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  • Eagles news: A.J. Brown a no-show as players clean out their lockers; Jalen Hurts on Kevin Patullo’s future; final play criticized

    Eagles news: A.J. Brown a no-show as players clean out their lockers; Jalen Hurts on Kevin Patullo’s future; final play criticized

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 5:25pm

    Free agent Jaelen Phillips hopes to return to Eagles

    Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips, left, was acquired by Howie Roseman at the trade deadline.

    Like Nakobe Dean, Jaelan Phillips is hitting free agency for the first time.

    Unlike with Dean, the Eagles don’t have a clear answer to slot in for Phillips if he were to depart for another team, making Phillips a much more likely candidate to return to the Eagles.

    Phillips made an immediate impact after the Eagles acquired him before the trade deadline from Miami for a third-round pick. He tallied 44 pressures and two sacks in nine games, including Sunday’s playoff game, according to Pro Football Focus, while playing 78% of the defensive snaps. That’s a lot of production to try to replace.

    Phillips is one of five free-agent edge rushers. The Eagles have just two edge rushers under contract for 2026: Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith. The draft will be a place the Eagles likely look to add talent to the room, but they could use a top-end talent like Phillips at the top of the depth chart.

    Phillips, 26, said he felt like he fit in well with the defense. He had familiarity with Vic Fangio from their time in Miami together. Phillips is excited for his future, he said, and for his first experience with free agency.

    “I would love to have that future be here,” he said. “It’s up to my agent and ultimately up to me, too. This is my first experience with it, so I’m not really sure how it plays out. We’ll see.”

    Phillips said he has a child on the way and his family’s future will be a consideration in free agency, but the other things he wants he already has in Philadelphia.

    “I want to be on a competitive team and in an environment where I love the guys I’m around and love the organization I’m playing for,” he said. “I feel that here. So we’ll see.”

    Jaelan Phillips says he has what he needs with the Eagles. Will he be beack?

    — Jeff Neiburg

    // Pinned

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 2:54pm

    A.J. Brown a no-show at Eagles locker cleanout

    A.J. Brown hasn’t spoken with reporters in more than a month.

    Reporters spent more than an hour inside the Eagles’ locker room at the NovaCare Complex Monday afternoon before the Eagles closed the doors to media for the day.

    During that span, A.J. Brown was not seen in the room. His locker hadn’t yet been cleaned out, but Brown was not going to be made available to talk to reporters. He declined to be interviewed after the game on Sunday and left the locker room shortly after it opened to media.

    The last time Brown made himself available for interviews was after the Eagles’ Week 14 road loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 8. Brown took accountability that night for dropping multiple passes.

    It was an interesting year for Brown with the Eagles. The receiver wasn’t shy about his feelings on the direction of the offense, especially early in the season. He expressed himself both in the forms of cryptic social media posts and post-game interviews, like when he pleaded for the Eagles to “let their killers do their thing” after a Week 3 win over the Rams.

    Brown finished the season with 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns.

    What happens next with Brown will certainly be the subject of much speculation in the coming days and weeks and even months. Brown remains under contract through the 2029 season and has $113 million remaining on his deal. Trading him would be costly for the Eagles, who would be on the hook for $43.5 million in dead cap if they traded him before June 1, according to Spotrac.

    Waiting until after June 1 would free up $7 million in cap space. But any trade of Brown would have the Eagles taking on the fourth-largest single-season dead cap hit in NFL history, according to Spotrac.

    Brown’s relationship with Jalen Hurts also has been the subject of speculation.

    “A.J. and I will talk,” Hurts said Monday. “We’re in a good, great place. Maybe y’all can talk to him and ask.”

    That chance was never offered.

    — Jeff Neiburg

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 5:06pm

    Jalen Hurts is ready if Eagles change offensive coordinators (again)

    Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is Jalen Hurts’ fourth offensive coordinator in the last four years.

    Jalen Hurts is no stranger to change. He has had six different offensive play-callers in his NFL career, including Doug Pederson, Nick Sirianni, Shane Steichen, Brian Johnson, Kellen Moore, and now Kevin Patullo. In the aftermath of Johnson’s 2024 firing, Hurts said that he longed for continuity at the position.

    But he acknowledged on Monday that he has embraced the revolving door of offensive coordinators and translated those changes into postseason appearances. After all, the Eagles won a Super Bowl in Moore’s lone year as the offensive coordinator.

    “The changes have not prevented us from having an opportunity to go on championship runs, and so with all the changes and with all the things that have gone and have changed over time, we still found ourselves in the playoffs, and we still found ourselves in positions to be in the tournament and play in the tournament,” Hurts said. “I don’t like the trend of wild-card [loss], big-time [Super Bowl appearance], wild-card [loss], big-time [Super Bowl win], and wild-card [loss]. […] So competitively as a quarterback, as a leader, that’s a big focus of mine, trying to break that.”

    Hurts will look to break that cycle next season, when he embarks upon his sixth year as the full-time starting quarterback. Given his track record and his importance to the team, he said he has a degree of influence in important matters concerning the offense.

    “I think overall, my line is always open, and so however involved or whatever level inquiry I am, I’ll definitely be available,” Hurts said.

    ‘It’s too soon to think about that’: Jalen Hurts puts off talking about Kevin Patullo’s future

    — Olivia Reiner

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 4:40pm

    Jordan Mailata expects Lane Johnson to be back next season

    Jordan Mailata said he is expecting Lane Johnson, who missed the last eight games with a foot injury, to be back next season. He added, “Whatever happens, happens.”

    Mailata shed a little light on what Johnson was like behind the scenes the last couple months:

    “Ultimate pro. I think what upsets him the most — I don’t want to put words in his mouth — but he does everything he can to be available. But it’s not even when he’s hurt. It’s just even when he’s starting, his routine is so meticulous. Every minute is planned out, from the moment he wakes up to the minute he goes to bed. And so I think, for him, it irks him a little more, you know?

    “He’s just done a fantastic job of being there for us, even when he wasn’t playing, just being supportive of especially me and Fred [Johnson]. … He’s concerned about what Fred and I are doing, the timing of our hands, our set lines, what we’re thinking on first and second down. Are we more aggressive? Or he’ll watch something on film. He was still watching film for us. And he’ll come, like, ‘Hey, I saw that this guy, second step, he likes to do a little shake and bake inside. So that experience that we get from him being a total pro is very invaluable. And I’m gonna thank him for that.”

    — Olivia Reiner

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 4:31pm

    Drew Mukuba offers injury update

    Eagles safeties Drew Mukuba and Sydney Brown chase down Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens.

    Rookie safety Drew Mukuba was in the locker room Monday sporting a walking boot on his right foot. Mukuba fractured his fibula near the end of the Eagles’ Week 12 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

    Mukuba said he should be out of the boot soon but did not have a firm timeline on the next steps in his recovery. He’s hoping to be ready for spring workouts, but said “late summer” was also a possibility.

    “I’m walking, so I can’t complain,” he said.

    He had a lot to complain about early after the injury. He couldn’t walk and had trouble getting comfortable, which led to some sleepless nights.

    Mukuba said “I wasn’t where I needed to be” when the season first started, but he was more comfortable as the season wore on.

    “I feel like I kind of got over the hump after the first time we played the Giants,” Mukuba said. “Once I got over that, I feel like I was just stacking days.

    “I hate that [the injury] happened, but that’s the game and I can’t control it.”

    — Jeff Neiburg

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 4:17pm

    Nakobe Dean wants to be back with the Eagles

    Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean came on strong after missing the first five games of the season.

    Nakobe Dean feels like questions about his durability have been hanging over his head like a “black cloud” since the 2022 NFL draft.

    The linebacker out of Georgia, drafted 83rd overall by the Eagles that year, played 39 of a possible 39 college games, but concerns about a pectoral injury he suffered while training helped cause his slide on draft weekend.

    “The two injuries didn’t help me, but you got guys going through free agency who didn’t play this year who have had multiple injuries,” Dean said Monday as the Eagles cleaned out their lockers a day after their 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. “It’s just a looming thing over me.”

    That is what Dean is carrying with him into free agency, a recent injury history that will likely impact his market. A Lisfranc injury that required surgery cut his 2023 season short after five games. Then, Dean suffered a torn left patellar tendon injury in the first round of the playoffs last year. The injury and rehabilitation caused him to miss the first five games of this season.

    Dean, to his credit, looked like he didn’t miss a beat. He supplanted rookie Jihaad Campbell in the starting lineup by Week 8 and provided a big boost to the Eagles’ defense. He became one of the most productive blitzing linebackers this season and was solid in coverage. He had four sacks in 10 regular season games after having three sacks in 15 games last season.

    But Dean’s future with the Eagles is unclear. Campbell was drafted in the first round last season and played well before Dean returned. The Eagles said they liked Campbell’s versatility to play both linebacker and line up at edge rusher when they drafted him, but he spent most of the season and played his best as an off-ball linebacker. In theory, there would be room to bring Dean back if Campbell was going to transition to the edge full time, but that doesn’t necessarily seem like the most likely path forward, and it remains to be seen what kind of value Dean may be able to find on the open market.

    The Eagles, who have more than $20 million in cap space for 2026, have decisions to make.

    Nakobe Dean and Jaelan Phillips both want to be back with the Eagles, but one has a greater chance than the other

    — Jeff Neiburg

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 3:23pm

    Eagles fans take virtual swings at Kevin Patullo

    An Eagles fan hits a golf ball at an image of Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo at The Golf Place in Langhorne.

