PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Super Bowl preview? What can Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles show against Josh Allen, Bills?

Episode Date: December 26, 2025

The Philadelphia Eagles will head to Orchard Park, New York to take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, a much-anticipated matchup all year. And while the Eagles and Bills could still potentially meet in the Super Bowl, the Eagles are set with their playoff positioning heading into the test against Josh Allen and co. With Jalen Carter returning after missing a month due to multiple shoulder injuries, what can the Eagles show against a talented Buffalo team that will be a favorite to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl? Plus, EJ Smith and Rich Hofmann hand out a few Christmas-themed awards for the 2025 Philadelphia Eagles season. It’s coming up next on the PHLY Eagles Show. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello, everybody, and welcome to the P H.L.Y. Eagle Show live from the Xfinity Mobile studio and presented by Bet365 and Ashley Furniture. Merry Christmas to everybody. You got me, Rich Hoffman filling in for Bowulf, but you also. have my friend E.J. Smith here on a boxing day edition of the P. H.L.Y. Eagle show, E.J.'s got his Aston Villa scarf up in the background. He's in the spirit. And we are going to talk to you about some American football instead of the other kind. E.J. Merry Christmas, man. How was the last few days for you? Yeah, Merry Christmas to you, too. The last few days have been good. I'm a big Christmas guy. I love, I love giving gifts. Actually, I know, that might sound like, oh, I just

love to give gifts. I don't like to receive gifts, but like, I don't know. I like asking people, like what their favorite gift is that they gave to somebody, because I don't know. I just get excited, you know, it's a fun time of year. I wanted to say really quickly, like, I know this is a road game for you, but it's good work by you to get like a picture in the background that's very bow wolf, very bow wolf of you right now. So definitely, definitely getting me in the, getting me comfortable on this mobile setup here. Well, I'm not too far from, from the land that the wolfman hails from westchester county new york where he he apparently according to him struck out a million people 25 years ago or 20 years ago whenever it whenever it was 25's too much um those guys were like

plumbers and like you know just like total like plumbers and firemen yeah exactly like those guys they weren't real athletes let's be real yeah no no i got i got a good shot for for a road game so thank you to my uh my girlfriend's parents for uh for setting me up here it's a good spot hopefully uh hopefully we make it through the show uh so you mentioned the best gift you gave i think i saw it on instagram do you want to you want to reveal what it was yeah so my niece she's seven years old she she said the top of her christmas list this year was a an electric guitar a real guitar uh and that's literally no pun intended like music to my ears like you know i obviously i i'm not going to pan because my room is a total mess but i've got a bunch

of guitars just over over there um and you know i'm obviously i've played my whole life and uh i didn't think she was actually going to like the guitar when she got it you know i I think, like, she liked the idea of having a real guitar, but she's seven, you know, and I got her, like, this little, like, baby guitar, it's pink, it's pointy. It looks all, like, heavy metal and cool. I thought she would look at it for, like, 35 seconds and just be like, eh. And then my hope was, like, three years from now. She might be like, you know, I'll play that guitar now that it's been in my room for a few years.

But she took to that thing quick, man. Like, she was, like, you know, learning, like, chords and learning how to, like, you know, how to pick the notes. And it was, like, a very wholesome Christmas moment for me. So yeah, no, it was a, that was probably the highlight. But I felt good about most of the gifts I gave out this year. I was excited about it for sure. Well, I mean, like, look, a little kid just, just strumming some chords.

Like, that's, that, that's going to take. And, and yeah, she might be very good, uh, in the future. So that's, that's awesome. Uh, best gift I gave was, uh, I chipped in with a few other people for, uh, for my uncle, we got him some, some new golf club. So, oh, that's a good gift, man. Yeah. Great gift.

Yeah. It was costly, but it was a couple of us. He was very, very happy with it. So that was probably my favorite one, in part because I love golf, too. I actually felt like I had not expertise, but I felt like I could be useful in terms of picking it out. So better than some of my, my other gifts, I would say. Okay, E.J, let's, let's get in to the big takeaway, I guess, presented. Wait, I guess real quick.

