Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes

Category: Sports

Sports news, scores, and analysis

  • Nick Sirianni defended Kevin Patullo, but it might not matter if Jeffrey Lurie decides he must act to save the Eagles’ season

    Nick Sirianni defended Kevin Patullo, but it might not matter if Jeffrey Lurie decides he must act to save the Eagles’ season

    It was easy to catch the chants rising out of the Lincoln Financial Field stands Friday, a call for change that feels closer and closer to happening, no matter what Nick Sirianni might say, no matter how much the Eagles head coach might stand behind his friend and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. Those “FIRE-KEVIN” singsongs were clear to everyone inside the stadium and to a nationwide streaming audience on Prime Video.

    Just like the Eagles’ 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears and another ragged offensive performance, those chants and that atmosphere of frustration and disgruntlement were a sign that this season is reaching a tipping point. And for all the loyalty to Patullo and defiance to reality that Sirianni flashed after the game, his words might not end up meaning much.

    “No, we’re not changing the play-caller,” Sirianni said, “but we will evaluate everything.”

    The most important word in that sentence from Sirianni, though, was we, because we could end up including team chairman Jeffrey Lurie and vice president Howie Roseman, and those members of we have filmed this movie before — and not that long ago. Sirianni was equally steadfast in 2023 about taking up for then-defensive coordinator Sean Desai, but, sure enough, Sirianni’s defense of him was about as strong and effective as the Eagles’ defense under Desai and his replacement, Matt Patricia. That is, not very.

    Now Patullo has become the latest poster child for the Peter Principle. He’s gregarious and friendly and has spent a lot of time in the NFL coaching quarterbacks but had spent no time calling plays until Sirianni turned the offense over to him. Now a unit that boasts some of the most talented and accomplished and highly paid skill-position players and offensive linemen in the league is among the worst offenses in the league. Twelve games this season, and the Eagles have scored 24 points or fewer in eight — two-thirds — of them, including the last four.

    Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo struggle as Eagles lose again due to poor focus, fundamentals

    Lurie and the Eagles aren’t about to bench Jalen Hurts or A.J. Brown or Saquon Barkley or anyone else. And even if Patullo is hamstrung as a play-caller by Hurts’ height, by his reluctance or inability to throw the ball into tight windows of space, by the injuries and spotty play of the offensive line, he also hasn’t shown that he’s creative and imaginative enough to overcome those flaws and shortcomings in the offense.

    Sirianni’s mantra, since his arrival, has been that players make plays, that a wide receiver or a lineman or a tight end, if he’s coached well enough in the fundamentals, ought to prevail in his one-on-one matchup against a cornerback or a defensive end or a linebacker. The problem for the Eagles is that they’re winning fewer of those micro-contests, those games within the game, than they did a year ago, and Patullo isn’t helping them win more of them.

    A simple question was put to tight end Dallas Goedert after Sunday’s game: How often do you guys feel like you have a strategic advantage on a defense, where you’re going to fool them or you’re going to run something that they don’t see coming?

    Goedert paused for five seconds, then answered.

    “Tough question. I don’t know if I really have an answer for that one. We’ve got to make plays. We’ve got to execute better. And all 11 have to be on the same page.”

    Something is missing offensively for the Eagles, and it might be Kevin Patullo who will have to answer for it.

    Barkley refused to chalk up the Eagles’ struggles to their strategy or system. “I don’t really look into plays like that,” he said. “The times that we have successful plays, it’s not just because we have a strategic edge. We’ve got guys making plays. We’ve got coaches making great calls.

    “I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but I know what everyone is probably saying. When you go back and watch the film, we’ve got some great calls, and we just didn’t make the plays, or we’ll have a penalty. We keep seeing the same stuff. I get up here and say the same thing, and it’s not like I’m just feeding you guys these answers to, I don’t know, be a pro. But it’s the truth, and I guarantee Jordan [Mailata’s] saying the same thing. Zack [Baun’s] saying the same thing. Lane [Johnson’s] saying the same thing. The reality is, we’ve got to go do it.”

    There is a chicken-or-egg element to the Patullo question. No one, other than Patullo himself, can say for certain whether he’s orchestrating this offense to account for Hurts’ weaknesses, whether he’s calling what Hurts is comfortable with and capable of carrying out, whether Hurts’ limitations are limiting Patullo’s options. There’s no getting around the reality that the Eagles have made Hurts and the passing game the locus of their offense before — early in 2021, early in 2024 — and each time, they shifted their play selection toward running the ball, toward taking it out of Hurts’ hands.

    Last season, they won a championship with that approach because Barkley and the offensive line were that good, that dominant. The Eagles could afford to be predictable then; their opponents knew what was coming and still were powerless to stop it.

    Now the Eagles’ opponents know what’s coming, know how to stop it, and do stop it. Lurie has always placed a premium on having a team that could score lots of points and do so relatively easily, and he can’t be happy with this two-game losing streak, this season-long slog, and the offense’s contributions to those developments. What had been a slump is now a slide and could yet be another collapse, and Lurie isn’t likely to let his head coach’s assertions and assurances stand in the way of a change that he deems necessary to save a shot at another Super Bowl.

  • Sixers’ Andre Drummond leaves Nets game with a knee sprain and will not return

    Sixers’ Andre Drummond leaves Nets game with a knee sprain and will not return

    Andre Drummond left the 76ers’ game at the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night with a right knee sprain. The veteran center dropped to the floor after contesting a second-quarter shot, then grabbed at his right leg before being helped off the floor. The 76ers announced that he will not return to the game.

    Drummond had been enjoying a resurgent season for the Sixers, averaging 8.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in 16 games entering Friday and filling in as a starter while Joel Embiid has nursed issues with both knees throughout the early season. Drummond had totaled seven points and four rebounds in 10 minutes before leaving the game.

    The Sixers experienced a flashback to last season’s injury misery. They hope reinforcements are on the way.

    Fellow center Adem Bona on Friday returned from a five-game absence from a sprained ankle. Rookie Johni Broome also saw first-half action after Drummond departed the game. Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker are small-ball options at the center spot, if Drummond and/or Embiid remain sidelined beyond Friday.

    The Sixers led 63-48 at halftime.

  • ‘What’d I say? They’re going to fold’: C.J. Gardner-Johnson gets the last word as Bears beat Eagles

    ‘What’d I say? They’re going to fold’: C.J. Gardner-Johnson gets the last word as Bears beat Eagles

    C.J. Gardner-Johnson spread his arms out in celebration and walked toward the visiting locker room. The other one used to be his, in 2022 and again in 2024. The trash-talking defensive back, on his third team this year alone, came back against his former team, in his former city, and had the last laugh.

