No, FOX Sports reporter Erin Andrews’ jacket was not made of any Philadelphia Zoo animals.
Andrews’ sideline look — an extravagantly fluffy, cream and black, fur-like jacket — was quickly meme-ified during Sunday’s matchup between the Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
“I also want to hear about that coat,” play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt said early in the second half. “It’s terrific.”
Sam Ersson has not had the best start to the season.
In 16 games, he is 6-6-4 with a 3.33 goals-against average and an .858 save percentage. They are the highest and the lowest numbers, respectively, in an NHL career that spans 126 games across four seasons.
Everything came to a head on Saturday in a 7-2 Flyers loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Xfinity Mobile Arena, matching his career high in goals allowed for the third time. He faced 23 shots.
“Yeah, obviously, it’s been tough for me, personally,” he told The Inquirer Sunday about his season as a whole. “It’s weird. I would say, like the team is doing well, we’re winning, it’s a lot of fun in that sense, but at the same time, you want more out of yourself, and I’m disappointed in how I perform.
“I think there’s been stretches of where it’s been good and got some big wins. And then there’s been stretches where, especially now, lately, I feel like it’s been lacking.
“Obviously, especially last night, it’s very tough, embarrassing to let in seven goals on your home ice. You feel like you kind of let down the team and the fans. Obviously, that’s not acceptable. Just got to be better.”
Ersson has one win in his last seven starts, a 3-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks before the NHL’s holiday break. He started nine of the first 26 games, going 5-2-2 with a 2.97 GAA and an .869 save percentage. Since Dec. 4, he has started seven of the Flyers’ last 17 games, going 1-4-2 in that stretch with a 3.80 GAA and an .844 save percentage.
Tampa Bay center Gage Goncalves scores a third-period goal on Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson on Saturday.
The 26-year-old goaltender is not one to make excuses. And he has the chance to do just that with a new coaching staff, new systems in front of him, and fewer starts for a goalie who played in 47 games last year and 51 the year before.
“I’m not blaming anything like that,” he said. “It comes down to me, how I perform, how I approach things, and I know if I do that in the correct way, my game, I will have success no matter what.”
According to Money Puck, among goalies who have played at least 10 games, he is ranked fifth-worst in goals saved above average (-9.5), sixth in percentage of expected goals (-21.01), and tied for last in save percentage (.858). And he doesn’t have nearly as many minutes as the guys below him, like Jordan Binnington and fellow Swedes Jacob Markström and Linus Ullmark.
Goals saved above average is a comparison tool to show how a goalie did compared to an average goalie seeing the same shots. Among goalies with at least 700 minutes played, Ersson ranks dead last at five-on-five in goals saved above average, too (-16.02). His high-danger goals saved above average is the 10th highest (-4.28), but he has also faced the fewest high-danger shots (70).
It’s a bit surprising because, before the team made mistakes — not every goal on Saturday can be blamed on the goalie — and the Flyers allowed a touchdown and the extra point, they were ranked ninth in the NHL in goals allowed (2.79). It’s a wild drop from last season, when they finished at 3.45.
“I think it’s better,” Ersson said when asked about structural changes in the defensive zone by Rick Tocchet and his staff. “I think we’re doing a really good job defensively with how we’re playing.
“So, for me, it all comes down to kind of how I play and how I perform. And I know if I play to the level I can and want to be, I will have success. So, just got to find a way to flush these last few games and get back to where I want to be.”
The Flyers play the Lightning again on Monday (7 p.m., NBCSP), and the expectation is that Dan Vladař will get the start. But there’s a good chance Ersson will get an opportunity to right the ship with the Flyers having a back-to-back in two of the next three weeks.
“Just got to roll up the sleeves and grind away,” Tocchet said. And Ersson, who was the first one on the ice Sunday at practice, is up for the task.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” the goalie said about what comes next. “I would say usually, like when you’re in a tough stretch, less is more. You’re obviously working, but if you start to try to change everything, then you’re just tearing down the foundation that you’ve built up for years, right? So it’s the combination of trusting your game, but just like pushing everything a little bit and getting back to where it needs to be.”
Konecny’s brief practice
Travis Konecny’s return practice Sunday lasted only a few minutes. During the first drill, he took a shot off his knee.
“Kind of a nerve,” Tocchet said. “So hopefully it wakes up a little bit. So it just was like a dead leg kind of thing, so we’ll see about tomorrow.”
The Flyers forward, who was injured during Thursday’s game and did not play the third period, also missed Saturday’s loss to Tampa Bay with an upper-body injury. After watching the game from the press box, he was a participant in a regular jersey in Voorhees.
It became evident quickly that Konecny was in a lot of pain on the bench. He tried to walk it off under the watchful eye of assistant athletic trainers Alex Ambrose and Joe Mele, and even tested it on the ice, but did not return to practice.
“It seems like injuries, even with other teams, they come in bunches, they don’t come every once in a while,” Tocchet said. “You get one, two, three, four in a row, so maybe it’s our turn now, we’re starting to get it. So, yeah, you’ve just got to push through that stuff.”
At the start of last season, defenseman Nick Seeler missed the Flyers’ first five games after suffering a nerve injury to his leg in a preseason game, hitting an area without padding.
“The numbness was the whole outside of my right leg and into my foot,” he said at the time, pointing toward the back of his leg, where it caused everything to “shut off for a while.”
The Flyers hope to have Konecny, the team’s second-leading scorer, back in the lineup Monday against the Lightning. It starts a stretch of 11 games in the last 20 days of January, and they do not have two days between games until the start of February.
Breakaways
Forward Bobby Brink should be good to go on Monday. Brink has missed the last two games after being injured on a blindside hit during Tuesday’s win against the Anaheim Ducks. He participated in Saturday’s morning skate in a noncontact jersey but was in a regular black jersey on Sunday. … Defenseman Jamie Drysdale was still in a noncontact jersey. … Forward Carl Grundström missed practice due to illness. His status for Monday’s game is to be determined.
When it comes to tailgating, Philly is among the best to do it. Whether it’s grilling camel or belly dancing in the snow, Eagles fans know how to step it up for the playoffs — and this year’s pregame tailgate for the Birds’ wild-card matchup with the San Francisco 49ers didn’t disappoint.
Here’s what you missed from the tailgating lots …
Darius Slay back in Philly
Darius Slay may no longer be part of the Eagles — but that’s not stopping him and his wife Jennifer Slay from supporting his former team, appearing on the sideline before the game and even in the parking lots.
The former Birds cornerback posed for photos with fans at the 4th and Jawn tailgate ahead of Sunday’s game. Standing beside his wife, Slay looked at the crowd of Birds fans and smiled as they yelled out “Big Play Slay” and erupted in Eagles chants.
Darius Slay may no longer be part of the Eagles — but that’s not stopping him and his wife Jennifer Slay from supporting his former team. pic.twitter.com/XsSPgLKuRp
Although Slay was released last offseason before signing with the Steelers, he still means a lot to Eagles fans after spending five seasons in Philly, capped off by a Super Bowl victory in February.
“Darius Slay means everything,” said 30-year-old Chris Mallee. “He’s kind of a blue-collar guy like all the people coming to the games. He’s someone that keeps his head down and works really hard, family oriented, he’s a really solid guy.