    Immediately following the Eagles’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a somber feeling started to take over The Golf Place. Those gathered at the Bucks County golf simulator facility to watch the Eagles while working on their swings began to pack up and go home, and co-owners Justin Hepler and Killian Lennon began to close up shop.

    But in a brief moment, an idea was developed to help Birds fans release their anger after a disappointing loss: letting them hit golf balls at offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s face — or at least an image of it.

    Earlier in the season, some fans broke the law by egging Patullo’s Moorestown home after the Eagles’ Black Friday loss to the Bears. The Golf Place’s idea keeps the flying objects far from the real Patullo, and within legal bounds.

    “It was a fun way to let off some steam, but also make it fun for everybody involved,” Hepler, 24, said. “And obviously Killian in the video is a diehard Eagles fan, so he was pretty upset. But, everybody in here has gotten a kick out it.”

    Philly-area golf simulator facility is letting angry Eagles fans smash golf balls into Kevin Patullo’s face

    — Ariel Simpson

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 2:33pm

    Eagles 2026 offseason dates

    Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie before Sunday’s loss to the 49ers.

    As Eagles fans say goodbye to a disappointing 2025 season, there’s the 2026 offseason to look forward to.

    Here are the important dates for the offseason:

    • Feb. 8: Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
    • Feb. 17: Teams can begin to designate franchise of transition players
    • Feb. 23-March 2: NFL scouting combine at Lucas Oil stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
    • March 3: Deadline for teams to designate franchise of transition players
    • March 9-11: Teams may contact agents about free agents
    • March 11: Free agency begins
    • March 29-April 1: Annual league meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.
    • April 23-25: NFL draft in Pittsburgh, Pa.
    • May 19-20: Spring league meeting in Orlando, Fla.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 1:51pm

    Does Jalen Hurts want Kevin Patullo back?

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 12:53pm

    Andrew Mukuba hopes to be back in time for spring workouts

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 12:50pm

    ESPN’s Ryan Clark: ‘A.J. Brown is getting traded’

    Questions surround the future of wide receiver A.J. Brown.

    The most action wide receiver A.J. Brown saw Sunday night was when the broadcast caught Nick Sirianni yelling at him on the sideline.

    The receiver recorded just three receptions for 25 yards; he missed a potentially big first-half reception and had a costly third-down drop later in the game. After the loss, Brown didn’t speak to media.

    A pair of former NFL pass catchers — tight end Shannon Sharpe and wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson — believe it’s time for the Eagles to move on.

    “Me, personally, I think it’s the best if the Eagles just go their separate ways,” Sharpe said on the Nightcap podcast. “He needs to go somewhere where he feels like he’s going to get — he’s looking at it, Ocho, like I need to be getting the Puka Nacua type targets.”

    Former NFL safety Ryan Clark also believes Brown won’t be in Philly next season.

    “A.J. Brown is getting traded,” Clark said on First Take Monday. “He wants out and they need to want him out. That relationship is over. That relationship is done and part of it is the Philadelphia Eagles, but a lot of it is on A.J. Brown. … A.J. Brown this year was more problems than he was worth.”

    Trading Brown away will be tough due to his contract. According to Sportrac, the Eagles would take a $20 million cap hit if they traded Brown ahead of April’s draft and before June 1.

    “If the Eagles were to bite the bullet and trade Brown early this offseason, they’d be taking on the 4th largest single season dead cap hit in NFL history (and making a heck of a lot more financial trouble for themselves as well),” Sportrac’s Michael Ginnitti wrote.

    Will A.J. Brown be traded? Kevin Patullo fired? Is Jalen Hurts holding Eagles back? Here’s what they’re saying.

    — Ariel Simpson

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 12:42pm

    Jordan Davis on pending free agent Nakobe Dean

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 12:33pm

    Saquon Barkley on Kevin Patullo and what needs to change

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 12:22pm

    Which personnel groups will the Eagles target for upgrades?

    Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has a lot of work to do this offseason.

    Where to begin? The Eagles still have a pretty solid roster, but they do have some flaws and are set to have a few holes.

    They have no tight ends. They have no obvious answer yet for a Lane Johnson replacement. How long is Landon Dickerson going to hold up? They went heavy at offensive line toward the end of the draft last season, but they could very soon need top-end talent.

    They are in the market for wide receiver help regardless of where the A.J. Brown saga leads them. They need edge rushers. They need cornerbacks. They might need a kicker.

    A high-impact edge rusher, like Jaelan Phillips, should be high on the list of most important personnel groups to upgrade the talent level, and it will be interesting to see how the Eagles go about addressing tight end. They will obviously sign a few in free agency and could draft one. Could Dallas Goedert return?

    There are a lot of unanswered questions right now. It’s that time of year.

    The Johnson replacement is a tricky one, too. He is still very good when he’s on the field, but the clock is ticking. Just like it is for Dickerson, who has had multiple surgeries and has played through plenty of pain.

    — Jeff Neiburg

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 12:04pm

    The one word Eagles players kept repeating after Sunday’s loss

    Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith walks off after losing to the 49ers Sunday.

    The word that the Eagles kept repeating in the locker room after Sunday night’s loss was “execution.” The players should have executed better all season. “If there are multiple players saying that,” Jordan Mailata said, “why don’t you believe us?” Here’s why …

    All elite athletes think this way: “It doesn’t matter what the coach calls. It doesn’t matter if my opponent knows what’s coming. If I do exactly what I’m supposed to do exactly when I’m supposed to do it, nothing can stop me, and nothing can stop us.”

    Sounds great.

    In reality, when everyone in the stadium knows you’re likely to call a particular play in a particular situation, you had better be perfect in every aspect of that sequence. But when you catch an opponent off guard, your execution can be less than ideal, and you’ll still succeed.

    Look at the double-wing reverse pass that Kyle Shanahan called on the first play of the 4th quarter. He made the Eagles defense look like a bunch of suckers. Christian McCaffrey didn’t have a defender within 5 yards of him.

    Did the Eagles pull off any play like that this season? No. Such calls and plays require risk, and risk seemed to scare the Eagles to death.

    The 2025 Eagles played not to lose. In the end, that’s why they did.

    — Mike Sielski

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 11:48am

    ESPN Adam Schefter: Eagles expected to replace Kevin Patullo

    Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo ahead of Sunday’s wild-card game.

    Speaking on ESPN’s Get Up Monday morning, NFL insider Adam Schefter said he expects the Eagles will replace offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo in at attempt to jump start the Birds’ lackluster offense.

    “I think we start with the assistant coaches on the offensive side of the ball,” Schefter said. “So you’re looking at a new offense coordinator next year, that’s the expectation there across the league.”

    “They’re going to go through some changes. I think it starts with the coaching staff on the offensive side,” Schefter added. “Question is how soon those changes will happen. Is it today or is it tomorrow?”

    The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane wrote Patullo’s relationship with Nick Sirianni goes back to their time together with the Indianapolis Colts. But coming off a Super Bowl win, Patullo didn’t have the luxury of learning on the job.

    “Maybe Sirianni has built up enough clout to hold off Lurie/Roseman,” McLane wrote. “But precedent suggests the Eagles will move fast, and that they already have possible replacements lined up.”

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 11:28am

    ‘Same exact play’: ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky breaks down Eagles’ final drive

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 11:03am

    Eagles have among the easiest strength of schedules in 2026

    The long wait until next season begins for Eagles fans.

    Despite facing the every team in the NFC West, the Eagles have one of the easiest schedules next season.

    The collective winning percentage of the Eagles’ 17 2026 opponents in 2025 was 0.481, the tenth-weakest schedule in the NFL next season. The Chicago Bears have the toughest strength of schedule, facing teams with a 0.550 winning percentage.

    That’s on paper, of course. As the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars showed, a lot can change from one season to the next.

    The Birds will face a total of eight playoff teams, six of which are still alive in this year’s playoffs: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Chicago Bears.

    Despite finishing in first place in the NFC East, the Eagles’ two first-place opponents next season are teams that barely made the playoffs – the Carolina Panthers (7-9) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7).

    The Birds are scheduled to play nine home games next season, which increases the likelihood we’ll see the Eagles in an international game. That could include a return to Brazil or hosting a game in Munich, Mexico City, or London.

    • Home games: Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, New York Giants, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers
    • Away games: Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 12:33pm

    Eagles begin to clean out their lockers

    Eagles cornerback Quinton Mitchell speaks to reporters at his locker Monday.

    Eagles fans will get to see the players one final time before the skip town for the NFL offseason.

    Birds players have begun to clear out their lockers and speak to reporters.

    The Eagles are also required to hold a season-ending news conference at some point this week, which could include head coach Nick Sirianni, general manager Howie Roseman, or both. The Eagles have yet to announce when that will happen.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 10:00am

    The Eagles will find out their draft slot tonight

    Eagles general manager Howie Roseman at Sunday’s wild-card game.

    The Eagles and their forward-looking fans will learn tonight where the Birds are picking in the draft order.

    If the Steelers beat the Texans, the Eagles will pick 22nd. If the Texans beat the Steelers, the Eagles will pick 23rd (the Texans had a better regular season record than the Eagles).

    It remains to be seen what position groups make the most sense for the Eagles to target. Free agency happens before the draft, of course. But the Eagles will be in the market for offensive line help as well as at edge rusher and potentially wide receiver (among others).

    As of now, here are the Eagles’ picks in the 2026 draft, which will take place in Pittsburgh beginning April 23.

    • Round 1
    • Round 2
    • Round 3 (from the New York Jets in the Haason Reddick trade)
    • Round 3 (projected comp pick for Milton Williams)
    • Round 4
    • Round 4 (projected comp pick for Josh Sweat)
    • Round 5
    • Round 5 (projected comp pick for Mekhi Becton)

    — Jeff Neiburg

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 9:44am

    Could Brandon Graham be back next season?