    He wasn’t going to be quiet about it.

    “I ain’t ever lied to y’all, and I ain’t going to start lying,” Gardner-Johnson said as he walked into the Chicago Bears’ locker room following their 24-15 victory over the Eagles. “I ain’t going to lie to y’all. What’d I say? They’re going to fold.”

    The Eagles traded Gardner-Johnson, who led them with six interceptions in 2024, in the offseason along with a sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans for Kenyon Green, an offensive lineman who didn’t make their initial 53-man roster.

    The Eagles, Gardner-Johnson said in a podcast interview over the summer, were “scared of a competitor.”

    “Simple as that,” he told Ryan Clark on The Pivot.

    Howie Roseman said the Eagles made the deal because of financial constraints.

    Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts has two turnovers; run defense porous vs. Bears

    Gardner-Johnson, of course, hasn’t had a normal 2025 season. He was released by the Houston Texans in late September after three games. He then landed on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad before the Bears signed him and reunited him with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who coached Gardner-Johnson in New Orleans.

    But he has made an impact with a Bears team that is now 9-3 and in first place in the NFC North. Gardner-Johnson’s departure from Philadelphia was in the spotlight this week not just because the Bears were coming to town but because the Eagles are depleted at safety after rookie Drew Mukuba, the Eagles’ second-round pick, suffered an ankle fracture.

    Gardner-Johnson played mostly at nickel and helped stymie a struggling Eagles offense. He finished with three tackles and one quarterback hit. What was he seeing on film entering Friday?

    “Stop the run and then make them go the long, hard way,” he said.

    The Eagles struggled to run the ball and couldn’t beat an opposing defense missing multiple starters through the air.

    “We knew in order to win this game we’d have to compete with their defense and the best defense on the field was going to win this game,” Gardner-Johnson said.

    “It’s hard to get wins in this league. To win in a stadium like this, against the defending champs, it shows you that you got to have a lot of confidence in your teammates. This team has a lot of confidence in each other. I don’t think we’re worried about scheme or who we play. We just worry about getting each other’s backs and going out there and fighting for 60 minutes. We’re going to win the game.”

    Asked why he said he knew the Eagles would “fold,” Gardner-Johnson said: “Because I’ve been here before. I’ve been here before. You only wear black uniforms if you feel confident.”

    Then he winked.

    “I told the guys that this is one of those where you got to come in and really pin your ears back and really go play ball,” he said. “It’s going to be a physical game, short week, and it’s about who’s going to be the most physical team, and we showed it today.”

    C.J. Gardner-Johnson led the Eagles with six interceptions last season on the way to winning a Super Bowl.

    And the special feeling winning back in Philadelphia?

    “We can finally close the chapter on something,” Gardner-Johnson said. “It’s good now.”

    About three minutes into Gardner-Johnson’s postgame media availability, a teammate handed him a phone. A Bears public relations staffer ended Gardner-Johnson’s session, but he spoke live on a podcast with LeSean McCoy and Emmanuel Acho.

    “Was you talking [trash] out there?” McCoy asked him.

    “No, I got too much respect for them to even disrespect the players I played with,” Gardner-Johnson replied. “We disrespected them on defense.”

    Then McCoy asked: “Was the offense too easy? Predictable?”

    Gardner-Johnson leaned in close and winked. For once, there was nothing he needed to say.

    Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo struggle as Eagles lose again due to poor focus, fundamentals
  • Temple’s chances of making a bowl game gets squashed by North Texas in blowout loss

    Temple’s chances of making a bowl game gets squashed by North Texas in blowout loss

    About a month ago, Temple reached five wins and was on the verge of reaching a bowl game for the first time since 2019. Instead, the Owls (5-7, 3-5 American) dropped their final four games of the season.

    Temple was looking to upset North Texas (11-1, 7-1) on Saturday to become bowl eligible in head coach K.C. Keeler’s first season. Keeler spoke to his team about picking up their confidence on Monday after losing three straight.

    It didn’t work.

    The Mean Green outmatched the Owls, 52-25, to extinguish Temple’s chances at a bowl game and ending its season. Temple made strides in Keeler’s first year, but the Owls will have to wait another year to end their seven-year bowl drought.

    Can’t contain Mestemaker

    On Monday, Keeler talked about Temple stopping North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker. The redshirt freshman signal caller entered Friday’s game engineering the nation’s top scoring offense at 46.3 points per game.

    However, the Owls’ plans were spoiled after two plays.

    Mestemaker delivered a 77-yard passing touchdown to wide receiver Cameron Dorner. That play was the beginning of Mestemaker’s stellar first-half performance, when he threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He finished with 366 yards and three touchdowns.

    North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) looks to pass the ball on Friday.

    Temple allowed 10 pass plays of more than 15 yards and North Texas found the end zone on five of its six first-half drives.

    North Texas Wide receiver Wyatt Young, the nation’s fourth leading receiver, finished with six receptions for 127 yards.

    Slow offensive starts

    Temple needed to take advantage of the Mean Green’s defense allowing a conference worst 211.2 rushing yards per game. For their first six plays, the Owls leaned on running back Jay Ducker, who finished with 63 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

    In the first quarter, the Owls tied the game at 7 apiece, thanks to a 2-yard connection from quarterback Evan Simon to tight end Ryder Kusch. But Temple’s offense went cold in the second and entered the half trailing, 35-7.

    Temple quarterback Evan Simon (6) runs the ball against North Texas on Friday.

    Temple abandoned the running game. It had 65 yards on the ground in the first quarter, yet mustered 20 in the second. The Owls’ offense tried to rely on Simon, who finished with 82 passing yards and a touchdown, to lead a comeback.

    But Temple went scoreless on four drives in the second quarter, including an interception from Simon.

    Despite holding the ball three minutes longer than North Texas, the Owls compiled just 316 yards of total offense. Simon completed 10 of 27 attempts in his final college game.

    Another freshman star

    Temple’s main focus was to stop Mestemaker, but North Texas running back Caleb Hawkins also got the best of the Owls’ defense. The freshman finished with 186 yards and four touchdowns.

    Hawkins entered the matchup with 1,030 rushing yards, the second-most yards in the American.