“We definitely miss him here but we’re glad he’s doing well.”
How do fans feel about Darius Slay making an appearance at the Eagles tailgates pic.twitter.com/G2Akdi8KOQ
Slay was released by the Steelers last month, and subsequently claimed by the Buffalo Bills. However, he informed the Bills he was considering retirement and did not report to the team.
At the same time Slay was hanging with Birds fans Sunday, the Bills were in Jacksonville for their own playoff game. They came back in the final minutes to beat the Jaguars, 27-24, and advance to the divisional round.
John Hirschbuhl and Doug Steinbrecher’s Philly Football Finger caught the eye of George Kittle during his rookie year.
Kittle’s favorite middle finger
Most players who have played in Philly have had at least one memorable interaction with Eagles fans. And George Kittle is no different. The veteran tight end was one of several 49ers players to discuss his relationship with the fan base, and even shared his favorite story, which had to do with a giant middle finger he saw his rookie year.
“There were like four 10-year-old kids holding a seven-foot-tall papier-mâché middle finger that had a rotating thing on it that made the middle finger come up,” Kittle told reporters. “That was the coolest thing, I’ll never forget it. That was my rookie year and I was like, this is excellent.”
That middle finger was back on Sunday.
John Hirschbuhl and Doug Steinbrecher have been building the Philly Football Finger for 25 years. The finger gets displayed for every home game and they bring it with them on the road twice a year.
“George Kittle happened to see it, enjoyed it, sent a police officer over to tell us how he appreciated coming to Philadelphia and how the fans are a little bit nuts here,” said. “We all love football. That’s what it comes down to.”
Kittle was carted off Sunday after suffering what was later reported to be an Achilles injury.
Walking through C Lot, you’ll likely find fans playing cornhole, grilling, and throwing a football around as they prepare for the day’s game. You may also see a grown man wearing a beak on his head as he drags a 49ers helmet through the parking lot with a leash.
That’s 64-year-old David Schofield, also known as “Beak.” He has been “walking the dog” for 21 years.
“The rescues, we just like to bring them out here in the sun and get them some exercise,” Schofield said of his “helmet dog.”
Schofield has made this into a pregame ritual, and owns a helmet for each NFL team.
“It started with a road trip in Buffalo when we took a helmet home to smash,” he said. “But, it was a good helmet so it didn’t smash too easily. So, I ended up putting it on a dog leash. Hence the birth of the helmet dog.”
On Sunday, South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito was named to the United States’ 2026 Winter Olympic Team headed to Italy.
The U.S. contingent was announced during Making the Team: Presented by Xfinity live on NBC and Peacock. This was the first time the figure skating team was named live on television, in the same manner as gymnastics historically is.
Levito was announced by 1960 Olympic champion Carol Heiss Jenkins before she skated last year’s beautiful Moon River short program.
Joining Levito on the team are Amber Glenn, 26, of Plano, Texas, and Alysa Liu, 20, of Oakland, Calif.
All three skated clean programs in the short and the free skate, or long program. Glenn won both segments, capturing her third straight national title.
“It was an absolutely epic evening of skating,” two-time Olympian and commentator Johnny Weir said Saturday on NBC. “Last night all three women made me believe there could be a chance for each of them to stand on that [Olympic] podium.”
Isabeau Levito performs during the women’s free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis. She won the bronze medal.
Liu, the silver medalist, is a 2022 Olympian who retired from skating shortly after those Games. She made a big splash by returning to the ice last year, winning the world championships in her first season back.
The three are good friends, which is a change from the win-at-any-cost rivalries of the past. That era was punctuated by the 1994 Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding matchup at the U.S. Championships in Detroit, when Harding’s ex-husband plotted to have Kerrigan hit in the knee.
On Friday night, Levito and Liu watched and cheered on Glenn, the last to skate, and the three celebrated together in the kiss and cry, where skaters and their coaches wait to receive scores, after Glenn’s win was confirmed.
But this time is extra special, because Milan is the hometown of her mother, Chiara Garberi, and where her grandmother and other relatives still live. They will be able to watch her compete next month, Levito said in the news conference Friday night.
South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito was announced as an Olympian on Sunday. She skated during the “Making Team USA” performance following the announcement.
Even before nationals began, the Olympic spots were Levito, Glenn, and Liu’s to lose. The three had been dominating the women’s event for the last two years, the time period U.S. Figure Skating takes into account when selecting a team.
But none gave in to the pressure.
All said they are more excited than nervous about the Olympics.
“I am just so excited and stoked about the [Olympic] village,” Levito said at Friday night’s news conference, when their spots were inevitable but not official. “I just know it’ll be the time of my life. I don’t even think I’m going to be worried about the reason I’m there for. That’s when I thrive best, when I’m distracted.”
The rest of the Olympic figure skating team includes: Ilia Malinin, Maxim Naumov, and Andrew Torgashev in the men’s event; Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea and Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe in the pairs event; and Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko in the ice dance event.
Pairs was the biggest question mark because two of the U.S. medalists are not U.S. citizens. They are Alisa Efimova, who won nationals with Misha Mitrofanov, and Daniil Parkman, who, with Katie McBeath, won the bronze medal. Both of those pairs were named to the teams going to the Four Continents Championships and the World Championships, which don’t require skaters to be citizens of the countries they represent.
TORONTO — Joel Embiid missed Sunday’s game against the Raptors with left groin soreness and left knee injury management. Paul George was a late scratch for the game with left knee soreness.
Embiid had played in six consecutive games — and hit 40 minutes Monday in an overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets — for the first time since the 2023-24 season. Embiid had been listed Saturday as questionable on the injury report for left knee injury management ahead of this back-to-back in Toronto on Sunday and Monday. The groin soreness, which coach Nick Nurse said emerged following Friday’s victory at the Orlando Magic, was added to the report on Sunday.
Embiid, the former MVP who is coming off multiple knee surgeries, is averaging 23.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 19 games. George has averaged 16 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 steals in 20 games.
Without Embiid, the Sixers will turn to Andre Drummond and Adem Bona at center against the 23-16 Raptors, who sat a half-game ahead of the Sixers (21-15) in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings entering Sunday. Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker are also small-ball options at that position.
Nurse said after Sunday’s overtime loss that George, who was not listed on the injury report at any point leading into the game, felt stiffness in his knee while attempting to warm up “two different times, and he just couldn’t get to where he could push off it enough or accelerate.”
Kelly Oubre Jr., who returned earlier this week from a knee injury, slid into the starting lineup in place of George.
Sixers second-year wing Justin Edwards, meanwhile, has been recalled from the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats and will be available for Sunday’s game.
Not only did the Phillies cannonball last week into the pool of teams interested in signing Bichette, but his market is about to kick into overdrive after fellow free-agent infielder Alex Bregman reached a five-year, $175 million agreement with the Cubs late Saturday night.
Bichette has a Zoom call with the Phillies scheduled for this week, a league source confirmed. Now, after Bregman bolted Boston for the North Side of Chicago, the Red Sox figure to pivot to Bichette, multiple major league sources expect. The Yankees may be in the mix, too, as their talks with free agent Cody Bellinger are at an “impasse,” ESPN.com reported over the weekend.