    Brandon Graham leaves the Linc after losing to the 49ers Sunday.

    Brandon Graham unretired to join the Eagles this season, but don’t assume Sunday’s disappointing loss was his last game.

    According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Graham said his 37-year-old body “responded well and he felt he was just getting into a groove down the stretch.”

    “He turns 38 in April but had the look and sound of a guy that has football left,” Garafolo wrote on social media.

    Despite being on the field for just seven defensive plays (12% of the snaps), Graham still made his presence felt Sunday, mostly by trash-talking the entire 49ers team, including former Birds defender Bryce Huff.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 8:42am

    What now for Kevin Patullo and A.J. Brown?

    Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is under fire following this season’s offensive struggles.

    Kevin Patullo is as good as done. A.J. Brown’s future is murkier.

    But whatever happens to the offensive coordinator and the team’s top receiver, some form of significant change is coming to the Eagles offense after a season of frustration ended fittingly with another bipolar performance on Sunday.

    Patullo will be the easiest to cut off, not because he was solely responsible for the regression or even for the substandard play calling that doomed the Eagles in their 23-19 loss to the 49ers in the playoffs, just as it had throughout most of the 2025 regular season.

    Most players, including tackle Jordan Mailata, publicly supported the first-year coordinator on Sunday. They pointed the finger at themselves and their execution, or lack thereof. But the powers-that-be, as Mailata noted, can’t just wipe out the bulk of the highest-paid offense in the NFL.

    “It’s easier to blame somebody who gets paid less than your starting people, right?” Mailata said. “And everybody knows that. Everyone in this [bleeping] locker room — even you [reporters] know that. But the story makes better sense if we’re pointing to somebody else than not the players.”

    Brown might seem the logical piece to move considering how his drops against San Francisco seemed indicative of an apathetic season by his standards. General manager Howie Roseman isn’t normally fond of trading Hall of Fame talent, and Brown’s contract may make it difficult to move the 28-year old.

    But the Eagles will need to find ways to clear salary cap space with salaries for quarterback Jalen Hurts and others on offense increasing and young homegrown players on defense, including defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, slated for extensions.

    What now for Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after the Eagles offense went belly up again in the playoff loss to the 49ers?

    — Jeff McLane

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 8:07am

    Mike McDaniel set to interview with four teams

    Mike McDaniel was fired by the Dolphins after four seasons.

    Lots of Eagles fans are calling on the team to replace offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo with recently-fired Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. But he may have a better job soon.

    McDaniel is scheduled to interview with four teams about their head coaching vacancies, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero – the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, and Baltimore Ravens.

    He’ll also sit down for an interview with the Detroit Lions about their vacant offensive coordinator position,” Pelissero reported.

    McDaniel spent the past four seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach, and prior to that he was Kyle Shanahan’s offensive coordinator and run game coordinator in San Francisco.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 7:36am

    NFL playoffs: Divisional round schedule

    Drake Maye won Sunday night in his playoff debut with the Patriots.

    With one wild-card game left to play – tonight’s matchup between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers (8 p.m., ESPN/ABC) – the NFL announced part of next weekend’s divisional round playoff schedule.

    While we know which teams will play which days, the NFL is waiting to announce the times and networks. Saturday’s games will take place at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern, while Sunday’s game will happen at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

    Here’s what we know about the divisional round’s schedule:

    Saturday

    • No. 6 Bills at No. 1 Broncos
    • No. 6 49ers at No. 1 Seahawks

    Sunday

    • No. 5 Rams at No. 2 Bears
    • No. 5 Texans or No. 4 Steelers at No. 2 Patriots

    Full 2025 NFL playoff schedule

    • Wild-card round: Saturday, Jan. 10, to Monday, Jan. 12
    • Divisional round: Saturday, Jan. 17, to Sunday, Jan. 18
    • AFC and NFC championship games: Sunday, Jan. 25
    • Super Bowl LX: Sunday, Feb. 8

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 7:35am

    Nick Sirianni explains sideline fight with A.J. Brown

    Nick Sirianni speaks to reporters following the loss to the 49ers.

    Following their loss to the 49ers, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about a sideline fight he had with wide receiver A.J. Brown highlighted during Fox’s broadcast.

    “I was trying to get him off the field because we were about to punt,” Sirianni told reporters. “I love A.J. I think he knows how I feel about him.”

    “We’re both emotional,” Sirianni added. “That happens in this game.”

    The incident happened following a failed third down play late in the second quarter. Big Dom had to step in to push Brown away from his head coach.

    Brown declined to speak to reporters following the loss.

    “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.”

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 7:30am

    ‘Just too basic’: Eagles’ final play draws criticism

    In a season where the Eagles’ offense left a lot to be desired, the offense’s final play of the season is drawing criticism.

    Facing fourth down and needing 11 yards, Jalen Hurts failed to connect with a triple-covered A.J. Brown, allowing the 49ers to run out the clock. But a second look at the play – dubbed “4 Verticals” – shows it had little chance to succeed, with receivers simply running down the field and the 49ers covering everyone.

    Head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters the Eagles called a timeout before the final play and took a picture of how the 49ers defense lined up “to give ourselves some information.” Hurts said the 49ers didn’t change what they were doing.

    “They played ‘Cover 4 structure’ and I just didn’t make the play,” Hurts told reporters following the game. “I own it. I own it all.”

    “On 4th-and-11, we need your best play. All they did was say to the four guys out there, ‘Just run straight down the field,’” said NBC analyst and former Patriots defender Devin McCourty. “The 49ers… banged up and a bunch of guys just thrown in there together, they’re all over that play. Just too basic, and now who knows what the city of Philadelphia is going to do.”

    On 94.1 WIP, former Eagles fullback turned sports talker Jon Ritchie said the Eagles ran exactly what the 49ers were expecting, and against that defense Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo had options to convert.

    “Against quarters coverage, the flats are open,” Ritchie said. “It’s fourth and eleven. What are you doing?”

    The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen was even more blunt.

    “4 verts into cover 4 is like throwing a lit match into a toilet,” Nguyen wrote on social media.

    — Rob Tornoe

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 7:25am

    Dallas Goedert among Eagles set to become free agents

    Dallas Goedert’s contact expires at the end of the season.

    Did we just watch Dallas Goedert’s final game with the Eagles?

    The Birds’ tight end, who scored two touchdowns in Sunday night’s loss to the San Francisco, is among a handful of players who are set to become free agents.

    Here is a list of notable players whose contracts expire following this season:

    • Tight end Dallas Goedert
    • Safety Reed Blankenship
    • Defensive end Jaelan Phillips
    • Linebacker Nakobe Dean
    • Defensive end Brandon Graham

    And here’s the rest of the players who have expiring contracts, according to Over the Cap:

    • Offense: WR Jahan Dotson, TE Kylen Granson, RG Matt Pryor, RB A.J. Dillon, RG Fred Johnson, LT Brett Toth, QB Sam Howell, TE Grant Calcaterra, LT Luke Felix-Fualalo
    • Defense: LB Azeez Ojulari, LB Joshua Uche, CB Adoree Jackson, LB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, S Marcus Epps, LB Ben VanSumeren
    • Special teams: P Branden Mann

    — Rob Tornoe

    Photos from Eagles’ loss to 49ers

    // Timestamp 01/12/26 7:20am

  • Jump-start | Editorial Cartoon

    John Cole spent 18 years as editorial cartoonist for The (Scranton) Times-Tribune, and now draws for various statesnewsroom.com sites.

  • 🦷 Dental care for all | Morning Newsletter

    🦷 Dental care for all | Morning Newsletter

    It’s a new week, Philly, but a less exciting one, after our Eagles fell to the 49ers and out of Super Bowl contention. At least the tailgate sounded fun.

    Kids get free dental care at a North Philadelphia K-8. Officials say it’s a model that could be replicated in schools with empty space.

    And the Defender Association of Philadelphia has launched a new immigration unit amid growing federal arrests and deportations.

    — Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Brushing up

    For students whose families can’t afford regular visits to a dentist, the Dental Clinic at North Philadelphia’s William D. Kelley School is a lifeline.

    🦷 The clinic, operated by Temple University’s Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry and now in its third year, pairs dentistry students with any Philly children who need care. The service is free regardless of where they attend school and whether they have insurance. Some parents can get treated, too.

    🦷 The underlying concept is simple: Removing barriers to dental care means healthier kids who do better in school. “If your tooth hurts, if you’re not feeling well, you’re not going to learn,” Eileen Barfuss, the Temple professor who leads the clinic, told The Inquirer.

    🦷 School district officials also point to it as a model of what might happen in other district buildings with available space as the school system considers its facilities planning process this year.

    Education reporter Kristen A. Graham has the story.

    ‘This is necessary right now’

    As President Donald Trump’s administration presses for more arrests and deportations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Philly’s public defender is expanding its services for immigrant clients.

    The nonprofit Defender Association’s Immigration Law Practice will focus partly on those in detention despite having no criminal charges or who have committed minor offenses.

    Agency leaders also expect to handle more cases that challenge White House efforts around mandatory detention, a policy that has seen pushback from federal judges in Philadelphia.

    Reporter Jeff Gammage has more details.

    In other immigration news: A 46-year-old Cambodian immigrant held at the Federal Detention Center in Center City died in a hospital on Friday after being treated for drug withdrawal, according to ICE officials. And in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, anti-ICE protests spread across Philly’s suburbs on Sunday.