Did you, uh, never mind. Let's just take away. Lindsay put it up. The big takeaway presented by Xfinity. And I guess, E.J, the big takeaway would be Jalen Carter and what his status is leading in to the Buffalo game. Was it Christmas Eve when he spoke to the media? I don't know.

It's obviously a little bit different with the holidays this week. I've lost track the day it is, Rich. All right. You don't have to cite what day it is, but just tell us what Jalen Carter told you. Yeah, so he's expecting to play against the bills. He's been at practice all week. been a full participant for the first time since having those I guess that procedure on both of his shoulders. He said that he's not going to be 100% this season. It's going to be something

that he'll have to have addressed in the offseason, but something that he can play through. And he said he's in a better spot now than he was when he obviously, you know, went, I guess, got sidelined with the procedure in the first place. You know, this is something he's been dealing with since training camp. I don't know what the exact injury is, but I do know the nature of like these shoulder injuries is like you know you can play through them but they're just extremely painful they are limiting you know he talked about pain mobility and strength all being factors you know things uh that he's been that have been impacted by these injuries so or so yeah i think um you know it's good news that they get him back i'm curious to see what it looks like he said he

wants to play 100% of the snaps even though obviously i feel like especially with the way that they've been playing on the interior i i think it would make sense to to have him you know, maybe a little bit more of a rotation role relative to the way that he usually plays on that interior where he plays so many snaps. So, yeah, it's a big addition to a position group that has already been playing well, I think is the best way to look at it. I think it would be nice. You know, I don't think we've ever had him and Jordan Davis rolling at the same time. Yeah, rolling it at different times. And with how well Jordan Davis, as you have chronicled over the past few weeks, just really good season. And it frankly started with Lugie Gate on the first play of the

year when when jalen carter left jordan davis had to play a bunch of snaps that was a precursor to to jrond davis having this great season so e j i guess my thing is obviously that's concerning like two shoulders both shoulders not being a hundred percent it's like okay he's going to have to cut through it because you know a defensive tackle like yeah his shoulders are going to get banged up throughout the course of a game so so my question is and this is obviously the big deal with jalen carter it's frankly been the story of his career is at least the onfield part of his career is conditioning, right? And it's like, how much are you going to play him over these last few games? Because like the story of Jalen Carter's career is like he, he probably got a little bit tired

is his first year at the end of the year. And he wasn't the only one that wasn't, uh, you know, it wasn't just him. And last year, Vic Fangio plays him a million snaps and he fights through it and obviously comes up with the key play against the Rams. And this year might be dealing with a little bit of the wear and tear of all of that usage. So I guess, like, you know, maybe spinning it forward, Eagles have two games here. We're not sure both of them are going to matter. You know, what do you think is the ideal way for Jalen Carter to play in these games? Because you mentioned, right, like that Jordan Davis playing really well.

Morrow Ojamo playing pretty well. It's not like, you know, they need Jailen Carter to play 90% of the snaps. I guess, like, what do you think the best way is for him to sort of ease into the playoffs? So, you know, a couple weeks from now when the Eagles host their first game, we don't know what seed they will be, but they'll be somewhere in between two and four. It looks like unless, yeah, yeah, that the one seed is out of play now. What do you think the best strategy would be to kind of ramp Jalen Carter up for that time? Yeah, no, I think having him in a less constant role would make a lot of sense. You know, throw Brandon Graham in there too, you know, in that interior defensive line rotation.

And I think, you know, looking, thinking back to the beginning of the season when Jalen Carter was dealing with the one shoulder injury that we knew about, it seemed like there would be stretches in games where he would be clearly limited by it. He'd be holding his shoulder. He'd be, you know, clearly in a lot of pain. And then he kind of felt like on high leverage downs. It was kind of like, and this is kind of the thing with Jalen Carter. It's the ability that he has. It's like sometimes it's like, you know, he just gets that look on his face. And it's just the switch flips. And he is, you know, going to just wreck the game for a player. or two. And I think, you know, we saw him do it with more consistency last year when he wasn't hurt. But I think if you can get him in the, in the game for high leverage downs, you know, as part of a rotation, I think that makes a lot of sense with where he's at now. Now, you know, with the conditioning side of things, he said that he's, you know, been able to run and lift during practice. But we all know that that's not football shape. You know, that's not the same exact thing. And I think it's going to be an adjustment. So, yeah, I mean, I think the fact that they brought him back this week, it probably leads me to believe that, like,

