👋 Good morning! Jordan Davis broke the Rams’ hearts, and then, just as importantly, he broke the hearts of anyone who had Rams +3.5.

As bad of a beat as you will ever see.

Davis reached 18.59 miles per hour on the return. That is a record for a 330+ pound player, according to Next Gen Stats. Davis did run a 4.78 40-yard dash at the combine at 341 pounds, but you never really knew when he would get a chance to show off that skill-set. Banner two weeks for Big Boys Movin’, after Josh Simmons’ chasedown of Drew Mukuba. We love to see it.

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OK, let’s talk about that crazy win. You can reach me at [email protected]

Had ‘em all the way!

You guys know I love a historical comp or five, and the two that came to mind for Jordan Davis’ game-winning field goal block/scoop-and-score…

Let’s save Davis for last, though. We have already used the “Tale of Two Halves” framework this season, but this one takes the cake. Here is what I tweeted at halftime.

I thought the incredibly gross first half could be a silver lining in the moment, but in the sense of, “Jalen throws a few touchdowns after halftime, Eagles lose by 10 or so, but learn a valuable lesson.” But this team’s talent level is off the charts, so the normal rules of football gravity do not always apply to them. So, of course Jalen Hurts threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns in the second half, the last one a gotta-have-it, go-ahead score to DeVonta Smith on fourth down with 1:48 left.

Fran broke the play down here, and it was a perfect read by Jalen. The Rams doubled A.J. Brown (fair), the Rams spied Jalen (also fair), so that ball has to go to DeVonta one-on-one. It did, and for the second straight week, DeVonta won in a huge spot. Of course he did.

With all of that in mind, when Joshua Karty lined up for what I thought would be a game-winning 44-yard field goal, I had a similar thought to Bo here: Make or miss, I was totally at peace after that second half. Like Austin Powers before them, the Eagles got their mojo back.

Let’s get back to the “Tale of Two Halves” framing. I do not think success rate and EPA, two stats I come across a decent amount in my football reading and listening, are the be-all, end-all. Success rate groups all positive plays into the same bucket, and EPA weights the big plays more. No need to get more nerdy (said with affection) around here, but they can be a useful shorthand. With that in mind…

So, yeah, bad and then good. After scoring on a short field on the opening drive — Zack Baun, very good at his job — here were the next six Eagles drives: 3-and-out, 3-and-out, 3-and-out, 3-and-out, take a knee at the 35-yard line with 10 seconds left and timeouts in your pocket (boooooo!!!!), fumble. It was really gross. Stinky, stinky stuff.

I do not pretend to know who is most responsible, but through 2.5 games, Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense were calling and playing incredibly conservative football. “Conservative” is not even a good word for it honestly, “anti-football” is almost better. No passes thrown in harm’s way, running heavily on first down, coward’s draws on 3rd-and-long, a million Tush Pushes. Basically, just trying to limit mistakes and win the turnover battle. That’s it, very little else. And that got framed as “winning football,” because well, in fairness the Eagles do win a whole heckuva lot.

But that was a bad blueprint, and one that was taken too far. At least early on, there are two obvious differences between the 2025 and 2024 Eagles: The run blocking for Saquon Barkley is not at the same level and the defense is good, but not otherworldly. Hopefully at some point those things change. Until then, though, you are not gonna get the high-leverage turnovers from Miles Sanders and Travis Kelce every week. Relying on them, which the Eagles offense clearly was doing, is not a successful long-term strategy. At some point, you gotta make something happen yourself. I am not saying that Jalen needs to start airing it out like crazy, but there is definitely a happy medium to be struck between the first and second halves. You would hope the key stakeholders all learned that lesson, you know, since it could not have been laid out any more clearly.

When the Eagles did air it out in the second half, it was awesome. Those intermediate throws that were not there in Weeks 1 through 2.5? We got ‘em.

Sluggo route to A.J., who finished with six catches, 109 yards and a tuddy. There was a loud Bronx Cheer after the first one, and by the end, he was bullying poor Emmanuel Forbes just like old times. Seam ball to Dallas Goedert, beautifully executed. We had our Cowboys podcast (sick team they have down there, by the way) trolling that “all Jalen can do is fall forward,” which is obviously wrong. But that second half, and how lights-out Jalen performed in obvious passing situations, does make the previous four halves seem kinda silly, no?

Speaking of which, I thought it was very interesting that Nick Sirianni was effusive in praise for how Brown handled his slow start in the media this week… while Brown, who does choose his words carefully, used the word “conservative” to describe the offense “at times.” The money quote: “Let your killers do their thing.” For what it’s worth, Hurts legitimately volunteered the same thing to Pam Oliver: "We've got to get out of this, playing not to lose. We've got to come out aggressive and play our game."

And after a Super Bowl-quality comeback from No. 1, we have a Super Bowl-quality shirt.

Now, there was one other offensive issue that was more personnel-driven: Lane Johnson suffered a neck injury on the opening drive and never returned. Lane apparently suffered a stinger, but it sounds like he will not miss too much time. That is good, because we all know that Lane might be the most important player on the team: 50 games above .500 with him, eight games below .500 without him.