    Much of his success came in the first half, as he poured in 132 rushing yards. It was his fourth game with at least four rushing touchdowns this season.

  • Flyers remain undefeated in shootouts with 4-3 win at New York Islanders

    Flyers remain undefeated in shootouts with 4-3 win at New York Islanders

    ELMONT, N.Y. — Despite giving up a 3-0 lead, the Flyers turned the lights back on when it mattered most Friday to defeat the New York Islanders 4-3 in a shootout.

    Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny scored in the shootout, and goaltender Sam Ersson stopped Islanders’ Bo Horvat to clinch the game.

    The Flyers are a perfect 5-0 in shootouts this season. They have won two straight and four of their past five games overall.

    “There’s going to be ups and downs throughout the course of a game and a season,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said of the Flyers’ resiliency. “Just resetting and getting your head back on straight and sticking with what’s been working for you, and just get back to your game.”

    Yardley’s Terrence Wallin once dreamed of playing for the Flyers. Now, he’s rising in the organization’s coaching ranks

    Pressure

    Ersson allowed three goals on 13 shots in the second period, but he came up big in the third, stopping all nine, and saved three more in overtime. Then, he stopped the final shot in the shootout to seal the win. The Swedish netminder is now 12-3 in the skills competition.

    “Yeah, there could be some prescout on him,” coach Rick Tocchet said about Ersson’s expertise in the shootout. “He looks big when you go down, and I’m watching like, I don’t know much about Erss this year, but he looks big in the net on those breakaways. He just looks big, it looks like there’s not room, and there could be some psychology when it comes to that.”

    But it was the saves that Ersson made across the first 60 minutes that kept the Flyers in the game. He made a nifty save on a Jonathan Drouin tip-in attempt off a Scott Mayfield shot from the point in the first period, before robbing Horvat’s one-timer at the right post in the second; Ersson slid across to make the split save off the tip of his left pad with the Flyers up 3-1.

    In the third period, he made the biggest save of the night during a two-on-one. Islanders forward Anthony Duclair skated up the ice and made a move that saw Noah Juulsen fall. Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler went to Duclair, but he was able to drop the puck around Seeler to Calum Ritchie, who was stopped by Ersson.

    Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson, shown against Tampa on Nov. 24, stopped 28 of 31 shots against New York on Friday.

    After the save, Matvei Michkov carried Ritchie into the boards and hit him up high with his stick, resulting in a four-minute power play for the Islanders. The Flyers entered the game with the fourth-best penalty kill (86.2%) and held the Islanders, who entered the day with the 31st-ranked power play (12.6%) — but did have one power-play goal already — to six shot attempts. Ersson stopped two shots, one being a tricky tip-in attempt from Ritchie.

    “You’ve got to give guys credit, because we’re hanging in there. That’s a [heck] of a PK,” Tocchet said. “It’s four minutes, that could be the game, and to me, that shows a lot of character. Those six guys with the four D, and Erss making those stops. You’ve got to be proud of the team for that, that PK.”

    Ersson made a nice save on Drouin in the extra session before stopping his countryman, Simon Holmström, with the blocker. And then he did what he does best in the shootout — but not before Zegras did what he does best in the shootout.

    Among players who have at least 15 shootout attempts, Zegras ranks No. 1 all-time at 68%. He has 17 goals on 25 shots, and has scored 70.6% of his shootout attempts on the road. Zegras is 4-for-4 this season.

    “Especially when you have Trevor Zegras on your team, you start almost with one up. So we like our odds in shootouts, but at the same time, we don’t want to always be going to that point,” captain Sean Couturier said. “Regulation wins are huge down the road, so we’ve got to find a way to close those games out, and not give out points to, especially, divisional opponents, but at the same time, it’s a huge win.

    “The way the game kind of went, we were all over them early, and then they get a goal there early in the second. And we kind of lost our cool for a little bit there. But, we regrouped in the third and stuck together and found a way to get that extra point.”

    Flyers mailbag: Is Rick Tocchet compromising the future for short-term success? What’s going on with Nikita Grebenkin?

    Just The Way You Are

    Long Island’s Billy Joel famously sang, “Don’t go changing,” and while the Flyers made one significant change — it’s only the seventh time in 23 games this season they scored first, snapping a nine-game streak — there’s one aspect they shouldn’t. For the second straight game, Tyson Foerster and Couturier scored seconds apart.

    On Wednesday, it gave the Flyers a 4-2 win against the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers when they scored 21 seconds apart. On Friday, their goals 22 seconds apart gave the Orange and Black a 2-0 lead.

    Foerster opened the scoring 8 minutes, 30 seconds into the game. Sanheim got the puck in his own end, skated around the net, and carried it up the left wing with Islanders forward Emil Heineman hounding him.

    He entered the zone and dished the puck to Konecny, who sent a turnaround pass right to Heineman. But it wasn’t a clean pass, and Foerster poked it away as the Swede fell. It gave Foerster the perfect shooting lane, and he beat Islanders goalie David Rittich glove side for his ninth goal of the season.

    “Obviously, we’d like to do it more often,” Sanheim said about scoring first. “And, in saying that, when you get out to a good lead, you want to be able to keep your foot on the gas and not allow a team to get back into it. So just continue to keep growing and get better as a team.”

    Couturier snapped a 17-game goal drought on Wednesday and scored in consecutive games for the first time since March of last season. His goal came after Juulsen defended New York’s Mathew Barzal against the wall in the Flyers’ zone, allowing Michkov to scoop up the loose puck.

    Bobby Brink put pressure on Tony DeAngelo, causing the former Flyers defenseman to turn the puck over to Couturier, and the Flyers captain scored past the glove of Rittich from the left face-off circle.

    Tyson Foerster, shown on Nov. 14, opened the scoring for the Flyers on Friday night against the Islanders.

    An Innocent Man

    Before getting to one of the worst calls this season — and there have been plenty to choose from — the Flyers looked in control when Zegras extended the lead to 3-0 on a power play 1:55 into the second period.

    The New Yorker took the puck off the wall after Emil Andrae carried it deep and was stopped by Rittich. Zegras curled in the left circle and scored off the skate of Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock.

    But then things started to go awry.

    Heineman exacted some revenge and scored to make it 3-1. Andrae got the puck and skated backward into his own zone. He didn’t realize that Kyle Palmieri was still in the Flyers’ end after getting tangled up with Jamie Drysdale. Palmieri picked his pocket and fed Drouin, who dropped the puck for Heineman to finish.