there's a, they're already sizing up the chance to rest next week would be my guess. I know, like, we'll get into some of the playoffs scenarios later, but they might have something to play for, but I just kind of think that they're going to want to get these guys a week off. I think you can look at it one or two ways. You can look at it like, you know, give everything you have to get the two seed because that gives you an advantage. And we saw how that advantage can play out for the Eagles last year, you know, getting the,

you know, being in the two seed. And then if the one seat loses, the playoffs run through you. But I also think you can look at it holistically and look at it like you want to have these guys fresh and ready for a postseason run. If you expect to make a long postseason run, maybe you feel better about the possibility of having one potential road game, but with a fresher team. So for Carter, I think it would make sense to play him a good amount against the bills. But again, as a part of a rotation. and then you could talk me into him like getting a half in week 18 just for conditioning sake. But more than that, I think you're just going to try to manage him as much as you can

before the playoffs. And if the Eagles do choose that route, like they wouldn't be the first team that said, you know, when we're in that two to four range, we don't really care. We'd rather just get the buy week. And that's what the Rams did last year. And obviously they had a pretty strong playoff showing all the way up to almost beating the Eagles. Okay. So Jalen Carter is on side of this. And Jalen Carter is a guy that I think naturally we worry about his conditioning a little bit. The other star player that has been out over the past month, I would say we don't worry about his conditioning quite as much just because we've seen it before. We've seen him get hurt the last few weeks of the season, come back and play hurt in the playoffs. And that is Lane Johnson.

So what can you tell us about Lane Johnson status? Yeah, no, I wouldn't expect him to play. I know there was some reporting earlier in the week about him potentially returning to the lineup but he hasn't been out at practice. And I just think it's important to note, like, this is a tough injury. You know, it's like, list frank injury, it's usually something that requires surgery. Lane decided to forego the surgery for now to try and make a quicker recovery in time for the playoffs. So I think the fact that, you know, it's obvious that the Eagles expected him to be back or thought there was a chance he could be back within four or five weeks because of the fact they didn't put him on IR.

You know, they thought there was at least a chance that he'd make a quick recovery. but I think this is kind of, I don't want to say like uncharted territory. I'm sure there are people who have tried to do this, but it is, you know, at least lesser trot in territory here that Lane Johnson is in. So I think, I still think you'll be back by the postseason, but yeah, he wasn't at practice at all this week. I expect him to be listed as out on the injury report. So, yeah, it's still going to be Fred Johnson.

And not for nothing. Like, I don't think that in previous years, the Eagles would have been in a really bad spot of Lane Johnson missed this time. I think, you know, the fact that they have Fred Johnson to be able to. to kind of stem the tide there has bought them some time here but yeah i think next week will be an interesting one to watch for lane but that's the the bigger question is like do you play him in week 18 if you're if you're wrestling the rest of the guys you're probably not but maybe you do want them to like knock off that rush so that's a conversation for next week but it's already one that's

kind of in the back of my head i feel like and this isn't the first time that the people of hbo kind of lied to us a little bit with that with that bro barn montage of lane getting after it in the gym. E.J. Have you ever been to the Bro Barn before? I haven't. And that's like a, that's a knock on my like reporter bona fides, right? Like I know Gabe, you know, I'm obviously I cover Lane for a few years, but no, I haven't done a story from the Bro Barn. I got to check that one off my reporter bucket list here. Did you see, I mean, obviously you have seen the hard knocks episodes because you do the post, you do the post show recap with, with Jamie. The, the one exercise that Lane was doing where he was lifting the thing up with his neck, he had

the contraption around his neck, that, uh, I was watching that and I was just like, I was like hurt on my couch, just watching that. So yeah, I mean, look, I think, but baldy, frankly, when Lane got the injury and baldie's pretty tight with, with Lane was like, yeah, this is a serious injury. Like a lot of times, you know, guys need surgery and, you know, it's not something the guys are going to be able to come back from. Do you remember what, what was the injury that he played with in the, what was that the 20, 23, 20, the oblique two playoffs?