Matt Pryor took over for Lane, and he was on the field for the Eagles’ next five terrible drives. That fumble? Jalen got crunched by Jared Verse, who owned Pryor on the rep. But on the next drive, everything changed with one little substitution. One man single-handedly ignited the Eagles’ passing attack. Hands above your head, everybody…

Jeff Stoutland has done miracles on all of us. But in a rare misstep, Stout (I assume) went with Pryor initially when Lane went down. As EJ pointed out, the Eagles likely had a set-up with a backup right tackle (Pryor) and a backup left tackle. But in addition to their offensive identity, the Eagles in this game learned that, moving forward, they have a Swing Tackle. His name is Fred Johnson. And all it took was a seventh-round pick for Howie to right that wrong. STEAL.

I spent a lot of time on the offense, and rightfully so, but the defense and the special teams were not exactly lights-out the whole game, either.

Vic Fangio has a great track record against Sean McVay, so much so that Bill Belichick famously stole Fangio’s template to shut down the Rams in Super Bowl 53. But in this one, McVay and the Rams moved the ball on the Eagles all day They smoked them on the ground in particular, with 31 carries for 160 yards. Unusual for an Uncle Vic defense.

It felt like the ultimate McVay experience, though. Great scheme and play-calling, but the in-game decision stuff feels very lacking. He kicked a couple of field goals on 4th and 2 and 4th and 3 deep in Eagles territory, and got three points from them. He punted on 4th and 2 in plus territory. When McVay did go for it, the Eagles defense stood tall. However you slice it, that is a brutal loss for the Rams. They did not cash in on their opportunities. The Eagles did.

As for the special teams, rough day at the office for the modern Donte Hall, Tank Bigsby. Michael Clay is gonna have some things to clean up on the kickoffs, specifically Bigsby and Metchie fielding those knuckleball kicks cleanly. Like Fangio and the defense, I trust that he will.

Then again, give Clay some credit for the field goal block unit. It was cool listening to Jalen Carter talk in the locker room (a much different tenor than his last post-game availability at The Linc) about his and Davis’ journey. Carter is the unquestioned star of the defensive line, but his fellow Dawg made four huge plays in this one:

When the Eagles decided to exerciseexerciseexerciseexercise Davis’ $12.9 million option for 2026 back in the spring, it felt like it could go one of two ways. Long way to go for Davis and the Eagles but so far, so good.

RIP Bernie: “Only the lord saves more than Bernie Parent.” That was a go-to catchphrase around the Delaware Valley in the 1970s, and you really could see how it would catch on.

Flyers goaltending has been a sore subject for decades. Currently, the Flyers are in the midst of what has to be one of the worst multi-year stretches of team goaltending in NHL history. But back when the Broad Street Bullies were on the ice in the 1970s, they were backed up by someone who was as good between the pipes as, well, anyone. Some absolutely wild stats in Charlie’s piece from yesterday.

When you think about some of the best single-game performances in Philly sports history, there are a few names that come to mind. Nick Foles is certainly one of them. But I will put Bernie Parent on May 19th, 1974 up against any of them. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and the favored Bruins with all of their star-power (Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, to name two of them) fired 30 shots at Bernie. There was a feeling that if the Bruins won at The Spectrum, there was no way the Orange and Black would win a Game 7 in the Boston Garden. Well, there was no Game 7. Bernie stopped all 30 shots, the Flyers won 1-0 and Lord Stanley’s Cup stayed in Philadelphia.

(And for good measure, Bernie also stopped all 32 shots he faced in the Stanley Cup clincher in Buffalo the next year.)

Bernie passed away yesterday at the age of 80, which is a huge loss. He was such an eccentric character, in all of the best ways. Bernie was one of the stars of the 2010 Broad Street Bullies documentary, in which he talked about his love of The Three Stooges and how he needed to take a pre-game nap next to his huge German Shepherd. Goalies, man.

Bernie stayed in the area and was a huge part of the Flyers alumni and Philadelphia community. He was available to do media and charity and anything else you needed, a seemingly A+ human being in addition to an A+ hockey player. Rest in peace, Bernie.

Flyers get a preseason dub: On the ice, the Flyers got a 3-2 win on Lawn Guyland in their first preseason game. Charlie has more here. Matvei Michkov lighting the lamp is not all that surprising, but I think it is an excellent sign that Jack Nesbitt is impressing. Nesbitt is still likely gonna back to his OHL team (Windsor) and work on his skating, but for a controversial first-round pick, I am pleasantly surprised that the big man is already flashing against pros. That feels quite encouraging.

Phils lose 2 of 3 in Arizona: I like to consider myself pretty thorough when it comes to this little newsletter. But I do not have much of a take on the Nick Castellanos post-game scrum from Friday night’s game. It is noted, but I…

Ranger Suárez had a stinker on Sunday, and I gotta say, even the Phillies’ losses are perfectly timed these days. If you are gonna lose, you might as well lose on a Victory Sunday. Plus, you might as well lose to a team that is right on the Mets’ heels. The boys from Queens have six on the road to close the season, and they embark on their road trip out of the final wild-card spot.

As for the the Phillies? They have six games at home, all against bad teams. Their magic number to clinch a bye is two.

The Union got back in the win column too, which we love to see. Phils are off tonight.

Your tentative Monday schedule at ​PHLY​:

Let's make it a good one.

Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
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