The Cubs doled out a club-record $35 million per year for Bregman, albeit with deferrals that reduce the present-day value, according to The Athletic. Bichette, who turns 28 in March, is four years younger than Bregman, which could put him in line for a seven- or eight-year contract at a similar, if not higher, annual salary and boost the overall value of the deal to $250 million or more.
Meanwhile, another musical chair in the infield market disappeared over the weekend, as the Diamondbacks pulled back Ketel Marte in trade talks. That leaves Bichette and 34-year-old free agent Eugenio Suárez as the best and most straightforward infield options.
Bo Bichette (left) will meet this week with the Phillies, who are awaiting a decision from free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Until the last few weeks, the Phillies didn’t expect to join the bidding for Bichette. Not after re-signing Kyle Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million contract and making an offer to bring back cornerstone catcher J.T. Realmuto, whose influence among the pitching staff and leadership from behind the plate outweigh his declining offense.
But as Realmuto holds out for a better offer, the Phillies have explored other avenues to potentially improve the roster, a league source said last week, and see a possible fit with Bichette, who is open to moving to second base or third base after playing shortstop for seven seasons with the Blue Jays.
At the plate, Bichette is a .294 career hitter with a 121 OPS-plus and the unusual combination of a low strikeout rate (14.5% last season) and high rate of swings at pitches out of the strike zone (35.2%). His knack for putting balls in play, regardless of where they’re pitched, would add a dimension to the Phillies offense.
It’s also likely the Phillies got a strong endorsement from newly hired bench coach Don Mattingly, with whom Bichette grew close over the last two seasons in Toronto.
But the competition for Bichette is fierce, even more with Bregman off the board. Let’s look at the teams that could threaten the Phillies’ pursuit of Bichette:
After only one season with the Red Sox, Alex Bregman agreed to a five-year, $175 million contract with the Cubs.
Red Sox
When the Red Sox signed Bregman last spring, they irritated incumbent third baseman Rafael Devers so much that they traded him in June even though Bregman could opt out of his contract after one season.
Sure enough, third base at Fenway Park will be occupied by neither Bregman nor Devers in 2026.
Although the Sox have mostly resisted long-term deals with free agents since they fired Dave Dombrowski in 2019, they reportedly put a five-year offer on the table for Bregman before getting outbid by the Cubs. It’s fair to assume they would go at least that long for Bichette. But would they stretch to seven years? Eight?
The Sox entered the offseason looking for two middle-of-the-order hitters. Rather than chasing Schwarber or Pete Alonso in free agency, they traded for first baseman Willson Contreras. Their other big offseason move was also a trade, also with the Cardinals, for pitcher Sonny Gray. They could aim for the hat trick by trading for St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan to fill a vacancy at second base or third.
Donovan, 29, will make only $5.8 million this year and is under club control through 2027. Trading for him feels like a move for a free agent-averse team. But few free agents are as young as Bichette, which might enable the Red Sox to view him as less risky.
Despite reportedly receiving multiple offers from the Yankees, Cody Bellinger is still a free agent.
Yankees
Like the Phillies with Realmuto, the Yankees prioritized re-signing Cody Bellinger and taking aim at another World Series.
A deal hasn’t materialized.
Bellinger, 30, is reportedly seeking a seven-year contract; the Yankees, according to reports, are hesitant to go longer than five. And the longer the staring contest between the sides persists, the more the Yankees figure to pursue other options.
Signing Bichette would require the Yankees to do almost as much lineup juggling as the Phillies. While the Phillies would have to trade third baseman Alec Bohm to make room in the payroll and the infield, the Yankees likely must do the same with second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Coincidentally, Bohm and Chisholm will both make $10.2 million this year and can be free agents after the season.)
But if the Yankees lose Bellinger, they will need to replace his middle-of-the-order production. Bichette is one solution, albeit from the right side of the plate instead of the left.
Free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker spent the 2025 season with the Cubs.
Blue Jays
After spending $337 million in free agency on starter Dylan Cease, relievers Tyler Rogers and Cody Ponce, and Japanese third baseman Kazumo Okamoto, the World Series runner-up is hoping to put a cherry on top of its offseason bonanza by signing outfielder Kyle Tucker.
Why not just bring back Bichette?
The Blue Jays haven’t ruled it out. Although the infield appears set with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, Ernie Clement at second, Andrés Giménez at shortstop, and Okamoto at third, the Jays believe Okamoto is capable of adding left field to his portfolio. In his introductory news conference in Toronto, Okamoto said he likes playing different positions.
But Tucker represents a better positional fit for the Blue Jays. If he signs elsewhere, it’s worth wondering if they would pivot to fellow lefty-hitting outfielder Bellinger or turn back to Bichette.
The field
Never count out the Dodgers, especially if Bichette is willing to sign for a shorter term and higher annual salary with an opt-out after a year or two. The two-time defending World Series champs would presumably play him at second base and use Tommy Edman in center field and Hyeseong Kim and Miguel Rojas in utility roles.
Bichette would also fit with the Mariners, who won a division title and advanced to Game 7 of the ALCS last year despite ranking 17th in wins above replacement at second base (1.5) and 13th at third base (1.9). They could choose to re-sign Suárez but already lost infielder Jorge Polanco in free agency to the Mets.
Typically, our second-day stories on games include two positives sandwiched around a negative. It’s built that way to soften the blow of the negative.
But while coach Rick Tocchet said he liked parts of the Flyers’ game, after a 7-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s hard to focus on positives. So, this is a reverse. Here are two negatives with a big positive in the middle.
Negative: Sloppy play
As Garnet Hathaway said, the team is going to have to watch a lot of tape on Sunday because, in an odd twist of the schedule, the Flyers get another crack at the Lightning on Monday.
“We’re maybe making plays at the blue line that we shouldn’t make,” Hathaway said. “Their east-west game is a lot of their offense. They know when they have time and space, and they’ve got elite skill to make those passes through guys. So, some self-inflicted, some tip your cap. Either way, it doesn’t matter.”
Pretty much every single goal the Lightning scored came off a breakdown by the Flyers. Whether it was a turnover at the Tampa Bay blue line that sent the puck the other way — i.e., Matvei Michkov’s turnover that led to Gage Goncalves’ first goal of the night, or Trevor Zegras’ that led to Yanni Gourde’s tally — or backing up in the defensive zone, or leaving guys all alone to have their way with Sam Ersson, the Flyers struggled on Saturday.
While Tocchet had no problem with his team’s effort through the first 30 minutes, he thought some of his players lost focus and “half-hustled.” He noted that several players made mistakes backchecking and let the Lightning get inside.
You can only put so much blame on not having three of your best players, but the Flyers fell apart, notably in the third period. They were outshot 8-4 and, according to Natural Stat Trick, they had 30% of the shot attempts at five-on-five. The Lightning scored four times.
“Just an awful third period,” captain Sean Couturier said. “We’ll just move on. It’s one of those games you’ve got to forget quick.”
Flyers right wing Garnet Hathaway notched his first point of the season in Saturday’s loss to the Lightning.
Positive: Garnet Hathaway
Although the majority of players struggled, guys like Nikita Grebenkin, Owen Tippett, who scored his 14th goal on the season, and Hathaway stood out.
For Hathaway, it was a moment 36 games in the making, because in Game 37, he notched his first goal of the season. It was also his first point.
