime, the Eagles managed to take over in the final 30 minutes — securing a 29-18 win over the Washington Commanders and punching their ticket to the playoffs, becoming the first repeat NFC East champions since 2004.

Now, the 10-5 Eagles will prepare to travel to Highmark Stadium to play the 11-4 Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Most of the discourse surrounding the division champs has been centered on Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for two late in the game, whether the Birds are the best team in the NFC, or if they still have to prove themselves ahead of the postseason.

Here’s what they’re saying about the Birds ahead of their game with the Bills …

‘I thought it was the wrong call’

One of the biggest storylines centered on Sirianni’s decision to go for two late in the Commanders game to give the Eagles a 19-point lead. At the end of the two-point conversion, a fight broke out between Washington and Philadelphia players, resulting in three ejections.

Former Eagles linebacker Seth Joyner reacted to the play call and the aftermath on 94WIP.

“Let me say this,” Joyner said. “I thought it was the wrong call. But, [Sirianni’s] the head coach, he can do what he wants to do. But, isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it amazing that biggest whiners, the biggest criers, are the losers? Shut the [expletive] up and take the L. OK. Because y’all was like dancing around last year like y’all was really going to do something because you knocked our quarterback out, you know, with a cheap shot. That wasn’t bush league?

“Then you bring your [expletive] here in the NFC championship game and you get run out of here. You run out of here like little church mice. You don’t say nothing. Now, all of a sudden you’re chiming in again. Shut the [expletive] up.”

‘The championship runs through Philly’

On The Speakeasy podcast, former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho were asked the question: Are the Eagles the best team in the NFC?

“When did we let it go,” McCoy said. “We were the defending champs last year. We were the NFC champs. See, y’all forget a lot, though. I don’t forget. Last year, we won the whole NFC East. Last year we won the whole NFC. Last year we won the whole league, the Super Bowl. Why y’all forgot? Because we had a couple bad games. Because our Super Bowl quarterback had a couple of bad moments. We’re still the Eagles and we still put on a show. And the championship runs through Philly.”

To Acho, Saturday’s game showed the complete package of what the Eagles could be. Jalen Hurts completed 22 of 30 throws for 185 yards with A.J. Brown as his favorite target, and gained 40 rushing yards on seven carries. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley finished with 132 yards on 21 carries to contribute to the team’s 207 total rushing yards.

“I think the Eagles are who we thought they were supposed to be all season,” Acho said. “Saquon [Barkley] really got active today. And then on top of that, A.J. Brown, he finally got active today. … This was maybe one of two or three complete games the Eagles have played all season. … The Eagles checked every single box you could hope and expect that they check.”

After a three-game skid, the Eagles have managed to bounce back with two consecutive wins over the 2-13 Las Vegas Raiders and the 4-11 Commanders, two teams that have struggled throughout the season.

“These games are momentum,” McCoy said. “It’s not about the opponent. It’s about getting us back in that groove. Getting us back with that motivation. Because when we get to the playoffs, we’re going to be rolling baby. … Resumés matter, playoff experience matters. And the way the offense is kind of clicking, the defense is making plays, I’m ready to roll.”

Philadelphia ‘still has a lot to prove’

McCoy and Acho may have faith in the Eagles’ chances in the postseason, but former NFL quarterback Cam Newton may need some more convincing.

“They ain’t close [to reaching their potential],” said Newton on ESPN’s First Take. “They played the league’s worst team and that’s what you’re supposed to do. … I don’t want to hear Saquon Barkley talk about the woes in Philadelphia. If you want to hear something, put the camera in front of A.J. Brown. Because A.J. Brown is going to tell us the truth, the gospel. He was telling us everything we knew and we needed to know in Philadelphia before it even happened. And he was being painted as the villain.

“But if you’re playing against the league’s worst team — a homecoming game, as we obviously know that to be — why would we believe that Philadelphia’s issues are fixed all of a sudden? So, at the end of the day, I’m looking at a dynamic to say hey, I need to see way more people [saying] ‘We don’t believe you, we need more people.’ And in that type of dynamic, Philadelphia is a team that still has a lot to prove, not only to the world but to themselves as well.”

It’s easy to criticize the refs, but this weekend NFL officials really gave fans and announcers a few things to complain about.

One was a key late play during the New England Patriots’ win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night.

With a little more than three minutes remaining, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey appeared to outright tackle Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte on a deep pass. Despite an official watching just yards away, no flags were thrown, to the surprise of everyone on NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast.

“It’s not really hard — that’s pass interference,” NBC rules analyst and former official Terry McAulay said.

Earlier on Sunday, during the Carolina Panthers’ win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, officials missed what appeared to be a blatant fourth-down penalty.

With a little under five minutes remaining and the game tied, Panthers defender Princely Umanmielen hit punter Riley Dixon after he kicked the ball, which should have resulted in a penalty and a first down. Instead, officials called holding on the Buccaneers and missed the running-into-the-kicker penalty altogether.

“I think when you fixate watching the hold, maybe you miss that contact on the punter,” Fox rules analyst and former official Mike Pereria said during the broadcast. “It is contact to the body. I would have had running into the kicker.”

That missed call proved pivotal, as the Panthers marched down the field and kicked what ultimately became the game-winning field goal. The Panthers’ win also prevented the Eagles from clinching the No. 3 seed or better in the NFC playoffs.

Then there’s the controversial ending of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Detroit Lions game, in which Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown lateraled to quarterback Jared Goff for what would have been the game-winning touchdown.

On the play, St. Brown was called for pass interference, negating the touchdown. But both head official Carl Cheffers and CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Tony Romo did a poor job explaining why the Lions didn’t get another play

“By rule, that penalty is not enforced and there is no replay. The game is over,” Cheffers said.

Lions almost just had the craziest walk-off touchdown in recent memory

Instead the referees called an offensive pass inference on Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Steelers survive pic.twitter.com/KbHFFsnRlr

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) December 22, 2025

NFL rules stipulate if the offense commits a foul with no time remaining, “there shall be no extension of the period. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, a score by the offense is not counted.”

Goff appeared to cross the goal line with no time on the clock, but the play wasn’t reviewable. If Goff had run into the end zone with time remaining, the Lions could have been given another shot.

After the game, Cheffers called it “a pretty complex play.”

“We have the original player who had the ball lose possession of the ball. So, we had to decide if that was a fumble or a backward pass because of course we have restrictions on the recovery of a fumble inside of two minutes,” Cheffers told pool reporter Nolan Bianch. “We ruled that it was a backward pass, so the recovering player was able to advance it and that recovering player advanced it for a touchdown.”

“We had to rule on that and then because of the offensive pass interference, it negates the touchdown. Because it is an offensive foul, we did not extend the half. Therefore, there is no score and there is no replay of the down,” Cheffers added. “That’s the way the rule is written.”

It also wasn’t the only controversial call to end the game. With 22 seconds left, Goff hit St. Brown on a one-yard touchdown pass, which would have won the game. But officials called pass interference on Lions receiver Isaac TeSlaa, negating the go-ahead score.

“The reporting official on that play told me that the offending player picked one of the defenders, creating an opportunity for the offensive player to make the catch,” Cheffers said.