    What you should know today

    Quote of the day

    The giant old stone house is full with three best friends, one spouse, two kids, and a dog. The adults now share a bank account, backyard, and Google calendar — and they consider it a “paradise that we’ve made ourselves.”

    Plus: After a breakup, a homeowner left Graduate Hospital for a giant backyard in Port Richmond. Learn what he did with it in the latest installment of our How I Bought This House series.

    🧠 Trivia time

    A Philadelphia woman attracted attention in the city and Chester County for posting fliers asking for help after a breakup. What did the fliers say?

    A) “Date My Ex: Why He Deserves Better”

    B) “Missing: The Love of My Life”

    C) “Help! My Ex Stole the Cat”

    D) “Seeking: Experienced Witch to Curse My Ex”

    Think you know? Check your answer.

    What we’re…

    📺 A big fan of: Donna Kelce’s devious turn on The Traitors.

    👒 Eager to see: Suffs, the hit musical centered on South Jersey suffragist Alice Paul.

    👟 Answering: “Do I risk my stress-free run club for a relationship that might not work out?”

    🏈 Watching: Boys to Fame, a film about Ray Didinger’s Tommy and Me play.

    🩺 Considering: Why pediatricians are grieving changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.

    🧩 Unscramble the anagram

    Hint: Annual Harrisburg event, the Pennsylvania _ _

    FORM WASH

    Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

    Cheers to Rick Brasch, the only reader who solved Sunday’s anagram: Adam Cesare. The acclaimed local author described his perfect Philly day, including visits to The Book Trader and PhilaMOCA.

    Photo of the day

    Deepika Iyer holds her niece Ira Samudra aloft in a Rockyesque pose, while her parents photograph their 8-month-old daughter, in front of the famous movie prop at the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum. Iyer lives in Philadelphia and is hosting a visit by her mother Vijayalakshmi Ramachandran (partially hidden); brother Gautham Ramachandran; and her sister-in-law Janani Gautham, who all live in Bangalore, India.

    📬 Your ‘only in Philly’ story

    Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

    This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Nancy Brown, who describes a tentative first taste of a local classic:

    In 1998, my husband and I were transferred from Michigan to Philly and were super excited to be moving east. We stayed in a Center City hotel for a week while house hunting. On our first morning in the hotel restaurant, we ordered breakfast, and asked the waitress about something on the menu called “scrapple.” We Midwesterners had no idea what that was; had never even heard the word.

    Our waitress, in her uniquely Philly accent, insisted we would love it. She described scrapple and then added that she didn’t really know everything that’s in it, which made us feel not so sure we actually would love it. But we ordered it anyway, eager to acclimate to our new hometown.

    We were apprehensive after our first bite, but kept eating, and with a little more salt and pepper and maybe some ketchup, determined it wasn’t so bad. We’ve decided restaurant scrapple, especially diner scrapple, is often the best, and for that you need to be in Philly.

    Thanks for starting your week with The Inquirer. Back at it tomorrow.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

  • ‘Seeking Experienced Witch’: A woman asked for help hexing her ex. She’s part of a long cathartic tradition.

    ‘Seeking Experienced Witch’: A woman asked for help hexing her ex. She’s part of a long cathartic tradition.

    Driving to visit a friend, a Philadelphia woman had time to mull her recent breakup. She thought about all the things her ex hated: spiders, moth-bitten sweaters, overly soft avocados. She typed them on her phone, as curses.

    It became a flier: “Seeking: Experienced Witch to Curse My Ex.” She set up an email — for serious inquiries only.

    You may have seen her handiwork. The fliers dot telephone poles, originating in downtown Phoenixville, around where our witch-seeker was visiting family for the holidays. They now paper neighborhoods across Philadelphia — hung with a staple gun on New Year’s Eve while barhopping. (The 29-year-old asked to remain nameless for this story, so as to not affect future job prospects. It also, in a way, protects her ex.)

    And though it might seem a bit out of the ordinary, it’s part of a great tradition of cursing your ex that goes back to antiquity. Plus, it’s a way to regain a sense of power, experts say.

    So, it’s no surprise that the fliers have seeped online, circulating neighborhood groups and on socials, striking a chord. When the fliers appeared in Chester County, a Phoenixville community group sounded off: “I hope she gets him. Good for her,” one commenter wrote under a Facebook post about it. “I think I know the ex,” said another. “It’s a great idea,” writes another. (The witch-seeker also has her detractors: “That man dodged a bullet!” one commenter wrote.)

    The flier lays out her desired curses: his hair thinning, house plants withering, his bus seats feeling damp, his Wi-Fi buffering during video games, shoe pebbles remaining unshakeable — and the aforementioned too-ripe avocados, copious spiders, and hole-y sweaters (among other ill wishes).

    But, the flier requests no hexes on his well-being or romantic life.

    Across relationship research, one of the most consistent findings is that breakups produce a “profound sense of powerlessness,” said Jenn Pollitt, a professor of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies at Temple University.

    But how do you get from a list on your phone to asking witches to please curse your ex-boyfriend?

    It’s not that far a leap.

    “Witchcraft has become a more socially legible way to express rage,” Pollitt said. “If you’ve got someone who wants to curse their ex, really what they want to be able to say is, ‘I was harmed. I’m allowed to be angry about this, and my anger deserves to be acknowledged.’ The public posting of this is really like a deep desire and craving to have that person’s hurt and heartbreak be born witness to.”

    The witch-seeker said she needed a place to put her pent-up anger and frustration.

    It’s not all maliciousness to her ex, she said. It’s mostly catharsis: She thinks of her ex as a lovely person in a lot of ways. But she said when she expressed her emotional needs, he’d withhold affection, he’d disappear for a few days or block her number. Then he would return, with words of affirmation and promises of marriage. It became cyclical over the two-year relationship. She swallowed up her frustrations. But several months ago, they parted ways. And despite the turbulence, it was pretty amicable, she recalls.

    She grieved. She went to therapy. She journaled. She meditated.

    And then she logged on to social media, and saw he was in a new serious relationship that had started within weeks of them breaking up.

    “It felt like a slap in the face, and that was my impetus for doing this,” she said. “I couldn’t yell at him, and I didn’t want to yell at him, but I had to yell at someone.”

    She’s not alone. For millennia, people have pursued love magic, said Kristine Rabberman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who teaches about witchcraft and sexuality. Roughly 600 Latin curse tablets have survived from the Roman empire, with both men and women calling on various deities to curse their close relations, she said.

    These mystical beliefs served social functions, too, she said, addressing people’s lack of agency and control. They channel deep wells of emotion: anger, longing, frustration, hatred.

    “Having recourse to love magic could be one approach somebody could take to try to both find expression for those feelings and to also have a sense of agency and being able to act on them,” she said.

    Dating culture has changed rapidly, Pollitt added. There’s now a digital component: blocked numbers, social media handles unfollowed. A breakup by a thousand cuts, she noted.

    “Breakups often can be intensely private and deeply isolating. Any public display, even this — which is a little bit out of the ordinary — function as a way to reinsert personal pain into a shared social space,” Pollitt said.

    The community came fast. As the witch-seeker hung the fliers in Phoenixville, several people high-fived her, she said. Then the emails rolled in: A Caribbean witch who offered a hex. A bruja. A kitchen witch who practices herbalism and herbal manifestations. A helper who sent along a few shops and books, so she could do the curse herself (so it carries the appropriate “oomph”).

    But to her surprise, beyond the witches, there were others: People who wanted to know how the story would end. Someone boldly asking her out on a date. And the women who simply could relate.

    They wished her a happy new year, they told her they’d also had messy breakups, they told her they supported her.

    She did not expect the outpouring of support, or the attention. As a writer and a creative person, it was mostly a way to tap into that, in a way that felt a little more empowering.

    “It has made me feel so much better,” she said.

    She is thankful for the witches who offered their services, though she feels conflicted about going through with a hex. She won’t be papering the city with more witch requests, either, she said.

    The process has let her accept some of her bad, not totally socially acceptable feelings — and create something positive with it, by connecting with others, she said — as people reeling from heartbreak have done for centuries before her.

  • 🦅 That was offensive | Sports Daily Newsletter

    🦅 That was offensive | Sports Daily Newsletter

    Nick Sirianni caught some heat for resting his players in the regular-season finale. Some of them on the offensive side of the ball still seemed to be on pause at the worst possible time Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

    Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense had a chance to earn the winning touchdown in the two-minute drill against the 49ers. They got down to the 20-yard line. Then Hurts got sacked. Then he threw three straight incompletions and it was over. Banged-up San Francisco beat the odds and posted a 23-19 wild-card playoff victory that snuffed out any hopes of a second straight title for the Birds.

    Face it, though: The offense had been wildly inconsistent for most of the season and Vic Fangio’s defense could only save the Eagles so many times. Kevin Patullo, the first-year offensive coordinator, will bear the blame for the lost season and probably will be fired soon, Marcus Hayes writes. The columnist also wonders whether this was malcontent receiver A.J. Brown’s last game with the Eagles as well.

    Looking for a bright side here? Phillies pitchers and catchers will report to Clearwater, Fla., on Feb. 10.

    — Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    ❓Who should shoulder the blame for the Eagles’ playoff exit? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

    End of the road

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni pauses as he answers a question during the postgame news conference Sunday night.

    Of course, it was more than just Patullo’s play-calling that cost the Eagles the game. The defense gave up explosive plays to San Francisco’s Demarcus Robinson, Jauan Jennings, and Christian McCaffrey — and yielded a touchdown on a trick play. Jake Elliott doinked an extra point. Center Cam Jurgens had another rough outing. In Jeff McLane’s grades for the game, though, the lowest is reserved for the coaching staff.