    The referees missed a call as the Islanders had six guys on the ice when Palmieri played the puck as he was skating to the bench.

    Rookie sensation Matthew Schaeffer cut the Flyers’ lead to one with his eighth of the year. He got the puck at the left point and skated down into the left circle before firing off a wrister past Ersson. There was a delayed penalty on Garnet Hathaway, but the Islanders didn’t have the extra skater on yet.

    Nikita Grebenkin hopes to make his return to the Flyers lineup a permanent one

    And then, with the momentum swinging in the Islanders’ favor, Konecny was called for a phantom hold on Holmström during a Flyers power play.

    The call was questionable as Holmström sold it and the referee above the blue line — not the referee standing right in front of the players — made the call.

    After skating four-on-four on the ensuing power play for the Islanders, Schaefer put a point shot that Max Shabanov tipped up and off the body of teammate Anders Lee past Ersson.

    “Obviously, the second was a little bit, you know, some penalties, a couple of misfortune plays, but hung in there,” Tocchet said. “Little bit ugly, but give the guys credit for scratching and clawing. That’s a big two points for us.”

    New York Islanders center Kyle Palmieri left the game against the Flyers on Friday with an injury.

    Breakaways

    Palmieri did not return after playing a role in the Islanders’ first goal due to a lower-body injury. … Forward Nic Deslauriers and defenseman Egor Zamula were healthy scratches for the second straight game. They did participate in warmups. … Couturier played in his 896th NHL game, all with the Flyers.

    Up next

    The Flyers get right back to it on Saturday against the Devils in New Jersey (7 p.m., NBCSP).

  • Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts has two turnovers; run defense porous vs. Bears

    Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts has two turnovers; run defense porous vs. Bears

    Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears:

    Quarterback: D

    Jalen Hurts had two costly turnovers. He tossed his second interception of the season in the third quarter when he failed to account for safety Kevin Byard in the post. And he fumbled on a third-quarter Tush Push when Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright stripped the ball after Hurts ran into a wall.

    Eagles’ issues extend to defense in wire-to-wire Black Friday loss to Bears

    The windy conditions at Lincoln Financial Field made it difficult on the quarterbacks. But Hurts missed too many layups and made bad decisions. He threw behind an open DeVonta Smith on a key early third down.

    There were some positives. Hurts bounced back after the pick and hooked up with A.J. Brown for a 33-yard touchdown. As a runner, he had some success with the return of the run-pass option game. He also picked up 23 yards off a draw in the third quarter.

    But Hurts was at the center of the Eagles offense’s terrible showing, and has been for most of the season.

    Running back: C-

    Saquon Barkley had a little more success on the ground, rushing 13 times for 56 yards (4.3 average). But there was an opportunity to do more against one of the NFL’s worst run defenses and a unit that was down three off-ball linebackers. Barkley’s longest gain was for 15 yards off the left side in the third quarter.

    The Eagles tried a two-back play with Tank Bigsby, but Barkley didn’t look back for the pass off an option. Even if he caught it, a defender was ready to pounce. Barkley also had a late drop.

    Receiver / Tight end: C-

    Wide receiver A.J. Brown led the Eagles, catching 10 of 12 targets for 132 yards and two touchdowns. But a lot of his production felt empty. He came back for a jump ball on a 33-yard touchdown.

    Brown had two more penalties for a team-high eight. The first — a false start — was legit. The second — a pass interference — was questionable. Brown pushed off, but it was relatively soft. The flag negated a third-down conversion.

    DeVonta Smith caught a 30-yard pass on a nicely drawn-up RPO early in the second quarter, but he went long stretches without getting involved. Dallas Goedert caught just one pass for 5 yards until the last drive — despite the Bears’ issues covering tight ends coming in.

    Offensive line: D+

    No unit gets a pass on the offensive side of the ball. The O-line just hasn’t been itself and whenever the Eagles have struggled historically, it’s been because they can’t block consistently.

    Left guard Landon Dickerson just doesn’t look close to healthy. On Hurts’ interception, he allowed pressure that forced the quarterback out of the pocket. Dickerson had a false start early on. Right guard Tyler Steen was up and down, as usual. Left tackle Jordan Mailata kept Hurts’ blind side mostly clean, but he hasn’t been the same run blocker this season.

    Like several of his fellow offensive linemen, Jordan Mailata (right) hasn’t had the same type of season as he did a year ago.

    Fred Johnson started a second straight game for the injured Lane Johnson (foot). Barkley was dropped at the line after Johnson was beaten by a slanting lineman in the third quarter. He led the way on Barkley’s 15-yard tote a drive later, though. Center Cam Jurgens keeps playing through injury, but it’s hurting the offense. Jurgens and Steen combined for a lead block on a Barkley 9-yard run in the first quarter.

    Defensive line: D+

    Stopping the run is an 11-man deal, but the front was continuously beaten at the point of attack. The Bears offense often went heavy to keep the Eagles in base personnel and they ran it down their throats. Running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai each went over 100 yards as Chicago gained 281 yards on the ground.

    Defensive tackle Jalen Carter made some undisciplined guesses as a run defender. He was blocked way out of his gap on Monangai’s 17-yard run off the right in the first quarter. And Carter took a bad angle on Swift’s 3-yard touchdown run at the end of that drive.

    Carter did pick up a sack in the second quarter after Nolan Smith hit Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. Moro Ojomo blew up a third-down screen try in the third quarter, but was bullied at times vs. the run. Jordan Davis had a run stop for no yards after fellow defensive tackle Byron Young held up his block in the second quarter. Young was first to the ball on the fourth-down run stop on the Bears’ opening drive. He failed to bring down Swift on a later long run.

    The D-line had some moments in the pass rush. Jalyx Hunt snatched his second interception of the season when he diagnosed a screen in the third quarter. The outside linebacker leaped and deflected the ball to himself. Outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips batted a third-down pass to the ground in the second quarter. Phillips also drew a holding penalty just before the half. Brandon Graham hurried Williams into forfeiting himself after dropping to pass in the third quarter.

    Linebacker: D+

    Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun just weren’t good enough in helping to stop the run at the second level. They got bullied and erased on runs up the middle.

    Nick Sirianni and coaches struggle again as Eagles lose second straight with poor focus and fundamentals

    Dean was blocked to the ground on Swift’s 23-yard bolt up the middle on a split zone run in the first quarter. He also gave up the edge on Monangai’s 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Baun got tossed on a Swift 17-yard rush in the second quarter.