“A little overdue,” he said. “I keep thinking about, I can’t go back and change anything that’s happened so far. It doesn’t help me to think about. It doesn’t help me look back and wish I, you know, woulda, coulda, shoulda. It’s nice to get one. It’s nice to help the team on the score sheet.”
The goal was a deserved one with how he and Rodrigo Ābols played along the end boards — actually being the ones to create the turnover as they stole the puck from Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak. Hathaway then went right to the slot and deflected in the point shot. It is the gritty, blue-collar style of game that Hathaway needs to play to be successful.
Negative: Sam Ersson
Through 16 starts this season, Ersson is 6-6-4 with a 3.33 goals-against average and .858 save percentage. According to Money Puck, he is fifth-worst in goals saved above average (-9.5), and among goalies who have played at least 12 games, he ranks sixth in percentage of expected goals (-21.01).
On Saturday, Ersson allowed seven goals on 23 shots, giving him his worst save percentage of the season (.696).
Flyers goaltender Sam Ersson allowed four goals on eight third-period shots.
Was every goal his fault? No. The first goal saw the Flyers completely ignore Nikita Kucherov — something you should never do — allowing him to sit all alone in front for a slam-dunk goal.
“We’ve got to be better in front of him. Those are tough games to play. Obviously, I think he deserved better,” Tippett said. “And I don’t know if the sarcastic cheers [are] really appreciated, but we’ve got to do a better job in front of him and not put him in some of those situations.” Ersson was on the receiving end of sarcastic cheers after his saves throughout the night, including on his first save after allowing two goals on the first three shots of the third period.
“Keep his head up,” Hathaway said about the message to Ersson. “Yeah, I don’t think we played as defensively sound as we needed to against a very offensive-minded team, and that’s not on him. He’s played great all year, so forget it, it’s in the past” ”
According to Natural Stat Trick, Ersson faced seven high-danger shots and allowed four goals. But he did allow two from mid-range and one low-danger goal. Is he a goalie struggling with confidence?
“Yeah, he’s struggling a little bit,” Tocchet said when asked. “… You’re going to have tough nights. It’s a tough night. To have an NHL career, sometimes you’re going to be in the mud, and you’ve got to get yourself out of it, got to work harder.
“You’ve got to analyze things, not just him, anybody, when you’re having a tough, tough night or something, or tough couple of weeks or something, whatever you’re having, you’ve got to really just dig down and then get the support of the team too. That helps too.”
An Eagles fan watches as the players leave the field after losing to the 49ers.
With less than a minute remaining in Sunday’s game, fans crowded together in McGillin’s Olde Ale House with the Eagles down 23-19 and their back-to-back Super Bowl aspirations on the line. As a way to motivate one another and keep their hopes alive, fans in the bar began to erupt into Eagles chants.
Unfortunately, Jalen Hurts was sacked and threw three straight incompletions to end their playoff run early.
Brandon Lasalata was just one fan in attendance to watch the Birds night end in a loss. The 24-year-old made the drive from Richmond, Virginia to watch Sunday’s wild-card matchup surrounded by Eagles fans. However, it wasn’t the ending he expected.
“I don’t know what happened,” Lasalata said. “We need to get rid of Kevin Patullo. I think that hopefully next year we’ll be a better playoff contender. We should have gotten through this round. I don’t know what happened. I’m very upset.”
On the other side of the room, 27-year-old Lancaster native Dominic Polidoro sat with his head hanging low in defeat.
“I feel pretty deflated,” Polidoro said. “I feel like this team was probably the most talented team in the league. It’s really disappointing to see them fall short, especially scoring less than 20 points in this game. The offense has so many talented players and the defense is even more talented. So, it’s really disappointing to see them fall short this early in the playoffs. We had higher hopes. We thought this team was good enough to go to the Super Bowl and win.”
In terms of what’s next for the Birds, Polidoro has a few ideas in mind.
“Fire both [Nick] Sirianni and Patullo,” Polidoro said. “I like Sirianni but I think a more strategic offense might be more complimentary for the team.”
Eagles season ends on failed comeback attempt against 49ers
Offensive tackle Fred Johnson sits on the bench after the Eagles’ loss to the 49ers.
In the end, the Eagles offense couldn’t rise to occasion, a shortcoming it had all season long.
With under a minute remaining in the wild-card round against the San Francisco 49ers, Jalen Hurts was tasked with driving down the field and scoring a touchdown to erase the Eagles’ 23-19 deficit. Upon reaching the 49ers’ 20-yard line, Hurts was sacked and threw three straight incompletions, ending the Eagles’ aspirations of a repeat Super Bowl championship.
There were three lead changes in the fourth quarter. The 49ers managed to pull off the win, without inside linebacker Fred Warner, defensive end Nick Bosa, and tight end George Kittle, who tore his Achilles in the second quarter.
NFL playoffs: What we know about the divisional round schedule
So much for the Eagles facing off against the Chicago Bears.
With all the NFC wild-card games now finished, here’s what we know about the playoff matchups we’ll see in the divisional round next weekend:
NFC:
No. 1 Seahawks vs. No. 6 49ers
No. 2 Bears vs. No. 5 Rams
AFC:
With just one game played, things are a bit more fluid in the AFC.
All we know is the No. 1 seed Denver Broncos will either face the No. 6 Buffalo Bills, who won Sunday, or the No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers if they upset the No. 2 New England Patriots tonight.
If the Patriots win, the Bills will face the Broncos and New England will host the winner of Monday night’s wild-card matchup between the No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers and No. 5 Houston Texans.
A 10-play, 66-yard 49ers drive ends with a Brock Purdy pass to Christian McCaffrey on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. The Eagles pressured Purdy, but the quarterback was able to get the ball out and into the hands of his best player to give San Francisco the lead.
The Eagles are on the brink of elimination with 2 minutes, 54 seconds to go. They trail 23-19 and need a touchdown to win. Their offense has 65 yards in the second half.
Quinyon Mitchell celebrates an interception during the third quarter.
The Eagles are clinging to a 16-10 lead as the third quarter ends, but San Francisco will begin the fourth quarter with a first down on the Eagles’ 29-yard line.
The Eagles’ offense has stalled a bit. Jake Elliott just extended the lead by three points with a 41-yard field goal, but the Eagles punted on their three previous drives.
Execution has been an issue, too. Saquon Barkley dropped a pass in the flat for a first down. Cam Jurgens was also called for a holding penalty on a Jalen Hurts run that would have resulted in a first down.
We'll see if those conservative calls on second and third down come back to haunt the #Eagles. But their defense is playing outstanding, and Nick Sirianni seems to expect them to maintain that level to finish.
Jake Elliott 41-yard FG expands lead over 49ers to 16-10.
Saquon Barkley has 15 carries for 71 yards in the first half
The Eagles lead the San Francisco 49ers, 13-10, at halftime.
A lot happened.
The Eagles’ running game got rolling. Saquon Barkley has 15 carries for 71 yards. Tank Bigsby ran three times for another 20.
Jalen Hurts is 11-for-16 for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Kevin Patullo’s red-zone magic with tight end Dallas Goedert continued. Goedert ran for a touchdown and caught another.
Jake Elliott missed an extra point as his season from hell rolls on.