I think it was there an abdomen or an oblique. some kind of like core muscle injury and it was insane that he played through it yeah i mean he's played through some crazy stuff like i think he i said this on the morning show today like he had those tightrope surgeries on his ankles um and he talks about like that early 30s as a stretch of his career like the pain that he had to play through where his ankles he couldn't plant off of them they were always hurt like i think that that was kind of like his like what is dead may never die uh type of like type of era or you know situation in his career where it was like like, you know, if I can play through that, I can play through anything.

But now, I mean, he is, I mean, he's incredibly tough and plays through a lot. And I think that if he can make it back, he will make it back. But I think that it's understandable, it's taking a couple extra weeks. I think that 2022 stretch or I guess it's 2023, January, 22, when he was playing, but the 22 season, yeah, I mean, the fact that he played through that injury and the Eagles put up big points in two of those three games, at least in the Super Bowl, it goes underrated because they just didn't win the game. But the fact that Lane Johnson was playing so hurt

and the offense really didn't miss a beat was pretty crazy. Okay, that was the big takeaway presented by Xfinity. I guess, E.J., is there any other injury updates? I know A.J. Brown took a trip to the dentist this week. Yeah, he did. I'm not exactly sure what the procedure was. He's had wisdom teeth out before.

But I, like I said earlier this week, Like I imagine that they schedule these to make them as little impactful as, as least impactful as possible. You know, they probably made this plan months ago. So, yeah, he was back at practice according to our colleague, or our former colleague, Zach Berman. And then the Kobe Dean was, he's, he's probably, I mean, he was out today. He's not been practiced all week. I'd expect to see Jihad Campbell start there. And, you know, it is the spoils that the Eagles have at lineback.

or that you feel okay about Jahad Campbell stepping back in there. Yeah, I mean, it's one of the weird parts of their roster where they're so deep at linebacker and when everybody's healthier, like, man, I wouldn't, I wouldn't mind if that first round pick was at another position where they're a little bit weaker. But now that Nikobe is hurt, getting Jihad Campbell and as we'll probably get into in the next segment, like, that's going to be a real test for Jihad Campbell because this Bill's rushing attack is no joke. Okay, so we will talk a little bit about the Bills matchup.

we will give away some Christmas presents, some late Christmas presents after that's over. But first, we will pause to hear from a few of our friends. Guys, whatever the moment, it is never ordinary at Bet365. And Bet365 has 90 million users worldwide and streams over 780,000 events this year. But the big reason I want to talk to you about Bet 365 is the early payout offer for football. With the Bet365 early payout offer, you're a winner if your team goes up by 17. with an instant payout on straight bets and parley selections marked as winners. Download the app and use code P HLY 365 when you sign up.

And you won't have to worry when the Eagles hopefully get out to a big lead this weekend against the bills. And there's breaking news from Bet365 now. New customers now get $150 in bonus bets. When you bet $5 winner lose, sign up, use the code PHLY 365. Deposit $10 and place a bet for $5 to get $150 in bonus bets. If your bet wins or loses, bonus bets can be used on the spread, totals, player props, futures, and more. Whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365. You must be 21 and over and physically located in EPA.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem or wants help, call 1-800 gambler. This is about to be an all-time sports summer here in Philadelphia. The World Cup is here, but actually getting tickets to those games, that part can be pretty brutal. That's why the game time app is such a lifesaver. It gives the advantage back to fans with tickets that to all. all the matchups that you care about. Track price drops in real time, get alerts when seats open up and grab tickets the moment they hit the app, and it's all backed by the GameTime Guarantee.