    Dean, who finished with 12 tackles, was also called for holding on a short third-quarter pass off play-action.

    Rookie Jihaad Campbell hardly played, if at all.

    Cornerback: C

    Like Hurts, Williams had issues through the air. Some of it was self-inflicted, some of it was due to the Eagles’ pass defense. The quarterback completed just 17 of 36 passes for 154 yards. He had some key throws on third and fourth down, though.

    Adoree’ Jackson and Quinyon Mitchell weren’t challenged much on the outside, but they didn’t surrender many catches. They had more to do in the run game and didn’t do well in the open field. Jackson couldn’t bring Swift down on a second-quarter run.

    Cooper DeJean did a little more in run support. He also broke up an early pass to Rome Odunze.

    Safety: D

    Sydney Brown got his first full-time start of the season with Drew Mukuba (fractured ankle) on injured reserve. He struggled at times. Brown took a bad angle from the post on Swift’s 23-yard run. He didn’t bite on a play-action boot and held a short pass to minimal gain in the second quarter. It could have been worse had Williams been more accurate on two early throws after Brown was beaten in the end zone.

    Eagles safety Reed Blankenship had a game to forget against the Bears.

    Reed Blankenship might have been worse. He got toasted by Bears tight end Cole Kmet on the game-clinching 28-yard touchdown. Earlier, Blankenship was late to Bears receiver Olamide Zaccheaus on a third-and-7 conversion. And he slipped and lost tight end Colston Loveland when the Bears converted fourth-and-5 late in the third quarter.

    Blankenship led the Eagles with 14 tackles, many of them after runs into the secondary.

    Special teams: C-

    A steady wind wreaked havoc on the kicking game. Jake Elliott split the uprights on a 44-yard try. But he hooked an extra point wide left in the third quarter kicking again into the south end of the stadium. Elliott also missed a 52-yarder with a few seconds to play.

    Punter Braden Mann did well considering the conditions. He averaged 42.6 net yards on five punts.

    Britain Covey played in his first game in nearly a year and returned punts in place of the injured Xavier Gipson. Covey scooped up a roller and went 9 yards the other way in the second quarter. Covey was also back on kicks, and had one return for 22 yards. Will Shipley averaged 23.5 yards on two returns.

    Coaching: D-

    Nick Sirianni’s Eagles lost two games in a row for the second time this season as they fell to 8-4 — a game behind the 9-3 Bears in conference playoff seeding. Potentially more damaging is allowing the 6-5-1 Dallas Cowboys back in the division race.

    Sirianni’s undisciplined team had seven more penalties — three of them of the pre-snap variety. He again showed little faith in his offense when he let the clock tick down to the two-minute warning before the half. His high-priced offense just shouldn’t be this bad and that’s on the coaching.

    The execution has been bad, but offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo just hasn’t had the answers. He went with more RPOs and zone reads because of the cold and windy weather, but just wasn’t sharp enough. Sirianni may have to switch up play-calling, although there isn’t an obvious replacement on staff.

    Eagles play-caller Kevin Patullo failed to find the answers once again against Chicago.

    The Eagles entered last in the NFL in three-and-out percentage (33.3), and will likely remain there after Week 13 having gone three-and-out on 4 of 11 possessions. The Eagles were booed as they headed to the tunnel for the half and it seemed justified after they scored just three points.

    Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit got manhandled on the ground and allowed its most rushing yards in his two years in Philly. The defense tightened the hatches after allowing 204 yards and 10 points to the Bears on their first three possessions. But it again surrendered under the weight of the offense’s ineffectiveness.

  • Jalen Hurts weighs in on the Tush Push, and more from the Eagles-Bears Black Friday broadcast

    Jalen Hurts weighs in on the Tush Push, and more from the Eagles-Bears Black Friday broadcast

    It was a holiday letdown for the Birds, who dropped their second consecutive game on Friday, losing, 24-15, to the Chicago Bears.

    If you toughed it out in the cold at the Linc, or for some reason want to relive that game, here’s everything you missed from the broadcast:

    Pregame

    All of Philadelphia’s mascots were on-site for Prime Video’s extended pregame show.

    The Phanatic even cheered on a local Eagles fan in a push-up challenge against former NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez, who dropped down to attempt a few of his own.

    Even Jason Kelce was on-site with New Heights and made a brief appearance on the telecast, sharing why he believes Eagles fans are the “best in the world.” More on that in Monday’s edition of The Inquirer.

    Malcolm Jenkins, who was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame on Friday, Chase Utley, and Kyle Lowry shared their own messages

    Angelo’s cameo

    In order to explain the drop-off in the Eagles offense, Prime Video took a trip to newly minted Michelin Bib Gourmand cheesesteak establishment Angelo’s to take a look at the stats.

    “‘Wit’ or ‘wit’out’ a consistent offense, they’re still 8-3,” sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung said.

    Someone gave them the right intel for where to go. Shout-out to the Philadelphian on Prime Video’s staff, although brutal to use such a great cheesesteak to explain the Eagles’ struggles.

    How did The Inquirer review Michelin’s top Philadelphia picks in the past?

    Ben Johnson’s inspo

    Ben Johnson took his high school postgame celebration — a riff on Billy Williams’ “Good, better, best” Hall of Fame speech — and brought it to his first head coaching gig in Chicago.

    Johnson played high school football at A.C. Reynolds in Asheville, N.C., and graduated in 2004. Prime Video resurfaced a clip from Johnson’s high school days.

    Nick Sirianni and coaches struggle again as Eagles lose second straight | Marcus Hayes

    What’s a wedge buster?

    What exactly is the wedge buster sandwich? I had many questions, and, to be honest, I still can’t quite tell what’s in it. But the wedge buster is Prime Video’s response to the Thanksgiving meal served by Fox at the end of Thursday’s game, an extremely large sandwich made with pizza crust that the winning team gets to eat postgame.

    Maybe just go to Middle Child next time?

    Kevin Patullo critiques

    Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo did nothing to calm the heat around the Birds offense in the first half, with the team scoring just three points and compiling 83 yards of offense and two first downs.

    There wasn’t much more to say about the state of the Eagles at halftime.

    “Kevin Patullo does not have the answers,” former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman said. “He’s shown incompetency over the last couple games. … We need a little wingardium leviosa.”

    Sherman waved a little Harry Potter wand to emphasize his point, but it’s not the first time he’s criticized Patullo.