The 49ers lost George Kittle to an Achilles injury. They got just 13 yards on eight carries from Christian McCaffrey.
Oh, and Nick Sirianni and A.J. Brown got into it on the sidelines.
The Eagles’ defense needs to cut down on big plays, but Vic Fangio’s unit is in a pretty good spot. The running game should be able to control the second half. But the Eagles are probably regretting not getting points out of that last drive and building on their lead.
The Eagles receive the kickoff to start the second half.
After halftime, Sirianni told Fox’s Erin Andrews things are fine between him and his star receiver.
“Emotions, they run high, especially in the playoffs,” Sirianni said, according to Andrews. “Of course, after this game, we’ll go back to loving each other. But look, this is just the way it is. We’re just fine, thanks.”
“I just don’t think you can expect everyone to be super balanced and chill,” Brady said. “You’re a warrior, you’re a gladiator down on the field. Emotions are running high every single play.”
Fox NFL analyst and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan had a different perspective on the exchange.
“I don’t understand why Sirianni is running down there yelling at one of his star players,” Strahan said at halftime. “I don’t think that brings out the best in your player… In my opinion as a player, I wouldn’t have taken very well from my coach on the sideline.”
Eagles take the lead after refs pickup flag on Birds
Dallas Goedert’s second touchdown catch of the game was nearly called back after officials initially called Cam Jergens with a penalty for being downfield.
After a brief discussion, officials picked up the flag. Fox NFL rules alalyst Dean Blandino explained why it was a good decision.
“If you’re an offensive lineman, if there’s a pass you can’t be downfield when the pass is thrown,” Blandino said. “Jurgens was downfield, but the exception — if you’re blocking within a yard, you can drive that defender five, six, ten yards downfield.”
Haven't see much of Quinyon Mitchell getting beat this season, but the 49ers went at the All pro CB on their first pass that went 61 yards and on a 2-yard TD pass. 49ers jump down the #Eagles on their opening drive, 7-0.
A strong cold front is forecast to incite winds perhaps gusting 40 mph during the Eagles-49ers playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.
The winds evidently won’t be taking sides: The stadium’s orientation is more or less north-south, and the winds will be blowing from the west and then “swirling around in the Linc,” said Matt Benz, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.
In any event, they won’t be much help to the quarterbacks or the kickers — San Francisco’s Eddy Piñeiro or Elliott, whose 74.1% field goal percentage this season was the second-lowest of his nine-year career. Piñeiro hit on 28 of 29 attempts.
Temperatures at kickoff are in the the mid-40s and are expected to drop into the upper 30s during the game. Steady winds of 20 mph may drive wind chills into the upper 20s.
Josh Allen and the Bills defeated the Jaguars earlier Sunday.
Here’s an updated look at the NFL 2025 playoff schedule and results (so far).
window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});
Full 2025 NFL playoff schedule
Wild-card round: Saturday, Jan. 10, to Monday, Jan. 12
Divisional round: Saturday, Jan. 17, to Sunday, Jan. 18
Watch Gameday Central: Live Eagles-49ers pregame show
// Timestamp 01/11/26 4:11pm
Bills advance past Jaguars in AFC wild-card opener
Josh Allen and the Bills are moving on in the playoffs.
The first AFC playoff game picked up right where the NFC left off Saturday night: with a thrilling finish.
In a back-and-forth affair that included four fourth-quarter lead changes, the Bills edged out the Jaguars, 27-24, thanks to a go-ahead Tush Push touchdown from Josh Allen with a minute left in the game.
If the Patriots beat the Chargers Sunday night, the Bills will travel to Denver next week for the divisional round as the conference’s lowest remaining seed.
If the Chargers pull off the upset, the Bills will face the winner of Monday night’s game between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 49ers, meanwhile, will be missing wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, and perhaps more crucially, will be without a pair of linebackers in Dee Winters and Luke Gifford. They lost another linebacker, Tatum Bethune, last week. On the flip side, they will be getting back left tackle Trent Williams, who missed the regular-season finale with a hamstring injury.
Ricky Pearsall and Dee Winters are inactive for today's game.
Johnson was officially listed as questionable following practice on Friday after participating in all three practices this week in a limited fashion.
Johnson suffered a Lisfranc injury in his foot in the Eagles’ Week 11 win over the Detroit Lions. This week was his first week back on the practice field, but he was not yet fully ready to return to game action.
With Johnson out, Fred Johnson figures to continue starting at right tackle.
Cameron Williams just walked on the field with his game pants on, which would indicate that he will be one of the three OL reserves active today in addition to Matt Pryor and Drew Kendall. https://t.co/FDpRLaNqh2
This Eagles fan walks a ‘helmet dog’ to get ready for games
Walking through C Lot, you may find Eagles fans playing cornhole, grilling their favorite meats, or throwing a football around as they prepare for today’s game. Or you may see a man wearing a beak on his head as he drags a 49ers helmet on a leash through the parking lot.
That’s 64-year-old David Schofield, also known as “Beak.” He has been “walking the dog” for 21 years.
“The rescues, we just like to bring them out here in the sun and get them some exercise,” Schofield said of his “helmet dog.”
Schofield has made this into a pregame ritual, and owns a helmet for each NFL team.
“It started with a road trip in Buffalo when we took a helmet home to smash,” Schofield said. “But, it was a good helmet so it didn’t smash too easily. So, I ended up putting it on a dog leash. Hence the birth of the helmet dog.”
Darius Slay tailgates with Eagles fans as Bills open playoffs
Jennifer Slay (left) and former Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. (center) attend a tailgate before the Eagles play the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
Darius Slay may no longer be part of the Eagles — but that’s not stopping him and his wife Jennifer Slay from supporting his former team.
The former Birds cornerback posed for photos with fans at the 4th and Jawn tailgate ahead of the Eagles’ wild-card matchup with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Standing beside his wife, he looked at the crowd of Birds fans and smiled as they yelled out “Big Play Slay” and erupted in Eagles chants.
Darius Slay may no longer be part of the Eagles — but that’s not stopping him and his wife Jennifer Slay from supporting his former team. pic.twitter.com/XsSPgLKuRp
Although Slay was released last offseason before signing with the Steelers, he still means a lot to the city of Philadelphia after spending five seasons here, capped off by a Super Bowl victory in February.
“Darius Slay means everything,” said 30-year-old Chris Mallee. “He’s kind of a blue collar guy like all the people coming to the games. He’s someone that keeps his head down and works really hard, family oriented, he’s a really solid guy. We definitely miss him here but we’re glad he’s doing well.”
How do fans feel about Darius Slay making an appearance at the Eagles tailgates pic.twitter.com/G2Akdi8KOQ
Slay was released by the Steelers last month, and subsequently claimed by the Buffalo Bills. However, he informed the Bills he was considering retirement and wouldn’t report to the team. At the same time Slay was hanging with Eagles fans Sunday, the Bills were in Jacksonville for a playoff game of their own. They currently lead the Jaguars, 10-7, late in the first half.
How confident are Eagles fans heading into the playoffs?
// Timestamp 01/11/26 1:32pm
Eagles all over: Fans fly in from Texas for first game at the Linc
Steven Booth, 30, and Brandon Casas, 26, flew in from El Paso, Texas, on Friday night to watch the Eagles compete against the San Francisco 49ers in their wild-card matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.