I've been scoping out Sixers tickets the last few weeks, and I can assure you, game time is the best place to go for those last minute steals. They even send you alert so you can snag new tickets first by following your favorite teams on the app. Take the guesswork out of buying soccer tickets with GameTime this summer. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Pee, H.O. for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

Again, create an account and redeem code P HLY for $20 off. Swipe, tip, tap, ticket, go, download the GameTime app today. And welcome back to the pHLY Eagle Show presented by Bet365 and Ashley Furniture. E.J, I did want to make one point after on my drive up to New York the other day, listening to the swooper holiday extravagant. Oh, I feel like I know what this is. No, no, no, no, no. No, this is just an Eagles point.

Now, I'm going to leave that other stuff to you guys. I'm not, you know me. I'm not trying to get in the middle of you guys. But the Eagles point that I had, the question, I think you asked it, is what do you, or maybe it was Danaz, who has it, whoever has it. What does Cam Juergens feel about his Pro Bowl nod? And I honestly was thinking about that. I was like, man, poor Cam Juergens.

He just wants to have his mediocre to down season in which he's probably playing banged up to a degree in peace. And then he gets this ridiculous pro bowl nod where everybody the attention shifts back on to him how much he's struggling, how he's whiffing on blocks when Seekwan is still running for 40 yards and all

of that stuff. So I wonder if he's feeling that way where it's just like, man, it's fine. Like I don't have to be in the pro bowl. Like we, I know it hasn't gone quite as well. But instead he has he has people spitting out their drinks, you know, and all that stuff.

Well, for the record, we talked to Cam Juergens. Sorry, I had Cam Latu on the brain just there, just then. I was slipped up and said. As you always do. You're like, like you mentioned our former colleague who always talked about, you know, he was always thinking about how he rose men and he spends way too much time. You don't spend quite as much time as he thinks about how he rose, but you spend more time than anybody thinking about Cam Latu.

I think maybe some of Kamlatu's loved ones would object, but only some, I would say. Only some. Yeah, like once he get past the, you know, the primary family, I don't know, cousins and all that. Yeah, for sure. But Kam Juergens, for the record, we talked to him after that show. And Cam Juergens said that when he saw the fan vote, he didn't expect to be in the Pro Bowl. And what made it even more special for him was that it was the coaches and the players that voted him in. Like, you know, he said that it was their opinion that he would respect or I think he said, that their opinion is the one that you respect even more.

So I don't know if Danes is going to like that answer from being honest with you, but yeah, I do think that he sort of felt recognized by the people around the league. Well, I mean, it's it's a thing where I agree with him, right? Like if I would want to get voted in by people around the league, it would want to be my peers and then the coaches that are going up against me. Yeah, it just doesn't add up completely. But it's a good answer for sure. Like I completely agree with that.

Yeah. So that was, that was my one, my one takeaway from that. I thought you were going to be upset about me saying the Friday night lights movie is better than the TV show. Oh, well, uh, yeah, that was also something. All right, I'm going to say this. I am, I don't want to just please my, my, my audience or my co-host in particular. Uh, I have not seen the television show and I've seen the movie four or five times.

Movies great. The TV show is great too. It's just, I don't know. Um, I, to me, the TV show is more like a teen. drama. It's more like intrigue and kind of just like something to watch the movie for me. And I think it is definitely informed by the fact that I watched it when I was young. You know, I was like a high school football player watching the movie. I just thought it was a it was a more like emotionally stirring viewing experience.

So I know that our friend, Shield Capadio, was not a fan of this take. But, you know, our friend Sean Syed, he kind of sees it the same way we see it. So I'm just saying, I think there are some people out there who appreciate the movie for what it is. the dramatic tale that it turned out to be. Very good movie. Yeah, Billy Bob Thornton, really good. Derek Luke as Boobie Miles. It's such a great performance.

Yeah. Boobie Miles makes the movie for me. That's like, that's the movie. Boobie Miles and Boobie Miles uncle too. Oh, for sure. Yeah. The little speech he gives during the first day of practice when he's in the stands.