    Hurts took his share of responsibility for the season-ending defeat. “I take ownership for not being able to put points on the board,” the quarterback said. “It all starts with me and ends with me. And so there’s a sense of a lot there that you can learn from.”

    Elliott missed an extra point in the first quarter and it cost the Eagles, who would have needed only a field goal to tie it if he had not missed. The kicker was asked if he was thinking about his missed PAT while the Eagles had to try for a touchdown in the final minute.

    “It’s a tough night to kick,” he said. “That’s not really what I’m thinking about during that moment in time. I’m thinking about that next kick.”

    Fox’s coverage of the game caught an interesting sideline “discussion” between Sirianni and Brown as things got a little heated. “Emotions run high, especially in the playoffs,” the coach told sideline reporter Erin Andrews at halftime. ”Of course, after this game, we’ll go back to loving each other.”

    At least before the game, Birds fans were in playoff form. Former Eagle Darius Slay showed up to tailgate.

    More coverage from Sunday’s game and the aftermath can be found here.

    Overcome in overtime

    Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey looks to shoot as Toronto’s Collin Murray-Boyles guards him in the second half.

    The Sixers have had problems closing out games and it burned them again Sunday night in a 116-115 overtime loss to the Raptors in Toronto. Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 38 points, but the Sixers gave up a 7-0 run by Toronto in overtime that cost them the game.

    A hot commodity

    Free agent Bo Bichette figures to be in play for several teams including the Phillies, who are set to meet with him on Monday.

    Free-agent infielder Alex Bregman reached a five-year, $175 million agreement with the Cubs late Saturday night, which could make the competition to sign Bo Bichette even more intense. The former Toronto Blue Jays star has a Zoom call with the Phillies scheduled for Monday, a league source confirmed.

    The Phillies are interested, but so are several other clubs. Of course, Alec Bohm would be traded if the Phils pulled off this signing — let alone what might happen with catcher J.T. Realmuto, who is still on the free-agent market. Our Scott Lauber looks at the teams that could threaten the Phillies’ chances of landing Bichette.

    ‘Embarrassing’

    Flyers goalie Sam Ersson gives up a goal to Tampa Bay’s Gage Goncalves in the third period Saturday.

    Flyers goalie Sam Ersson had a rough night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving up seven goals on 23 shots in a 7-2 loss Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Not all of the goals were his fault, of course, but the Swedish goalie knows he has plenty of things to clean up.

    “Obviously, especially last night, it’s very tough, embarrassing to let in seven goals on your home ice,” Ersson said. “You feel like you kind of let down the team and the fans. Obviously, that’s not acceptable. Just got to be better.”

    Sports snapshot

    Penn’s Ethan Roberts reacts after hitting a three-pointer against Brown on Saturday. It marked his second game since returning from a serious concussion earlier this season.

    On this date

    Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb scoring a touchdown against the Buccaneers in October 2002.

    Jan. 12, 2002: Donovan McNabb passed for 194 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles thumped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-9, in a wild-card playoff game at Veterans Stadium.

    We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff McLane, Marcus Hayes, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Matt Breen, Gabriela Carroll, Ariel Simpson, Keith Pompey, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Colin Schofield, Ellen Dunkel, and Sean McKeown.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    Thanks for reading. It will be interesting to hear what comes out of the Eagles postmortem today. I’ll see you in Tuesday’s newsletter. — Jim

  • Sixers mailbag: Will Joel Embiid make the All-Star Game? Will Jared McCain be here after the trade deadline?

    Sixers mailbag: Will Joel Embiid make the All-Star Game? Will Jared McCain be here after the trade deadline?

    The 76ers headed into Scotiabank Arena on Sunday evening looking to ascend in the Eastern Conference.

    Didn’t happen.

    They suffered a 116-115 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors. While the Sixers (21-16) remain in fifth place, they’re 1½ games behind the fourth-place Raptors (24-16).

    The two Atlantic Division foes will meet again on Monday in the second game of the back-to-back series in Toronto.

    That means we’ll learn more about where the Sixers stand shortly. In the meantime, I’ll answer a few of your mailbag questions.

    Missed out on the party? No worries. Submit questions for next time by tweeting @PompeyOnSixers on X with the hashtag #PompeysMailbagFlow.

    Q: When Kelly Oubre Jr. gets healthy, should he be starting over Dom Barlow, or should we stick with Barlow, who we have found success with recently? — @Carter80113612

    A: Thanks for starting the mailbag, Carter. We know both were in the starting lineup on Sunday because Paul George was a late scratch due to left knee soreness. But it will be different moving forward.

    As a result, this is a great question that keeps coming up. I also keep going back and forth between Oubre and Barlow as the fifth starter. Both deserve to be in the lineup. I initially said Oubre, George, Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, and Tyrese Maxey would make up my starting lineup once he returned.

    In that scenario, Barlow would be my seventh man behind Quentin Grimes.

    But then I changed my mind, because Barlow, being a true power forward, takes pressure off George to play that position. George has an easier time guarding small forwards on the perimeter than power forwards in the post. I also appreciate that Barlow doesn’t need the ball to make an impact.

    Dominick Barlow can remain in the Sixers’ starting lineup and be this season’s version of Marc Iavaroni.

    For me, he can be this season’s version of Marc Iavaroni, who started 77 games on the Sixers’ 1983 NBA championship team.

    The power forward averaged 5.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 20.2 minutes at power forward while starting alongside Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Mo Cheeks, along with Andrew Toney. Meanwhile, Hall of Famer Bobby Jones averaged 9.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 23.6 minutes off the bench as the sixth man.

    I think Oubre, who had been the Sixers’ X factor before his injury, can thrive in Jones’ role. He would thrive as the sixth man while playing a starter’s minutes.

    While his shots didn’t fall, Oubre made a significant impact in a reserve role during his first two games back from injury. With all things considered, I would keep him in that role.

    Don’t look now but the Sixers have turned a dire situation into a hopeful one behind their new Big Four
    Q: Will Jared McCain be on the team after the trade deadline? And what is his current trade value? — @MediumBall02

    A: He needs to be on the team. I know some people have soured on McCain due to his shooting slump and defensive shortcomings. The second-year guard was averaging 2.8 points on 25% shooting in the six games heading into Sunday’s contest against the Raptors.

    For the season, the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder averaged 6.6 points on 34.8% shooting — including making 31.9% of his three-pointers. He definitely needs to improve.

    But we shouldn’t forget that McCain had his rookie season cut short because of a torn meniscus in his left knee. In addition to the December 2024 injury, he had the start of this season delayed after suffering a torn ligament in his right thumb in September.

    Sixers guard Jared McCain averaged just 2.8 points on 25% shooting in the six games heading into Sunday’s contest against the Raptors

    Yes, he’s back on the court, but it usually takes 15 months postsurgery to fully get back to yourself following major knee injuries. In addition to that, McCain was the NBA rookie of the year front-runner last season before his injury. He’s not expected to fully regain his true form until late this season or next season.

    Sure, he has trade value due to being on a rookie deal that’s paying him $4.1 million this season, $4.4 million next season, and a potential club option for $6.7 million in 2027-28. But the Sixers have time to thoroughly evaluate what they have in him before deciding on his future.

    Plus, keeping him could be insurance just in case they lose Quentin Grimes in free agency this summer.

    Paul George thinks Sixers’ defense has ‘special’ potential after victory at Orlando Magic
    Q: Do you think Nick Nurse is being extra cautious with Trendon Watford? — @botman02_

    A: What’s up, Botman? It’s not a matter of being extra cautious. The coach said on Dec. 30 that the jury is still out on Watford regarding playing time. That’s because the coaching staff hasn’t seen much of him, due to injuries limiting the free-agent acquisition to just 15 games heading into Sunday’s contest. The power forward missed the preseason and the first three games of the season with a left hamstring issue. Watford returned on Wednesday after missing 17 consecutive games with a strained left thigh muscle suffered against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 25.

    During that time, Barlow has excelled in his role as the starting power forward. Meanwhile, Jabari Walker has also been a solid backup for the Sixers.

    “Where he would slot back in, he’s going to probably have to earn that back in there, not unlike the other guys coming back off injury,” Nurse said of Watford. “I think it’s a bit of a process, usually.”

    Could New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32)and Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0), a former Roman Catholic standout, both get the nod over Joel Embiid in All-Star voting by Eastern Conference coaches?
    Q: Can Joel Embiid make the All-Star Game? Will the coaches vote him in? — @_long_live_jai

    A: Great question, Jai. Anything is possible. The 2023 league MVP and seven-time All-Star has actually shown glimpses of his former dominant self. He scored a season-high 39 points against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 12. He scored at least 30 points in three other games. And he’s averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals in his last six games.

    The problem is Embiid has missed 18 games. He’s also had a tough time moving and struggled mightily on defense early in the season. In the second round of fan voting, Embiid was 17th among conference All-Star votes. Unless he dominates the media and player voting, he won’t make the All-Star Game as a starter.

    Embiid’s playing more this season despite his injuries. Check his status for next game.

    So the coaches will have to decide whether he deserves the nod over players who have been more deserving in terms of availability and consistency.

    Embiid’s statistics don’t count regarding season rankings due to not playing in at least 70% of the Sixers’ games. However, his scoring average of 23.5 points would rank first among Eastern Conference centers if he played enough games.

    Right now, New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, Cleveland Cavs center/power forward Evan Mobley, and Miami Heat power forward/center Bam Adebayo might be the leading candidates to receive the coaches’ nod if not selected as starters.

    I know one thing. Embiid definitely has an opinion.