Booth has been an Eagles fan since 2005, when he was a kid and the Birds played the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Sunday’s game will be the first game he’s attending at the Linc.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the [Eagles] fan base,” Booth said. “How crazy it gets in there in a playoff environment. And of course a [win].”
The two teams previously met twice in 2023, first in January in the NFC championship, a dominant win for the Eagles. They met again during the 2023 regular season, when it was the 49ers turn to dominate the Birds in a 42-19 win to avenge the postseason loss. Booth sees Sunday’s game as a chance for the Eagles to take back their loss in their last contest.
Remember Eagles Court? It was a Birds-Niners game that started it all.
A stadium security member escorts two fans out of the Vet after they urinated on the wall in the 700 Level in 2002.
On Nov. 10, 1997, Jimmy DeLeon, a municipal court judge, was watching from home when a blowout loss to the 49ers on Monday Night Football became more about what was happening in the stands. There were over 20 fights, a gang of fans broke a man’s ankle, two folks ran onto the Vet turf, and a New Jersey man was arrested after firing a flare across the stadium.
The concrete and steel fortress at Broad and Pattison had long been a haven for rough and rowdy football fans. There was the time the fans stole the headdress from the Washington fan who dressed like a Native American. And the whistling Cowboys fan who was chased out of the 700 Level.
“It was a nightmare,” said Bill Brady, a retired traffic cop who spent game days patrolling the 700 Level. “Fights galore. People passed out in the bathroom. One of the security guys up there used to box in the Blue Horizon. It was nothing but aggravation. You’d have roll call in the police room and go up to the 700 Level. By the end of the day, you were beat up.”
But this Monday night game against the 49ers was too much. The flare gun — the man said he saw people firing them in the parking lot and then brought one into the Vet — became national news as Philadelphia’s unruly stadium was now portrayed as a war zone.
DeLeon called Judge Seamus McCaffery as the two volunteered as judges in the city’s nuisance night courts, a program in which people who committed “quality of life crimes” such as loitering, underage drinking, and curfew violations would be brought immediately to a judge and receive a fine. DeLeon told McCaffery that they had to do something about the Vet.
“He was right on it,” DeLeon said. “He took it over.”
McCaffery was soon in a meeting with Jim Kenney — the future mayor who was then on City Council — along with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and president Joe Banner.
The night nuisance court was Kenney’s idea, and he thought it could work at the Vet. Arrested fans could be charged immediately, plead guilty, and be issued a fine by a judge.
Too often, an arrested fan would fail to show up to a court date and nothing more would happen. The city didn’t spend the resources to chase down fans from the 700 Level. McCaffery said it was a fine idea, but the stadium didn’t have a courtroom.
“Without missing a beat, Jeff Lurie said, ‘We’ll build you a courtroom here,’” McCaffery said.
Thus began the legend of Eagles Court.
“The hardest part sometimes was keeping a straight face,” added McCaffrey, who oversaw the court until the team moved to the Linc in 2003.
In wide-open NFL playoffs, it’s hard to count out the Eagles
Jalen Hurts and Dallas Goedert begin their Super Bowl defense in earnest on Sunday.
The Rams were a double-digit favorite and still needed last-minute heroics to win on the road against 8-9 Carolina. The Bears advanced past Green Bay after a fourth-quarter comeback that seemed impossible, and will probably be a home underdog once again vs. their divisional round opponent.
Wild-card Saturday was certainly wild, but it underscored a major storyline of this season’s NFL playoffs: It’s wide open.
After what was a pretty whacky regular season — the offense took a step back under a first-year coordinator; A.J. Brown fired off a few cryptic social media posts; Lane Johnson and Jalen Carter were hurt; Brandon Graham came out of retirement — the Eagles are firmly in the mix, and it’s hard to rule them out of making a Super Bowl run.
They will take the field later this afternoon as a six-point favorite (up from 3.5 points to open the week) against a 49ers team that is banged up and may be running out of gas. A win would send the Eagles to Chicago next week, and while they lost a brutal Black Friday game to the Bears in Week 13, they will most likely be favored to advance next weekend at Soldier Field.
Their reward could conceivably be a home NFC title game vs. the Rams, or a trip to Seattle for a matchup between two of the best defenses in the NFL. Seattle winning would require Sam Darnold to at least do enough to win against a healthy Vic Fangio defense. The Eagles may not be favorites in that game, but they’d be a live ‘dog.
FanDuel as of Sunday morning has the Eagles at +750 to win the Super Bowl. The Seahawks (+380) and Rams (+380) have shorter odds as far as NFC teams go, but they’re already in the second round. NFC title odds look like this: Seahawks +175; Rams +200; Eagles +380. Then there’s the Bears at +550 and the 49ers at +1900.
The Eagles have talent and experience on their side, despite whatever schematic advantages they may theoretically no longer have with their offense. Besides Jalen Hurts, only Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers have Super Bowl wins among the 12 teams that remained in the playoffs as of Sunday morning.
Hurts’ efforts to try to get back to another start Sunday, and the path started taking shape on a wild Saturday of football that made it easier to imagine the Eagles getting to the final weekend. And easier to see their season ending in disappointment on Sunday. It’s been that kind of season, and it’s that kind of playoff bracket.
Tom Brady seen here speaking to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, is back in the booth to call Birds-49ers Sunday.
Eagles fans will hear a familiar voice — and a former foe — calling Sunday’s wild-card game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady, Fox’s No. 1 crew, will be in the booth at the Linc to call all of Sunday’s action. Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will report from the sidelines.
It will be the duo’s seventh Eagles game this season, and while Birds fans have strong opinions about Brady, Burkhardt has unquestionably been a rabbit’s foot.
The Eagles are 12-5 in games Burkhardt has called (including playoffs) since he replaced Joe Buck as the Fox’s top NFL voice in 2022, when he was initially paired with Greg Olsen. That seems appropriate for the North Jersey native who grew up rooting for the Eagles despite living in Giants country.
You can also mute the TV and tune into 94.1 WIP, where Merrill Reese will be calling his 28th Eagles playoff run (and 18th alongside longtime partner and former Eagles receiver Mike Quick). The NFL’s longest-tenured announcer, Reese, 83, has said he has no intention of hanging up his headset once his 48th season comes to a close.
Eagles-49ers TV and radio details
When: Sunday, Jan. 11
Where: Lincoln Financial Field
Time: 4:30 p.m. kickoff
TV: Fox 29 (Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi)
Radio: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick, Devan Kaney)
Spanish radio: Tico (Rickie Ricardo, Oscar Budejen, David Gerhardt)
National radio: Westwood One (Ian Eagles, Ross Tucker
The Eagles would face Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears if they defeat the 49ers Sunday.
If the No. 3 seed Eagles manage to defeat the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers Sunday, they’ll travel to Chicago to take on the No. 2 Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs next weekend.
The No. 1 Seattle Seahawks will take on the lowest-remaining seed, the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams, who eked by the No. 4 Carolina Panthers, 34-31, Saturday afternoon. That would leave the Eagles facing the Bears, who defeated the Birds 24-15 earlier this season. If the 49ers win, they would travel to Seattle and the Bears would host the Rams.