And he can pass. And then, you know, you see when he's driving him to you know clean clean out his locker and yeah that scene when he gets in the car and he's like what are we going to do now like what if i what am i going to do if i can't play football that that to me is like more powerful than like the teen drama i the show is fine the show is fine i'm not trying to rag the show but yeah going after coach going i know that part it was enough of pop culture maybe maybe i got to watch it at some yeah one other thing did you watch any football yesterday were you able to i had it on um yeah i had it on in the background i didn't have too many

like broad sweeping uh judgments or anything like that i mean uh my father-in-law really enjoyed the fact that the cowboys won a game now that they are uh mathematically eliminated from the playoffs because it messes up their draft their draft pick um so a good eagle fan right there yeah yeah because i thought he was just like taking amusement in the fact that they were eliminated but no he's already on to the tankathon like he wants to make sure that they don't get a good pick so uh yeah he enjoyed that but more than more more more more than uh i didn't like i wasn't watching many of the games thinking about like you know the implications or anything like that what one conversation that i had that i wanted to bring up which which i think i agree with and it's something that's

happened probably over the last i don't know 10 or 15 years when did return or start fair catching the ball at the five yard line like when like i i that seems like kind of a an old man kind of crusty take like just put your heels on the 10-yard line and anything over your head, just forget about it. I'm sure they've done studies on this because pretty much every team analytics on it, right? I mean, this is something I got to find out now because it's like there must be a reason why you don't want the ball that much, like those extra three or four yards deeper in field position, but to me, I agree with you, especially, I mean, you think of like the Xavier Gibson experience where it's like they're like eight it's not a given that he's going to catch the ball at

the three yard by when he goes to fair catch it either so um yeah no i think that the the risk isn't worth the reward there it's kind of like when you say like oh we'll take the points it's not quite the same thing but it's like there's a non zero chance that they they fumble that far uh into their own territory yeah i wonder if it has something to do with like your expected points on a drive from the one yard line versus the the five yard line is just drastically different i don't know obviously there's a chance of the safety as well yeah yeah no he probably already has this figured out it's just something that i don't know just just sitting there with the beer on the couch you're just like i don't know i don't know it seems a little weird to me okay let's talk a little bit about the game before we

hand out some uh some presence as well i guess first question for you is this uh so is this a drive up to orchard park new york that's a good question i considered driving uh my you know julia would have gone with me if i drove which i think would have been fun my julia not uh not uh not I'll P-H-O-I, Julia. Important distinction there. Yes, we consider driving, but I think I'm just going to take the flight. It's a quick flight. It's an easy flight.

But no, I'm looking forward to it. I mean, I don't hate the cold. I don't usually pack a big winter jacket, but I think I have to for this trip. But now, I'm going to get some wings. You know, I think it's going to be a good game, you know. And obviously, like, you mentioned, like, we did basically like 90 minutes on the game during the Tuesday show, so we're not going to do too much on the game. there are a couple things I think we will learn from this game. You know, I think that this late

in the season, especially against an AFC team, like with the way the Eagles are playing, it kind of feels like the stakes are not as high. But I do think there are things that will be instructive and informative going to the postseason. So, you know, I can give you a couple of those if you want. Yeah. Let's hear them because I have a couple kind of bigger picture thoughts on the game, but maybe we'll get to those first. So like what's the first thing that you're sort of looking before. So the first thing that I think will be really instructive is like the bills obviously have a great running game. That's been a big topic of conversation around the locker room this week. And I think like how this game plays out for the Eagles defense, obviously we know the

Eagles defense is great. It's one of the best defenses in the NFL. But I do think that like going into a playoff game against an efficient rushing team, you would have an inkling of doubt, just like a seeded doubt from that Chicago Bears game, you know, the Black Friday game where it was like, you you know, 200 plus rushing yards, two running backs over to 100 yards rushing. I think you would have a little bit of worry, like can a team with a good coach like Ben Johnson and a good running game just get rolling and just become, you know, just dominate the game through the ground. And I think that if the Eagles defense can fare well against his bill's offense, again,

a very effective rushing team, I think you'd feel better about that Bears game being more of a blip than something that is a, you know, something that the Eagles defense is susceptible too. So I do think that'll probably be one of the bigger lessons from this one is, is how that, how that defense looks against the run, especially without Niko B.D. And I think that'll be a really important one as well. Huge task. I completely agree with you. That was the first thing that I had written down. As a James Cook fantasy owner this year, I have been delighted by the Bill's rushing attack. But as, you know, as an Eagles fan, the game that sticks in the back of my head is the