    Eagles fans

    The broadcast got lots of mileage out of disappointed Eagles fans at the Linc, including my close personal friend, Philly Sports Santa, and the Grinch.

    The boos were ringing down loudly on the broadcast after most offensive plays.

    The Bears wanted to weaponize that atmosphere entering Friday’s game.

    “If their offense goes three-and-out starting the game, they’re going to start booing them,” Bears safety and Philly native Kevin Byard said. “It’s one of those environments where it’s going to be very hostile. So hopefully we can start fast and kind of get the crowd against their own team.”

    Prime Video even did a b-roll segment of Eagles fans — and even Santa — headed for the exits after the Bears took a two-score lead in the fourth.

    Brutal.

    Tush Push hate?

    Al Michaels finally asked a Tush Push question we haven’t heard before: Who on the team is the best at pushing Jalen Hurts on the famous quarterback sneak?

    It took him a bit to get into his story because just after starting it, Hurts fumbled the ball and then the broadcast cut to commercial, leaving the captive audience (me) waiting for the end of the story.

    “You know what, I was always good without being pushed on the quarterback sneaks,” Hurts told Michaels. “I don’t need to be pushed.”

    “You know who might vote against the Tush Push? Hurts!” Michaels said.

    “He might be the first one!” color analyst Kirk Herbstreit said jokingly.

    Two-point conversion

    Herbstreit and Michaels were surprised to see Nick Sirianni and the Birds go for two down nine points in the fourth with just over three minutes to go.

    Had the Birds kicked the extra point, they could have made it a one-score game, although they would have needed to go for two if they managed to score another touchdown.

    “To me, it was a no-brainer,” Herbstreit said. “You’re down eight, you’ve got all three timeouts and the two-minute warning, you stop them on three runs, with A.J. Brown and that offense.”

    Instead, the Birds remained down nine points, which made a comeback nearly impossible. That said, the Eagles needed to go for two at some point anyway if they were going to tie the game. By going for two first, you have all the information about what the rest of the game needs to look like instead of running the clock down to near zero and then failing on the two-point try.

  • Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo struggle as Eagles lose again due to poor focus, fundamentals

    Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo struggle as Eagles lose again due to poor focus, fundamentals

    Jalen Hurts gave up two third-quarter turnovers Friday against the Chicago Bears — first, a bad, deep throw, then a fumble during a Tush Push. Both inexcusable. Both plays that reek of poor fundamentals.

    Poor fundamentals mean poor coaching.

    Bears running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai ran for 125 and 130 yards, respectively. It’s the first time since 1960 that two opposing runners gained more than 100 yards on Eagles home turf — astonishing, considering how awful some of the Eagles’ defenses have been. They surrendered a total of 281 rushing yards, the most they’ve allowed in a decade.

    How did this happen?

    Mainly, poor tackling. Poor tackling means poor fundamentals.

    Poor fundamentals mean poor coaching.

    As has so often happened this season, the offensive play calls took far too long to be communicated to Hurts, then from him to the team. First-time offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is 12 games into his career as a play-caller. It’s not as if the offense is particularly complex. Crowd noise was no factor: It was a home game.

    Maybe they couldn’t hear above the boos.

    Bears running back D’Andre Swift runs for 17 yards past a fallen Cooper DeJean during the second quarter.

    The Eagles’ Super Bowl hangover is getting worse as time grows short in the 2025 season. As was the case after Nick Sirianni and the Birds won the NFC title after the 2022 season, the coach and the team, who won Super Bowl LIX, have been unimaginative, ineffective, and have appeared unmotivated for most of the season.

    It took 11 games in 2023 for the malaise to collapse the season. It has taken only 10 games in 2025.

    After the Eagles blew a 21-point lead and committed 14 penalties at Dallas on Sunday, Sirianni fell on the sword. He did so again Friday:

    “We all have to do a better job. And that’s going to be starting with us as coaches — starting with me, as a coach.”

    For the second straight week, he swore he wouldn’t replace Patullo, who is reaching Sean Desai-levels of unpopularity. (Desai was the scapegoat defensive coordinator for part of the lost 2023 season.)

    They got paid. They got Super Bowl rings. And now, the Eagles’ offense is unmotivated.

    Blame Nick. Blame Kevin. Blame whoever you like but the Eagles are now 8-4 after a 24-15 loss to the visiting Bears. Petulant receiver A.J. Brown caught 10 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and had eight catches for 110 yards at Dallas in the previous game, so he’s been productive and presumably happy, but he’s an outlier.

    The Eagles’ well-paid, pedigreed offense has managed just three solid drives in the last six quarters, and one came against a prevent defense in the fourth quarter Friday night.

    The Eagles were unprepared for Dallas’ five-man front in their last game. They were unprepared to stop the Bears’ running attack Friday. They don’t seem to know what’s coming. On the other hand, the Eagles offense and defense both seem entirely predictable, and when they aren’t disciplined, they’re a disaster.

    “Turnovers and sloppy sloppiness,” said center Cam Jurgens.

    How to fix it?

    “Watching film being brutally honest.”

    It sounds as if there’s been less accountability lately.

    “You know, in a walk-through somebody false starts — like we need to make a point of every single part,” Jurgens said. “You know, and it’s happening in the game. We need to make sure we’re covering all of our bases and stay on top of it, because we’re just the sloppier team today.”

    There might have been a play or two Friday that the officials didn’t call in the Eagles’ favor, but if you’re underthrowing passes and failing to cover backs out of the backfield, and then you’re begging the refs to bail you out, well, that’s just kind of sad.

    Speaking of sad, the Eagles’ final possession of the first half went like this:

    • Weird, soft, 1-yard pass to Brown;
    • The Eagles wasted about 30 seconds when they could not get a play call in before the two-minute warning. In a bizarre moment postgame, Sirianni, clearly rattled and desperate to protect Patullo, delivered a nonsensical answer that asserted that they wasted that time on purpose;
    • Aborted route over the middle by Brown, who would have been hit hard by Jaylon Jones as he caught it;
    • Offensive pass interference on Brown, who pushed off (softly) to negate a 12-yard completion;
    • On third-and-19, an 11-yard pass to Will Shipley, who, with 1 minute, 43 seconds to play, foolishly ran out of bounds, saving the Bears about 30 seconds.
    • Braden Mann then shanked a downwind punt 44 yards. He shanked another at the start of the fourth quarter that went 40 yards.