The Seahawks have entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed three previous times (2014, 2013, and 2005), and each time have advanced to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Eagles are looking to become the first No. 3 seed in the NFC to make it to the Super Bowl since Washington did it in 1987.
The NFL is expected to announce the full divisional round playoff schedule Sunday night during NBC’s broadcast of the AFC’s No. 7 seed Los Angeles Chargers vs. No. 2 New England Patriots.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will face off Sunday at the Linc.
When it comes to our writers, it’s a consensus: the Eagles will advance to the divisional round. Here’s a look at how they see it playing out:
Jeff McLane: “There’s a push when it comes to the Eagles’ underperforming offense vs. the 49ers’ subpar defense; but I give the edge to a great Eagles defense over a very good, but not great 49ers offense.” | Eagles 23, Niners 17.
Jeff Neiburg: “It hasn’t been an encouraging season from the Eagles’ offense, to put it mildly, but the 49ers are down multiple linebackers and don’t have an abundance of talent in the secondary. If the Eagles don’t beat themselves, which you can’t rule out, they should be able to establish a running game that gets the offense back on track.” | Eagles 24, Niners 20.
Olivia Reiner: “Maybe the Eagles can finish what the Seahawks started last week and continue to punish the 49ers on the ground. Maybe Jalen Hurts and the passing attack can exploit the 49ers’ thin inside linebacker corps with passes over the middle of the field. Neither have been characteristic of the offense this season, though. Or, maybe, the defense will stifle Shanahan’s offense while Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo, and the Eagles offense do just enough to get by. It wouldn’t be the first time.” | Eagles 24, Niners 20.
Matt Breen: “The Niners had a great finish to the season before their dud against the Seahawks, but they just seem too banged up to hang with the Eagles.” | Eagles 24, Niners 13.
Eagles injury report: ‘Some concern’ Lane Johnson could miss game
Offensive tackle Lane Johnson could return to the field Sunday.
The Eagles have listed Lane Johnson, who suffered a Lisfranc foot injury in Week 11, as questionable to play in Sunday’s wild-card game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Johnson, the 35-year-old right tackle, was a limited participant in all three practices this week. He hadn’t practiced since mid-November, as he missed the last seven games of the regular season after his injury against the Detroit Lions.
On Saturday, Fox’s Jay Glazer reported that Johnson was dealing with some soreness and swelling in his injured foot and will be a game-time decision. That report that was confirmed by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport.
“There is some concern he could miss this game,” Garafolo said Saturday. “He was limited in practice all week, he looked good in spurts, but that’s a tough injury, it’s a painful injury. I would say that this is a legitimate game-time decision. We’re going to watch this [Sunday], so we’ll have an update for you on Sunday.”
In addition to Johnson, the Eagles listed Brett Toth (concussion) and Azeez Ojulari (hamstring; injured reserve) as questionable to play against the 49ers. Toth was a limited participant in Friday’s practice after sitting out on Wednesday and Thursday.
Everyone else on the Eagles’ active roster is available to play, including Grant Calcaterra (ankle), Jalen Carter (hip), Nakobe Dean (hamstring), Landon Dickerson (rest), Marcus Epps (concussion), Dallas Goedert (knee), and Jaelan Phillips (ankle).
Dean, the 25-year-old inside linebacker, is set to suit up for his first game in three weeks. He was sidelined for the final two games of the season with a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 16 against the Washington Commanders.
Dean revealed his intention to play against the 49ers earlier in the week. Dean last appeared in the postseason last season in the wild-card round win over the Green Bay Packers, when he tore the patellar tendon in his knee.
49ers injury report: San Francisco could be without several starters
49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams is questionable for Sunday’s game.
The San Francisco 49ers are listing five starters as questionable, including left tackle Trent Williams (hamstring), wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee/ankle), inside linebacker Dee Winters (ankle), outside linebacker Luke Gifford (quadricep), and cornerback Renardo Green (foot).
Williams, the three-time All-Pro tackle, was a limited participant in practice all week. Pearsall did not practice, but head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday he could still play. Green had not been listed on the injury report going into Friday’s practice.
Depth players defensive lineman Keion White (groin/hamstring) and Jacob Cowing (hamstring; injured reserve)are also questionable to play.
Reading was tough, and staying focused on even simple things proved difficult.
But on Saturday, in only his second game back from what was described weeks earlier as a “severe” concussion, Penn’s captain scored 28 points to help the Quakers secure their first Ivy League win of the season over Brown, 81-73.
Penn now enjoys a week before its next Ivy League test at Dartmouth on Saturday (3 p.m., ESPN+).
The Drake transfer started the season on top of the world, reaching as high as third in the nation in scoring while leading Penn to its first Big 5 Classic championship game against Villanova.
But in that matchup, disaster struck.
Ethan Roberts suffered a concussion during the Big 5 Classic championship game against Villanova on Dec. 6.
A hard foul resulted in Roberts leaving Xfinity Mobile Area before the final buzzer, being taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
“I know it happened, obviously, but I don’t remember getting hit,” Roberts said. “I lost memory from that day. I got hit and gained consciousness in the emergency room before my CAT scans.”
Penn was eventually blown out by Villanova, and Roberts was released from the hospital early the next morning after doctors confirmed there was no bleeding in his brain. The team went 2-2 in the subsequent four games he missed.
As the Quakers attempted to stay afloat without their captain, Roberts was busy working back from his injury.
“I’ve never had a concussion before,” Roberts said. “The doctor told me that it was a severe one, and that it would take a while. For two weeks, I had every symptom at its worst. I was extremely sensitive to light, extremely sensitive to noise, I had really bad headaches and eye pain, and more so than anything, I couldn’t read and lost memory. I was helpless, I had to have someone around me, so for two weeks I was in a cocoon.”
Over Christmas break, Roberts attended vestibular therapy at Penn Medicine in which he relearned to read while battling coordination issues, including practicing walking in a straight line.
QUAKERS ON TOP.@PennMBB improves to 1-1 in Ivy League play with an 81-73 victory over Brown. Michael Zanoni and Ethan Roberts combined for 48 points in the win. 🌿🏀pic.twitter.com/yQm5stqWwA
After more than four weeks of recovery, Roberts was given only three days to prepare for his team’s Ivy League opener vs. Princeton, when much of his time was spent working through non-contact and contact practices while still impacted by symptoms. Roberts reported an inability to remember plays and problems with his hand-eye coordination.
“Even just my hand control,” Roberts said before facing off against Princeton. “I’ve had to revamp everything, not to be dramatic. Sometimes, I’m out there playing, and it just doesn’t calibrate in my head.
“I was out for a month. Missing games I really wanted to play in, too, but it makes me want to savor the moment a little bit more and enjoy it a little bit more, truthfully, because when I’m not wearing Penn across my chest, it’s going to hurt.”
Against the Tigers, Roberts led the team in scoring with 19 points, but with the Quakers down two during the waning moments of the game, he passed away the final shot in the 78-76 loss.
“He just has to get back in rhythm,” coach Fran McCaffery said. “He missed five weeks, so he’s trying to remember the plays. He’s trying to remember where he goes … but when I’m making calls, you can tell he’s a little slow registering sometimes.”
In Saturday’s win against Brown, Roberts (right) poured in a team-high 28 points.