    “Am I going to make it? I think I should,” he said to the media following Friday’s road victory over the Orlando Magic. “I don’t think we’re pushing it enough. I think I got pretty good stats. So, maybe you guys should put the word out that Joel Embiid is back.”

  • The Eagles need to ask themselves some hard questions. Jalen Hurts should face a few of them.

    The Eagles need to ask themselves some hard questions. Jalen Hurts should face a few of them.

    Multiple things can be true at the same time. They usually are when a team’s season ends the way the Eagles’ did on Sunday.

    It takes a special kind of bad to lose this limply. It is a collective bad, an existential bad, a bad that raises all kinds of hard questions that a team must confront head-on and wrestle with in the darkness. That is true even of a team that is less than a year removed from winning a Super Bowl. In fact, it is especially true for such a team.

    The bad that the Eagles were in a 23-19 loss to the 49ers is a disconcerting bad. It is a bad that shakes you to your core, a bad so bad that you spend an entire season desperate to disbelieve it.

    More than anything, it is a bad that is nearly impossible to achieve if your quarterback is doing the things he needs to do.

    Jalen Hurts did not do those things for the Eagles on Sunday. His counterpart did them for the 49ers. That is why the Eagles are headed home. It is why the 49ers are headed to Seattle. The difference in this particular playoff game was the same as it is in most of them. One team had a quarterback who rose above his circumstances. The other did not.

    “It starts with me and ends with me,” Hurts said afterward.

    Whether or not he truly believed those words, he was correct.

    A team that cannot, or will not, put pressure on a defense in the intermediate-to-deep part of the field is a team whose luck will eventually run out. Whether Hurts can’t or won’t doesn’t matter at this point. He didn’t, and that’s that. He completed just three passes that traveled more than 10 yards in the air, on 11 attempts. Those three completions gained a total of 38 yards. He was 17-for-20 on his short throws.

    Compare that to Brock Purdy, who was dealing with an offense that lost its last blue-chip pass-catching weapon when tight end George Kittle tore his Achilles tendon with six minutes left in the second quarter. The game should have been over then, one of several moments when that was the case. That it wasn’t is largely a testament to Purdy, whose poise and patience and intentionality were on display against an Eagles defense several calibers above that of the practice-squad Niners.

    San Francisco’s game-winning 66-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter featured a 16-yard completion to Demarcus Robinson and a 5-yard scramble, both for first downs, to help set up his 4-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey with just under three minutes remaining. A couple of possessions earlier, he found fullback Kyle Juszczyk of all people for a 27-yard gain that set up a trick play touchdown on an end-around pass from wide receiver Jauan Jennings to McCaffrey.

    The 2025 Eagles played not to lose. In the end, that’s why they did.

    There was a 14-yard pass to backup tight end Jake Tonges on third-and-14 late in the second quarter, a 45-yarder to Jennings earlier in the period, and a 61-yarder to Robinson that set up a touchdown on the 49ers’ opening drive.

    Purdy’s numbers on throws longer than 10 yards: 8-of-13, for 178 yards. His two interceptions were the cost of doing business.

    “You’ve got to be able to be explosive,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “It’s really hard to dink and dunk down the field. It’s really hard to get behind sticks with negative plays. You’ve got to be able to create explosives. Again, at the end of the day, there were a lot of elements [where] you end up with a loss, and we haven’t had this feeling of ending our season since 2023 with the loss. That’s why it hurts because it’s been a while. But yeah, at the end of the day, we need to find ways to be more explosive. Again, that starts with me.”

    Sirianni is right. Everything starts with him. But it ends wherever the quarterback takes it. The ball is in his hands. The clock is in his head. He is the one who decides how long to continue looking down the field. Whatever the game plan, whoever the play-caller, a quarterback almost always has the ability to force the issue. That’s especially true for a quarterback with Hurts’ ability to buy time and gain yards with his legs. He gained 14 yards on five carries against the 49ers. Purdy gained 24 on nine.

    “Well, I think finding a rhythm and whatever you define aggression as, maintaining the fluidity and the flow throughout four quarters of the game, so I think there’s opportunity for us to improve in that,” Hurts said. “Just finding a rhythm. Ultimately it is just all something that you either learn from it or you don’t.”

    One thing people lose sight of while focusing on the play-calling is that the quarterback sets the rhythm. He is the orchestra conductor. The great offenses are almost always a reflection of their quarterback. It wasn’t Tom Moore’s offense or Todd Haley’s offense or Charlie Weis’ offense: it was Peyton Manning’s and Ben Roethlisberger’s and Tom Brady’s. It’s no coincidence that the energy of this Eagles offense as a collective often resembles Hurts’ individual demeanor.

    Nobody should have to apologize for pointing out these things. High standards are not unfair. The only way to fix an offense as bad and boring and listless as the Eagles’ is to be unflinchingly honest about its component parts. The quarterback is inseparable from the play-caller. The right guy for the second job is a guy who can make it work with the guy in the first one. The next Eagles play-caller will be getting a quarterback who does not have elite size, or arm strength, or pocket presence, and who no longer makes up much of that difference with his ability to create on the run.

    Hurts didn’t get much help from his pass-catchers on Sunday. He didn’t get as much help from his play-caller as Purdy got from his. The Eagles will need to fix both of those things this offseason. Hurts isn’t, and shouldn’t be, going anywhere.

    The defense propped the Eagles up all season. On Sunday, it bent, broke and the 49ers advanced.

    That said, Hurts is who he is. Who he was on Sunday is the guy he has been all season, and most of the last 2½ seasons, if we’re being honest. It worked when the Eagles had an overwhelming talent advantage at all of the other positions. If that is no longer the case, they need to figure out a new formula.

  • What now for Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after the Eagles offense went belly-up again in the playoff loss to the 49ers?

    What now for Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown after the Eagles offense went belly-up again in the playoff loss to the 49ers?

    Kevin Patullo is as good as done. A.J. Brown’s future is murkier.

    But whatever happens to the offensive coordinator and the team’s top receiver, some form of significant change is coming to the Eagles offense after a season of frustration ended fittingly with another bipolar performance on Sunday.

    Patullo will be the easiest to cut off, not because he was solely responsible for the regression or even for the substandard play calling that doomed the Eagles in their 23-19 loss to the 49ers in the playoffs, just as it had throughout most of the 2025 regular season.

    The Eagles need to ask themselves some hard questions. Jalen Hurts should face a few of them.

    Most players, including tackle Jordan Mailata, publicly supported the first-year coordinator on Sunday. They pointed the finger at themselves and their execution, or lack thereof. But the powers that be, as Mailata noted, can’t just wipe out the bulk of the highest-paid offense in the NFL.

    “It’s easier to blame somebody who gets paid less than your starting people, right?” Mailata said. “And everybody knows that. Everyone in this [expletive] locker room — even you [reporters] know that. But the story makes better sense if we’re pointing to somebody else than not the players.”

    Brown might seem the logical piece to move considering how his drops against San Francisco seemed indicative of an apathetic season by his standards. General manager Howie Roseman isn’t normally fond of trading Hall of Fame talent, and Brown’s contract may make it difficult to move the 28-year old.

    But the Eagles will need to find ways to clear salary-cap space with salaries for quarterback Jalen Hurts and others on offense increasing and young homegrown players on defense, including defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, slated for extensions.

    Getting rid of Brown may send a message. But for as great as fellow receiver DeVonta Smith can be, most defenses still spent each week in 2025 devising coverages to cloud Brown. He didn’t have his best season by any stretch, and sometimes ran poor routes and couldn’t pull in grabs he normally makes.

    He let two of Hurts’ downfield throws slip off his hands on Sunday.

    The defense propped the Eagles up all season. On Sunday, it bent, broke and the 49ers advanced.

    “He’s got the best hands I’ve ever seen,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “The way he catches the ball, the amount of different types of catches that he’s made. When you get as many targets as he does, you’re going to have some drops. Not ever using an excuse, but the ball moves differently in the wind.”

    Brown declined interview requests after the game, much like he has for the last month. He got into a brief altercation with Sirianni on the sideline in the second quarter when the coach yelled for him to get off the field after a three-and-out.

    “I love A.J. I think he knows how I feel about him,” Sirianni said. “I have a special relationship with him. We’ve probably [gone] through every emotion you can possibly have together. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together, we’ve yelled at each other. We’re both emotional.”

    Brown’s emotions have sometimes gotten the best of him. He’s admitted to mistakes he’s made when using social media to voice frustrations with the offense. He’s among the most-liked players in the locker room. But a change of scenery may be best as he enters the latter stage of his career.

    A.J. Brown logged another 1,000-yard season, but it was a tumultuous year for the star wide receiver.

    Sirianni and Hurts aren’t going anywhere, nor should they. But they face another crossroads just two years after the Eagles offense underwent its first facelift. Sirianni fired coordinator Brian Johnson, certainly with input from owner Jeffrey Lurie and Roseman, and Kellen Moore was brought in to spiff up the system.

    Johnson was more of a Hurts guy, not that Sirianni took pleasure in ending his tenure in Philly. But Patullo has been with the coach since their days with the Colts. They’re kindred spirits in football and friends away from it. But even Sirianni can’t deny that Patullo was in over his head.

    “There will be time to evaluate everybody’s performance,” Sirianni said when asked about his coordinator’s future.

    If the Eagles weren’t coming off a Super Bowl, maybe Patullo could have been given more time to learn on the job. Maybe Sirianni has built up enough clout to hold off Lurie/Roseman. But precedent suggests that the Eagles will move fast, and that they already have possible replacements lined up.