    Needless to say, the Eagles left Lincoln Financial Field to a chorus of boos. They’d gained just 83 yards in the first half, their worst first-half production of the season.

    It got worse.

    On the first play of the second half, Hurts hit Saquon Barkley in the right shoulder pad with a pass. Barkley wasn’t ready. Hurts stared him down. In the fourth quarter, Barkley dropped another pass.

    Even when things went right, they went wrong.

    Midway through the third quarter, from the Bears’ 33, Hurts went deep. He underthrew Brown, who adjusted, ripped the ball away from Nahshon Wright, and walked into the end zone to cut it to 10-9.

    A few seconds later, kicker Jake Elliott pulled the point-after attempt left.

    Seriously.

    The Eagles now have nine days to prepare for a West Coast road game against the Los Angeles Chargers, a 7-4 team that is likely to be 8-4 after Sunday’s home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

    That’s a lot of time for extra coaching.

    That is, if Sirianni and his staff are up to it.

    Jerry Jones reveals who saved the Cowboys’ season; Tom Brady’s Chip Kelly problem; more Week 12 thoughts
  • Eagles’ issues extend to defense in wire-to-wire Black Friday loss to Bears

    Eagles’ issues extend to defense in wire-to-wire Black Friday loss to Bears

    The Chicago Bears brought a piece of the Windy City to Philly and blew the Eagles away.

    On a gusty Black Friday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field, the visiting Bears got to work on the ground, pounding their way to a 24-15 victory. Vic Fangio’s defense turned porous as running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for 255 rushing yards (130 for Monangai, 125 for Swift).

    Nick Sirianni and coaches struggle again as Eagles lose second straight with poor focus and fundamentals

    The Eagles offense, meanwhile, sputtered too frequently, going three-and-out on four possessions and committing two turnovers (one interception, one fumble). Kevin Patullo’s unit finished with just 51 plays (317 yards) to the Bears’ 85 (425 yards).

    Jake Elliott also struggled, missing an extra point attempt in the third quarter and a 52-yard field goal attempt in the waning seconds of the fourth.

    Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ fourth loss of the season, and second straight:

    Bears on the run

    The Bears won the time of possession game, especially in the first half, with their offense on the field for 21 minutes compared to just nine for the Eagles.

    Chicago’s offense dominated early, thanks to its running game, headlined by a running back duo of former Eagle Swift and Monangai. They combined for 7.2 yards per carry in the first half (129 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries).

    It was a happy homecoming for former Eagle and St. Joseph’s Prep product D’Andre Swift on Friday.

    Swift was particularly efficient on the ground, averaging 8.8 yards per carry through the first 30 minutes of the game. The St. Joseph’s Prep alumnus put the Bears up, 7-0, with just over a minute and a half remaining in the first quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run.

    He also was adept at forcing missed tackles, especially on the first play of the Bears’ third possession of the afternoon. Swift took a handoff from an under-center Caleb Williams, then scurried to the right for a 17-yard gain, leaving Adoree’ Jackson in his wake.

    “We’ve just got to be more violent,” Nakobe Dean said of the Eagles’ shortcomings against the run. “We’ve got to get off blocks. We’ve got to fit the run and like I said, that happens. And that’s with all 11, not just the D-line, not just the linebackers, not just the DBs. Everybody’s got to fit the run better.”

    Williams contributed on the ground, too, scrambling on third-and-5 to pick up a first down on the Bears’ third possession. However, the Bears got away from the running game briefly in the red zone, as Williams threw three straight incomplete passes. Chicago settled for a 30-yard Cairo Santos field goal and pulled ahead, 10-3.

    The Bears got back to the running game in the fourth quarter, as Monangai added another rushing touchdown to put Chicago up, 17-9. The running game became a focal point because both quarterbacks had their share of misses in the passing game.

    Jalen Hurts and the Eagles passing game had their moments against the Bears, but not enough of them.

    Williams went 17 of 36 (47.2%) for 154 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Jalen Hurts went 19 of 34 (55.9%) for 230 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

    Williams sealed the Eagles’ fate with his 28-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet late in the fourth quarter that made it 24-9.

    Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts has two turnovers; run defense porous vs. Bears

    Up-and-down offense

    While neither team thrived in the passing game, the Bears could at least run the ball. Saquon Barkley had some solid early runs, averaging 6.3 yards per carry in the first quarter, but the Bears defense tightened up and limited him to 4.3 per carry by the end of the game. Barkley finished with 56 yards on 13 carries.

    The Eagles’ passing attack couldn’t compensate for the lack of explosiveness on the ground. Hurts wasn’t always on the same page with his receivers, including a third-down incompletion to DeVonta Smith on a slant that forced the Eagles to settle for a 44-yard field goal.

    Hurts’ pass for Smith was slightly behind the 27-year-old receiver as he ran across the middle of the field. After the game, Hurts called the missed connection “two guys on two different pages.”

    “That’s a bit of the issues that we’ve kind of been having,” Hurts said. “We weren’t detailed enough in that. I wasn’t detailed enough in instructing him what to do, have him prepared, and making myself clear on that. So I’m trying to find as many particulars as I can when it comes to the level of execution we have and that’s a group effort that has to be there.”

    The field goal made it 7-3 in favor of the Bears. In the first half, the Eagles mustered just two first downs and 83 total yards, while the Bears amassed 16 first downs and 222 yards.

    Ex-Eagles safety Kevin Byard celebrated an interception of his former teammate Jalen Hurts in the third quarter.

    Ex-Eagle Kevin Byard’s third-quarter interception of Hurts continued the negative trend, but the Eagles offense showed a spark on the next possession — with a foolish Bears penalty helping the cause.

    Bears defensive lineman Gervon Dexter was flagged for a late hit on Hurts, moving the Eagles up 15 yards to their own 40. On the following play, Hurts had a rare designed run for 23 yards, bringing the Eagles to the Bears’ 33-yard line. On the ensuing play, Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 33-yard touchdown pass, but Elliott missed the extra point to make it 10-9 Bears.

    That spark wasn’t enough. The next two Eagles possessions ended in a Hurts fumble and a three-and-out. They eventually turned it back on, reeling off a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, capped by a 4-yard Brown touchdown catch and an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.

    Turnover time

    Entering the game, the Eagles led the league with just six turnovers lost this season. The Bears, meanwhile, had forced a league-best 24 turnovers.

    The Bears won Friday’s turnover battle. Byard picked off Hurts early in the third quarter after the quarterback rolled out to his right while being pressured and launched a pass deep down the right sideline for Brown. Byard undercut the pass and snared his NFL-best sixth interception of the season.