Against Brown, Roberts once again found that rhythm, ending the first half by scoring eight of his team’s last nine points to pull the game to a 42-42 tie. At the end of the second half, Roberts scored 10 of the team’s last 14 points to secure a narrow win.
Roberts’ physical play led to 14 free-throw attempts despite only sitting for five minutes in the contest, a huge step forward in his recovery. When McCaffery was asked about Roberts still dealing with mental blocks after the game, he was happy to poke fun at his star player.
“He’s one of the best scorers, if not the best scorer, in the league, probably in the country,” McCaffery said. “It takes the pressure off everyone else. [His brain] can’t be that fuzzy. He had 28 points; tell him [BS].”
NATION'S BEST.@PennMBB's Ethan Roberts is the Lou Henson Award National Player of the Week! 🌿🏀
Despite still not feeling back to his normal self, Roberts is grateful to be able to keep playing in his final year at Penn. This isn’t the first time Roberts has dealt with serious injuries, having suffered from an undisclosed illness that forced him to medically redshirt at Drake — but with every roadblock, Penn’s captain has only felt more grateful to be a Quaker.
“It means everything,” Roberts said. “Just to wear Penn across your chest and to represent these people, it’s serious. It’s the best honor I’ve ever had in my life, and to win in front of them, it doesn’t get old. I’m just super grateful to be here wearing Penn, like I said, getting this win at the most historic venue in college basketball — the cathedral, baby.”
LONDON — You can learn a lot about England’s famed Premier League from watching it on TV or online, given how much coverage it gets in the United States. But as with many things in life, there’s nothing like actually being there.
And in particular, there’s nothing like seeing it in England’s capital city.
Though soccer has helped make cities like Manchester, Leicester, and Newcastle world-famous, London’s scene dwarfs them all.
The English game’s four professional leagues have 14 teams within the city limits, including seven in the top flight this season: Arsenal, Brentford, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham United. Many American fans know them well these days, from the big fan bases of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Spurs to the U.S. national team stars at Palace and Fulham.
But it’s the rest of London’s tapestry that makes the scene so vivid: Millwall in the second-tier Championship, AFC Wimbledon in third-tier League One, and countless semipro and amateur sides like 133-year-old Dulwich Hamlet. The Hackney Marshes sports complex in east London has 88 soccer fields, and used to have 135.
Outside the 121-year-old Johnny Haynes Stand at Fulham Craven Cottage stadium in London.
On any given Saturday, London’s trains and buses are a kaleidoscope of jerseys, scarves, and hats. Arsenal fans in red head to north London as blue-clad Chelsea fans head south. Fulham fans in black and white walk along the Thames River to 130-year-old Craven Cottage; West Ham fans in claret and blue ride to the modern stadium built for the 2012 Olympics.
A clutch of Norwich City fans who came from afar stood out in green and yellow. Their trip to Queens Park Rangers on New Year’s Day would be rewarded with a 2-1 win, including a goal from American striker Josh Sargent. At the same hour, his countryman Haji Wright was across town with Coventry City at Charlton Athletic.
Just beyond the city limits, an old friend of this reporter checked in as a longtime Watford fan. His Hornets hosted Birmingham City, just before Kai Wagner moved to Birmingham from the Union.
It was fun to watch the scene, but there was serious business at hand. The stretch of games from mid-December through the first weekend of January is the signature time of the season — especially Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. The stretch from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 is to English football what Thanksgiving weekend is to the NFL and college football.
Norwich City have the breakthrough as Josh Sargent heads home from close range 💥 pic.twitter.com/tJdoNXHQsn
The action was nearly constant, even though the Premier League played just one game on Boxing Day this year. That gave some extra spotlight to the lower leagues, and they were happy to have it.
There was also another matter: When the calendar flipped to 2026, it became a World Cup year. All over the world, races are on to make national squads for the tournament, and many of those races will play out on Premier League stages.
How much are players thinking about that right now? A lot for some, not so much for others. But they all know in some form.
“One hundred percent,” said Netherlands forward Justin Kluivert, the son of Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert and a club teammate of U.S. stalwart Tyler Adams at Bournemouth. “Every single game that I’m playing now, I want to show the coach that he’s got to put me in the starting 11.”
Justin Kluivert celebrates after scoring for Bournemouth against Chelsea on Dec. 30.
It’s necessary to explain here that it isn’t always easy for the media to talk with players in the Premier League, or in European soccer generally. The world’s game hasn’t shared American sports’ long tradition of players meeting the press on a regular basis.
Former Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo could come to Philadelphia this summer with Ghana’s national team. He just joined Manchester City in an $84 million deal, and one of his last games with the Cherries was the one where Kluivert spoke — a 2-2 tie at Chelsea. The move wasn’t sealed yet at that point, so it was no surprise that Semenyo went nowhere near a microphone.
Nor was there much from Arsenal’s Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus when he scored a brilliant goal in the Gunners’ 4-1 rout of Aston Villa on Dec. 30, fueling the league leaders’ dreams of a first Premier League title in 22 years.
Three days earlier, Jesus had returned from a long injury absence in a win over Brighton. There was much talk among journalists and team staff about how badly he wants to make Brazil’s squad — which will play its tournament opener in Philly against Haiti. But alas, we didn’t hear it from the man himself.
Fortunately, another familiar face did stop by. Brighton’s Diego Gómez joined the Seagulls 12 months ago from Inter Miami, and two months ago played for Paraguay against the U.S. at Subaru Park.
Gómez should easily make the Albirroja’s World Cup squad, which means he’ll see the Americans again in their tournament opener in Los Angeles. In this moment, he was annoyed that his well-taken goal couldn’t stop a 2-1 loss, but he was happy to talk with someone who knew of him.
“I’m thinking about what’s coming up here,” Gómez said in his native Spanish. “Then there’s the World Cup, but my head is here at the club. … My thoughts are not on the World Cup, nothing like that. My thoughts are on what’s going to happen here at the club.”
(He did say he watched Miami’s MLS Cup title win, and that he was “very happy for the team because they really deserve it.”)
Diego Gómez (right) on the ball for Brighton against Arsenal on Dec. 27.
Then there are players whose World Cup hopes hinge on March’s last qualifying playoffs. Sixteen teams in Europe and six teams from the rest of the world will compete for the six berths left to claim. One will go to a nation that will play superpower France in Philadelphia this summer, and another could go to Jamaica, and subsequently favoring the Union’s longtime goalkeeper in Andre Blake.
Among the European contests is Sweden, whose outside back Gabriel Gudmundsson is a Leeds United teammate of Medford’s Brenden Aaronson. He has a good reason to not have the World Cup on his mind yet: Leeds is fighting to avoid being relegated out of the Premier League.
“No, because I need to focus here — it’s the most important,” Gudmundsson said after watching Aaronson score a big goal against eternal rival Manchester United. “When the time is there, I will be fully ready, of course. But [for] the time now, I have the white shirt [of Leeds] on, so that’s what matters.”
Leeds’ Brenden Aaronson (right) and many others playing in Europe know that their play also serves as an observation period ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
Leeds, unlike London, is a one-team town. It’s similar to Philadelphia in how the local football team unifies the city, even if the kinds of football are different.
But the World Cup unifies the planet, from England to the United States and everywhere else imaginable. Just a few months remain until it does so again.