    Who could be next? Mike McDaniel? Kliff Kingsbury? Brian Daboll? Nate Scheelhaase? Todd Monken? Frank Reich? Whoever it is, it should be someone with a pedigree of improving quarterbacks, and preferably one who actually played the position.

    Hurts didn’t evolve this season. He ran less and it not only made him less dynamic, but it gave defenses one less option to worry about in the running game. And it made his deficiencies in the drop-back passing game more glaring.

    “I think I’m always growing,” Hurts said when asked about working with Patullo. “I’m always taking in my experiences and learning from everything that we go through. I think it’s tough to single out one individual, especially in a moment like this.

    “We’ve all got to improve and that’s how I look at everything that we go through.”

    Hurts didn’t play poorly in windy conditions at Lincoln Financial Field. In fact, it was a very Hurtsian performance. He made some good throws. He didn’t turn the ball over while his counterpart, Brock Purdy, tossed two interceptions.

    But Hurts’ arm lacked the velocity to cut through the breeze at times. He left clean pockets far too early. And he failed again to deliver a game-winning drive. He may play by far the most important position on the field, but the Eagles’ struggles Sunday and all season weren’t all on his shoulders.

    The 2025 Eagles played not to lose. In the end, that’s why they did.

    And the same applies to Patullo. How much was he handcuffed by Sirianni’s emphasis on not giving the ball away? The Eagles led, 13-7, midway through the second quarter. But the offense failed to generate a first down on four of its next five possessions against a 49ers defense that was down to its fourth and fifth linebackers.

    There were dropped passes, penalties, missed blocking assignments, and Hurts throwaways over that span. There were also conservative calls like running on second-and-18, or Hurts keeping on third-and-13. Sirianni was aggressive on two fourth downs in the first half. He seemed to settle for field goals after the break.

    “If it goes the way you want it to go in the first half and then not the second half, I think that’s the go-to of people [thinking] you take your foot off the gas,” Sirianni said. “But we were playing more balanced, got the run game going a little bit, trying to mix our play-actions in, trying to get our passes in to create explosives.

    “At the end of the day, we didn’t create enough explosives.”

    49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, meanwhile, dialed up four pass plays that gained 27 yards or more, including a double-reverse trick play that had receiver Jauan Jennings hitting running back Christian McCaffrey for a 29-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

    Gadget plays aren’t going to solve core offensive problems. But the Eagles offense, overall, wasn’t diverse enough. There weren’t enough passing concepts that utilized the middle of the field. There weren’t enough layups for Hurts schemed off under center play-action plays.

    The offense moved too slowly in its pre-snap operation and it crippled an already battered offensive line in the running game. Left guard Landon Dickerson admitted after the game what was obvious: He was playing through multiple injuries. Center Cam Jurgens never looked fully recovered from offseason back surgery.

    Eagles grades: Another overly conservative offensive performance results in season-ending flop

    Right tackle Lane Johnson missed the final eight games with a Lisfranc foot injury. He practiced last week, but his replacement, Fred Johnson, said he found out Saturday that he would be starting instead.

    “That’s not normal,” Fred Johnson said. “Lane came out this week and prepared like he was a starter. He tested it this week with his reps. Saturday he just felt like he wasn’t ready.”

    But the Eagles, for the most part, were healthy. They returned 10 of 11 starters from a Super Bowl-winning offense. The only new cog was Patullo, so he bore the brunt of blame. But Mailata said that was “very unfair.” Dickerson said he did a “tremendous job.”

    The offensive linemen also acknowledged Patullo’s inexperience.

    “I think he improved over the year,” Fred Johnson said when asked about Patullo. “That’s about it.”

    There was some individual grumbling about the play calling from various corners of the locker room over the course of the year. But it never rose to the level it did when Sirianni demoted former defensive coordinator Sean Desai midseason in 2023.

    Despite Sirianni’s claim last week that the Eagles had found an identity, it never really materialized. They wanted to ride Saquon Barkley and the running game much as they did en route to the Super Bowl a year ago. But it just ended up being a rinse-and-repeat offense for most of the season and again on Sunday: some glimmers of hope in the first half, darkness thereafter.

    “It’s been a common theme for us this year,” Barkley said. “We haven’t done a good enough job of playing complete football, putting two halves together. Sometimes you get into this moment and [believe] we’ll just figure this out. And it just caught up to it.

    “It’s been the same thing all year.”

    Jake Elliott’s missed kick proves costly in what could be his final game with the Eagles

    There’s a word for doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same results. It could be used to describe the furor in Philly whenever an offensive coordinator fails to succeed. Patullo will likely suffer a fate because Eagles leaders won’t want to be labeled as such for sticking with him.

    There’s a strong argument for making a move. But there’s change every season.

    “There’s a lot of great guys in this locker room on this team, lot of great coaches, a lot of great people upstairs,” Dickerson said. “Every team’s got a one-year expiration on it, so this team will never be put together again.”

    The tearing apart starts now.

  • Kyle Lowry returns to Toronto as a Raptors legend and Sixers leader: ‘I embrace it, and they embrace me’

    Kyle Lowry returns to Toronto as a Raptors legend and Sixers leader: ‘I embrace it, and they embrace me’

    TORONTO — Trendon Watford’s eyes widened as he walked into Scotiabank Arena’s visitors’ locker room and noticed the media scrum surrounding Kyle Lowry’s locker. Teammates Justin Edwards and Jared McCain joined the back of the crowd, with McCain pulling out his cell phone to pretend to ask a question.

    “This is why I’m here,” Lowry quipped to those gathered.

    The scene was warranted. This could be Lowry’s final visit as a player to Toronto, where the North Philly native and former Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova star became a Raptors franchise legend and NBA champion. And the 76ers’ back-to-back against the Raptors — they lost a 116-115 overtime heartbreaker Sunday night — represents another bridge between the city that Lowry now calls his second home and his hometown Sixers, the team with which he is likely to wrap up his NBA career primarily as a mentor on the bench and behind the scenes.

    Sixers mailbag: Will Joel Embiid make the All-Star Game? Will Jared McCain be here after the trade deadline?

    “You’ve got to find ways to challenge yourself,” Lowry said when asked about his role before Sunday’s game. “And the challenge for me is to try to help these guys every single day. … It’s just finding that niche and helping people get better — and me being in a place where I’m happy.”

    The 39-year-old Lowry went into last offseason with a public declaration that he wanted to play one more season to reach the “massive accomplishment” of 20 in the NBA. Only 12 players have achieved that benchmark in league history, including two who stood 6-foot or shorter (Lowry and Chris Paul). His sons, Karter and Kameron, who are still based in Miami following Lowry’s post-Raptors tenure with the Heat, signed off on him pursuing that milestone.

    Yet when asked before the Sixers departed for Toronto late Friday if he expected this to be a farewell trip of sorts, Lowry’s tone shifted to “I don’t know, honestly.” It is possible that the Sixers (21-16) could return to Canada after these consecutive regular-season matchups because, if the playoffs began Monday, the 24-16 Raptors would be their first-round opponents. Lowry also believes his leadership is “immensely important to what this organization is trying to do.”

    “You’ve got to be able to kind of take yourself out of it sometimes,” Lowry said, “and be able to say, ‘OK, how can I pay it forward a little bit?’ … It’s that balance of I know I’m not on the court, so I can’t yell at them and curse at them. But I can say, ‘Hey, these are the things that I see. Let’s try to do that.’”

    Kyle Lowry played nine seasons in Toronto (2012-21), winning a title in 2019 and being named to six All-Star teams.

    It is a transition that those who knew Lowry in Toronto — where he was a six-time All-Star and a notoriously tenacious point guard — might be surprised he has so wholeheartedly welcomed. Though he became a starter after joining the Sixers off the 2024 buyout market, Lowry’s minutes dramatically diminished while hampered by a lingering hip issue for the bulk of last season. He has played in 42 total minutes across five games this season, receiving a rousing reaction from teammates when he buried a three-pointer in his debut at the Brooklyn Nets in November.

    Survey those same teammates about Lowry’s daily influence, and faces typically light up.

    Rookie VJ Edgecombe can count on Lowry to “keep it real,” including during a pressure-releasing pep talk before Edgecombe scored 34 points in his NBA debut at the Boston Celtics. Quentin Grimes said Lowry’s diligent workout routine — he is still the first Sixer on the floor for his pregame shooting nearly three hours before every game, and puts in extra individual work before and after practices — provides a blueprint on how to prepare as his own career progresses.

    Sixers takeaways: Inability to close out games and stop dribble drives are glaring in loss to Raptors

    And though star Tyrese Maxey jokingly calls Lowry “old as hell,” he also views the veteran as “like, my leader. He comes to me and leads me, and I try to lead the team.” Lowry fosters this relationship while regularly rebounding and screening for Maxey during workouts, and when he calls the 25-year-old “at least three or four times a day,” Maxey said.

    “I couldn’t do this without him, honestly, right now,” said Maxey, who finished Sunday ranked third in the NBA in scoring at 30.9 points per game and has entered the MVP conversation.

    Even Sixers coach Nick Nurse, who also led Lowry’s Raptors teams, said the point guard has “talked me off the ledge a couple times” during games this season. Nurse views Lowry as a valuable conduit between the players and the coaching staff, providing insight on when the Sixers might need a day off from practice or should be pushed.

    “There’s times when I’ll be leaning on him,” Nurse said. “He’ll get behind me and say [to teammates] … ‘This is what it takes.’”

    The relationship between Nick Nurse and Kyle Lowry is extensive and built on trust.