Black Friday game against the Bears where it's like, ooh, that was. that wasn't the eagles defense uh you know giving up a few big plays no they they got their butt's kick the entire game the bears ran all over them and i think e j like projecting it forward to the playoffs i want to see both elements of um oops drop my hair pod there good catch that's okay good catch yeah uh the elements of you have elite defense against the lead offense with the eagles here and mediocre offense against mediocre defense on the other side of the ball because In the NFC playoffs, there are about three or four teams that fit that bill. I would say the Rams kind of fit that bill,

even though they're probably the best of the bunch in terms of that framing. The Bears certainly fit that framing where their offense is better than their defense. San Francisco potential first round matchup, as we've talked about, pretty crazy that they could also be the one seed as well, but could be the first round matchup depending on how this shakes out. Seattle's probably the one team that does not fit that bill where their defense is that's strength against strength and, and, you know, the other side's a little bit,

a little bit worse. So we'll see. And I think that the good news, if you are looking for a positive spin, is that the Eagles defense, I looked at it, they're much better rested than they were heading into that Bears game. And even within the Bears game as well.

Like, I'm looking at the Bears, 85 snaps in that game and the two games, sandwiching it, 68 and 71 snaps. And then the last two weeks, you have 42, which was one of their lowest numbers. The only game, I think, in recent memory that was even close,

was last year against Pittsburgh, they, you know, I think they played one fewer snap. Yeah. One last week, but there's a lot of rest mixed in to that as well. Plus you get the long, you get the extra day of rest, too, with the Saturday game last week, you get Jalen Carter mixed in there. You would hope that they're a little more fresh. Like, and if this does turn out to be a situation where the Eagles defense is up to the task,

you could say, okay, that, that Bears game, that was a tough stretch of games eagles defense was they were on the field way too much offense going three and out all the time that that would be the hope now the other thing i would say and i'm curious what you think about this is when you look at their receivers their outside receivers are not good yeah and they do it with you know their passing offense is josh allen more spreading it out and it seems like it's just a bunch of random guys but i'm looking at their their leading receiver is Khalil Shakir. Sorry, got a, you got a

rogue light here. No problem. Khalil Shakir has 684 receiving yards on the year after playing every single game. I'm looking at this. AJ Brown and Devante Smith who have both missed,

I guess Devante hasn't missed a game yet this year. I could be wrong about that. But AJ certainly, okay, so, but AJ has missed a game. They're both over 900 receiving yards on the year. And I don't think anybody is happy with how the Eagles passing offense has gone when it comes to them. So I think my hope would be, all right, Vic, you have a massive strength on the outside where you have, you have these corners that can lock up these guys who are

not very good against anybody. They really shouldn't be good against you. You have Marcus Epps, who was quietly sort of solidified things back there as well. Can you like divert a few more resources to stopping the run? I don't know. That's, that's a good. I think that is the question. We talked about it with Mina Kimes earlier this week. Like is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is going to, you know, get away from the light boxes that they operate out of? And I, I don't think, I think the answer is no. I think the answer is going to be, especially against a quarterback like Josh Allen, you know, like last week, we talked a lot about the scrambling quarterbacks, right? And oh,

Marcus Mariotta, you can hurt you on the ground. You know, the Eagles have struggled against scrambling quarterbacks, but like the context is important there. Like, they struggled against scrambling quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, you know, where it's like you have a lot of other things to account for and I think the bills fit that description you know they fit that bill no pun intended I guess pun intended there like you know you don't want to become like a single high team all of a sudden with a loaded box against this bill's offense because of what Josh Allen can do in the past game so they do use a lot of heavy personnel packages it's going to be interesting to see how the Eagles respond to those but I do think that just generally it's like it's hard to envision

the Eagles just like going single high for most of this game I think you'll see a lot of five-man fronts, probably like the penny fronts with Jahad Campbell or Zach Bond walked up to the line of scrimmage. But yeah, I haven't liked Shah in those fronts. Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, when he was there in base, I didn't like it either. But I mean, I think, I think that's what you'll see. I would, I would bet it's more that than it is like them coming out in five to playing base the whole game. I guess we, you know, we've seen it at times. But yeah, I just, I don't think it's going to be like, you know, a big game where it's like, oh man, like Marcus Epps is dropping down or read blanket ships dropping.