    “I saw Kevin coming over and I knew there was a chance he was going to be able to make a play on the ball,” Hurts said. “Just was trying to give him a chance and throw it to the sideline where A.J. could try and make a play on it, and I wasn’t able to connect with him.”

    Luckily for the Eagles offense, the Bears failed to capitalize on Byard’s efforts. Williams was under duress up front on second and third downs, scrambling for no gain and throwing an incomplete pass intended for Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze to go three-and-out.

    Pass rusher Jalyx Hunt looked like the collegiate safety he once was on an interception of Caleb Williams in the second half.

    Later in the third quarter, Jalyx Hunt picked off Williams and returned the ball to the Bears’ 36-yard line. His play gave the Eagles offense excellent field position to try to pull ahead while they were down, 10-9.

    However, on third-and-1 at Chicago’s 12, Hurts fumbled on the Tush Push, a play that Bears head coach Ben Johnson previously denounced. Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright recovered the fumble, ending the Eagles’ attempt to go ahead. Hurts said he had hoped that his progress was stopped before the fumble, but the officials “didn’t blow the whistle as soon.”

    “That’s not to point the finger at anyone else,” Hurts said. “I’ve got to hold on to the ball.”

    This time, the Bears made the turnover count, as Monangai punched in a 4-yard rushing touchdown to cap a 12-play, 87-yard drive and put Chicago up, 17-9, early in the fourth quarter.

  • Philadelphia is on a long list of potential cities for the 2031 women’s World Cup

    Philadelphia is on a long list of potential cities for the 2031 women’s World Cup

    NEW YORK — The United States Soccer Federation proposed 14 American sites among 20 possible venues to host games for the 2031 Women’s World Cup, including seven U.S. stadiums to be used for next year’s men’s tournament.

    FIFA released the bid books Friday for the 2031 and 2035 women’s tournaments. There is only one bidder for each, a U.S.-Mexico-Costa Rica-Jamaica proposal for 2031 and a United Kingdom plan for 2035. FIFA is to formally confirm the bids at its congress on April 30.

    Twenty-six additional U.S. stadiums were mentioned as suitable venues for a 48-nation tournament the bidders project would draw 4.5 million fans and generate about $4 billion in revenue, up from $570 million for 2023 in Australia and New Zealand and a projection of $1 billion for the 2027 tournament in Brazil.

    Proposed ticket prices of $35 for the cheapest seats in the opening round to $120 to $600 for the final were listed in a ticket grid. FIFA has refused to release a grid for next year’s men’s tournament, saying only prices initially ranged from $60-$6,730 but could fluctuate with dynamic pricing. The bid book said premium seating would average 10%-20% of capacity at the majority of 2031 stadiums.

    Lincoln Financial Field last hosted a women’s World Cup in 2003.

    Fifty sites in all were mentioned in the joint 2031 bid. Final decisions likely will not be made for several years.

    The bid book also said “other suitable cities are included” beyond the specified 14 “as part of the broader bid framework with the understanding that they will continue to be equally considered for the purposes of stadium selection.”

    The U.S. launches a continent-wide bid for the 2031 women’s World Cup, and Philadelphia wants in

    “By proposing more than the required 20 sites, the joint bidders demonstrate a commitment to securing the best possible hosting conditions and ensuring the tournament represents the full diversity of our region on a global scale,” the bid book stated.

    The 2026 U.S. sites included in the 2031 proposal are Arlington, Texas (AT&T), Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz), East Rutherford, N.J. (MetLife), Houston (NRG), Inglewood, Calif. (SoFi), Kansas City, Mo. (Arrowhead), and Seattle (Lumen Field).

    MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., hosted this year’s Club World Cup final and will host next year’s men’s World Cup final.

    The seven others are Charlotte, N.C. (Bank of America), Denver (Empower Field), Minneapolis (U.S. Bank), Nashville (Geodis Park), Orlando (Camping World), San Diego (Snapdragon), and Washington (proposed NFL venue on the RFK Stadium site).

    Orlando and Washington were sites of the 1994 men’s World Cup.

    The 2031 Women’s World Cup is heading to the U.S., and Jill Ellis hopes it comes to Philadelphia

    Mexico’s three sites for next year’s World Cup also are proposed for the women’s tournament, Mexico City (Azteca), Guadalajara (Akron), and Monterrey (BBVA), along with a fourth in Torreón (Corona).

    National stadiums are proposed in Kingston, Jamaica, and San Jose, Costa Rica.

    The national stadium in Kingston, Jamaica will host its first women’s World Cup games.

    Other U.S. venues listed as possibilities are Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette), Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field), and Santa Clara, Calif. (Levi’s), all venues for next year’s men’s World Cup.

    Additional sites included were Baltimore (M&T Bank), Birmingham, Ala. (Protective), Carson, Calif. (Dignity Health Sports Park), Cincinnati (TQL), Cleveland (Huntington Bank Field), Columbus, Ohio (Lower.com Field), Frisco, Texas (Toyota), Glendale, Arizona (State Farm), Harrison, N.J. (Sports Illustrated), Los Angeles (Memorial Coliseum), Miami (Chase), Nashville (Nissan), New York (Etihad Park), Orlando (Inter & Co), Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl), St. Louis (Energizer Park), San Francisco (Oracle Park), Sandy, Utah (America First Field), and Tampa, Fla. (Raymond James).

    USWNT star Tierna Davidson visits Kensington to inspire a new generation of young soccer players

    Second possible sites in cities, all with lower capacities, were included for Houston (Shell Energy), Kansas City, Mo. (CPKC), and Washington (Audi Field).

    Indianapolis was listed for a proposed stadium.

    The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., hosted the 1999 women’s World Cup final – still one of the most famous games in women’s soccer history.

    Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was the only 2026 World Cup venue not included.

    Chicago was not listed after dropping out of bidding to host in 2026 because of what it said were FIFA’s burdensome financial demands.

    Additional possibilities in Mexico are Pachuca (Miguel Hidalgo) and Querétaro (Corregidora) along with Universitario as an alternate choice in Monterrey. Saprissa was listed as an alternate site in San Jose, Costa Rica.

    Organizers envision fan festivals and watch parties in conjunction with games. Revenue from marketing and sponsorships is projected at $1.4 billion.

    Former Independence fan favorite Lianne Sanderson is now one of women’s soccer’s top broadcasters