    Before Sunday’s game, Nurse said that he would speak to Lowry about his desire to hit the floor inside Scotiabank Arena again. Lowry acknowledged he would “love to get in there for the fans, and help my team,” but stressed that winning was the top priority. There was no appropriate opportunity for Lowry to enter during Sunday’s down-to-the-wire overtime defeat.

    Still, Lowry remained active from the bench. He jetted onto the court to greet Maxey after he drilled a three-pointer with 20.1 seconds remaining in regulation. He stood between Nurse and assistant Bryan Gates during an overtime discussion. And after Kelly Oubre Jr. attempted what he described as a “terrible” inbounds pass to Edgecombe that became a critical crunch-time turnover, Lowry pointed out that Grimes also had leaked open.

    Don’t look now but the Sixers have turned a dire situation into a hopeful one behind their new Big Four

    “He’s been there, done that,” Oubre said of Lowry. “Been at the highest level. For him to be so engaged and allow him to use his IQ to help us grow ours, it’s amazing. He’s definitely a huge leader on this team, and his voice is always heard.”

    Doug Smith, the longtime Raptors beat writer for the Toronto Star, suggested in an article that Nurse should put Lowry in Monday’s starting lineup so he can bask in a pregame introduction here one last time. When asked how it will feel to see his No. 7 raised into the rafters someday, Lowry’s response was, “Y’all ever seen me cry?”

    He walked into the arena Sunday wearing a signed jersey from Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, a tribute to the player and the city. He confirmed that, whenever the time comes, he would sign a one-day contract to retire as a Raptor.

    Veterans like Joel Embiid (21) know the impact Kyle Lowry has made during his 20 seasons in the NBA.

    And his forever connection to Toronto was clear when Joel Embiid tried to land a playful jab inside Friday’s postgame locker room in Orlando. Hours before the Sixers’ flight across the border, Embiid interrupted an interview with Lowry by asking, “Why are they talking to you?” in an exacerbated tone.

    “Where you lost Game 7 at,” said Lowry, referencing the Sixers’ crushing playoff defeat to the eventual-champion Raptors in 2019.

    “Talking about how great of a cheerleader you are?” Embiid countered.

    “Yes, basically,” Lowry responded.

    “He’s a great cheerleader,” Embiid conceded.

    Because right now, Lowry is a Sixer. And when asked about how enthusiastically those teammates describe Lowry’s impact in his 20th — and, potentially, final — NBA season, his emotions again bubbled to the surface.

    Kyle Lowry could be finishing a storied career with a mentor role on a possible playoff team.

    “It means a lot, to be honest,” Lowry said. “Because I really give to them the purity of how I feel about them. Like I said, sacrifice. I don’t care about myself as a basketball player. I know in my career what I’ve done. And what I’ve done is I’ve given everything to this game. Everything I could possibly give to this game, physically and mentally.

    “You see me every day with these guys. I cheer for them. I clap for them. I help coach them from a player’s perspective. I try to give them things in life. I try to help them out, just overall, in general.

    “I guess it’s a testament to how they feel about me. I’m the ancient man in this locker room. I embrace it, and they embrace me.”

  • The Trump administration is targeting ultra-processed foods. A Penn researcher explains why that might be complicated. | Q&A

    The Trump administration is targeting ultra-processed foods. A Penn researcher explains why that might be complicated. | Q&A

    On the same day President Donald Trump’s administration targeted ultra-processed foods in its new federal nutrition guidelines, Penn researcher Alyssa Moran published an academic journal article explaining why they’re hard to regulate.

    For starters, there’s no consensus on how policymakers should define the term, she and two coauthors said in a Nature Medicine commentary piece. (The publication timing was a coincidence, but she welcomed the attention to an underestimated challenge.)

    Ultra-processed foods are generally understood to be those with industrially produced ingredients not found in home cooking, but experts have long debated how best to classify the foods for regulation. The wording would need to encompass all the possible variations, without being so rigid that the industry finds loopholes.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department have said they are working on developing a federal definition to provide “increased transparency to consumers about the foods they eat.” It’s a key goal of the nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who blames ultra-processed foods for the United States’ “chronic disease epidemic.”

    Roughly 60% of an American child’s daily calorie intake is estimated to come from ultra-processed foods, which comprise up to 70% of the U.S. food supply. Studies have linked their consumption to a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and other harms.

    This is the first time U.S. dietary guidelines have explicitly called out ultra-processed foods, also called highly processed foods, and told Americans to limit consumption, Moran said. The guidance was part of a broader update by the Trump administration the first week of January that flipped the longstanding food pyramid on its head to promote consumption of whole foods, proteins, and some fats.

    Though health experts questioned changes, such as the vague guidance on drinking alcohol, the crackdown on ultra-processed foods mirrors what many health organizations and consumer advocacy groups have been saying for years.

    “I thought it was a bold move, and I was glad to see it,” she said.

    Moran talked with The Inquirer about what people should know about ultra-processed foods and the challenges that remain in regulating the products.

    This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

    Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a press briefing with leading health officials and nutrition advisors at the White House in early January.
    What are ultra-processed foods?

    It’s a term that’s been used for decades and has been used, I think, interchangeably with ‘the Western diet’ or ‘junk foods’ or ‘highly processed foods.’

    Most foods are processed in some form, whether it’s physical processing, like slicing fruit before you eat it, or adding some chemical preservatives to foods that increase food safety. What changes with ultra-processing is the intent of the processing.

    With ultra-processing, the intent isn’t just to make the food safer or to extend shelf-life. It is to make it more cosmetically appealing and more likely to be overconsumed by individuals. They’re formulated in a way that makes them addictive, and they’re also aggressively marketed.

    What does it mean to make a food ‘cosmetically appealing’?

    It’s the overall sensation of eating the product.

    Companies are manipulating levels of highly palatable ingredients like sugar, salt, and fat to be at levels that are not naturally occurring and that are extremely palatable to consumers.

    They also add additives that enhance the naturally rewarding properties of things like sugar, salt, and fat. Some additives are added to food, for example, to mask a bitter flavor or prevent an aftertaste. They also add emulsifiers to change the mouth feel of a product. They pay attention to how the product sounds — even the crunch of a product when you’re chewing it — and add dyes to make them more visually appealing, especially to kids.

    There are all kinds of strategies that can take advantage of all of the senses to make the product almost irresistible.

    Why is there so much debate over how to define the products?

    The current administration has talked more than any prior administration about potentially limiting the production, marketing and sale, and availability of ultra-processed products. So, to be able to formulate policy to limit intake of these products, we have to be able to identify them.

    Many people have proposed going down the route of defining ultra-processed foods according to a list of additives. And there are many reasons why I don’t think that’s a good approach.

    What are the reasons?

    We need to really be thinking about how companies are going to respond to whatever definition we create.

    If we use a list of specific additives that makes something ultra-processed, companies are going to look at that list and they’re going to say, ‘How can we get around this. How can we skirt regulation?’ They’re either going to increase their use of additives that exist already but aren’t on that list, or they’re going to create new additives with very similar structures and functions as the existing additives.

    We see this happen all the time with commercially regulated products. When policies tax sugar, we see that companies increase their use of non-nutritive sweeteners, so the food supply is just as sweet, if not more. When Red Dye No. 2 was banned (in 1976), companies created Red Dye No. 3, which is almost identical and was also banned (in 2025), but 50 years later.

    Plus, we have hundreds of thousands of products on the marketplace and there are constantly new ones being added. And currently under FDA policy, companies don’t even need to notify the FDA when they add new ingredients to the food supply. So we don’t even have a complete list of every single additive in the food supply right now.

    What approach did you propose in your Nature article on this topic?

    Right now, it has been proposed to use a list of ingredients that would make a food ultra-processed. Everything else is non-ultra-processed.

    Our recommendation is really to flip that.

    We would say, ‘Here are all of the ingredients that make a food non-ultra-processed. Everything else is ultra-processed.’

    There are very few additives that make a food non-ultra-processed. The purpose (of the additive) would have to be for food safety or preservation, and that’s one reason why this is also a much simpler approach. Our approach is saying, for example, your yogurt is considered non-ultra-processed if it contains things like milk, live cultures, fruit, nuts, seeds, and honey, as well as some preservatives, vitamins, and minerals.

    If it has anything else, it’s an ultra-processed food and is in scope for regulation. Then, if companies introduce new additives, they’ll still be considered ultra-processed because they still fall into the ‘everything else’ bucket.

    Are there any other challenges that you see in terms of regulating the industry?

    The biggest one is the pushback from the food industry. They spend a lot of money fighting against policies to regulate production, marketing, and sale. We see it with sweet and beverage taxes that have been enacted in Philadelphia and other places. We see it with front-of-package labeling, which the FDA had been trying to pass.

    The lack of resources at our federal agencies is another barrier. This administration, early on, really dismantled the FDA, which I think would be the main regulatory body involved in creating this definition and potentially developing policy to regulate these products.

    If we don’t have people at those agencies, and they don’t have the resources they need to do their work, you could have a law on the books, but it’s not going to go anywhere.

    What are your tips for consumers?

    Shop on the grocery store perimeter and avoid the center aisles. Avoid ingredients that aren’t familiar to you.

    Classic examples of ultra-processed foods are box macaroni and cheese, many frozen pizzas or frozen prepared meals, and many boxed cookies, candies, cakes, and packaged foods.

    I would never tell consumers in this environment that you have to avoid every single ultra-processed food to be healthy. These products are everywhere. They’re cheap. They’re super convenient. Many people don’t have access to minimally processed whole foods.

    That’s why I think policy is so important — policies that both put limits on ultra-processed foods, but also promote and incentivize the production and sale and marketing of non-ultra-processed products.