down i think they have to have better uh better plans against some of the motion stuff uh that we saw against the bear like the bears used so many so much motion to manipulate the eagle safeties and that was a big reason uh obviously you know in addition to the defensive front just getting beat up and then deep them being out there a long time that was a the schematic side of it was motioning and manipulating the safeties out of run fits and i think uh you know hearing from fran earlier this week the bills can do some of that stuff too so the eagles are going to have to have a better plan against that for sure I think my hope is that it's more Chargers game than Bears game.

Because like the Chargers game, like Justin Herbert made a few plays with his legs. Yeah, but she kind of lived with it, right? Yeah. He plays. But if you look at after, especially after that first drive, which was rough in that game, like you take that defensive performance 10 times out of 10. Like it's one of those. Okay.

So that is the defensive side of the ball. We'll talk a little bit about the offensive side of the ball and then also hand out a few season long presence as well after we hear from a few of our friends. guys winter is here and when it comes to cooler nights you also get harder your meals and the craving for something warm and satisfying that's where hello fresh comes in bringing you comforting chef design recipes and fresh seasonal ingredients right to your door this season they've taken things to the next level with their biggest menu refresh yet say hello to a whole new way to do dinner and guys the two things that stick out to me hello fresh has doubled its menu now you can choose from a hundred options each week including

new seasonal dishes and recipes from around the world. And the other thing, HelloFresh gives you, gives you healthy. High protein veggie packed recipes, they have that for you. And it's, look, it's the product that I use and you should as well. The best way to cook just got better, go to HelloFresh.com slash Eagles 10 FM to get 10 free meals and a free item for life. One per box with an active subscription, free meals applied as a discount on the first box. New subscribers only varies by plan. that's hellofresh.com slash eagles 10 FM to get 10 free meals and a free item for life.

Picture this, a fan cave that actually feels like your dream setup. Yesterday, obviously Christmas, I was over at my uncle's house. I was over at my sister's house, my dad's house, and I was, you know, scoping out some setups, maybe taking some notes on what maybe my setup could look like if I were so lucky as somebody who can enter the Ashley Fan Cave experience here. Thanks to Ashley, your dream setup can become a reality. They are giving away a $2,500 Ashley Furniture Gift card. You could go big on a sectional.

You could add some stylish pieces or you could trick out your space for game day just in time for the Eagles playoff run. It's all up to you. Just visit Ashleyfancave.com. See if you're eligible, fill out the form and you're entered. It's really that simple. Enter now. And you might be watching that next big game in a fan cave built by you, courtesy of Ashley. again, just in time for the NFL playoff season.

And welcome back to the P.H.O.I. Eagle Show presented, as E.J. just said, by Ashley. And Bet, 365. So, E.J., real quick, the other side of the ball is probably not quite as interesting, but, like, part of the, part of the framing of this is, you know, Ken, the Eagles, when the Eagles offense has been mediocre at best so far this season, against the defense that seems getable, like against Chicago for a long stretch of that game they didn't get them right and they they didn't really attack them and that seems to be what the case is in tonight's game now i will say the other note i had from the uh from the last pod i know danes was playing a defense attorney in that game i thought the eagles were okay it i do i thought the

look bad opponent but that's like one of the most disastrous special teams performances i've ever seen i think it's again four touchdowns two field goal attempts. Of course, you missed both of them. Yes, a couple of three-outes because it's the 2025 Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, some weird end of half stuff where it looks like they don't even like care about scoring a touchdown. And obviously the running game, not 100%. But like, look, this Bill's defense is very susceptible on the ground. Yeah. So it's funny you mentioned like, you know, the bills, I think they're third in success rushing success rate. Their second in EPA per rush on offense, right? On defense, they are 31st in EPA.

for rush aloud in 25th and rushing success rate. So a big, like probably the biggest conversation, uh, you know, in the locker room this week, you know, when I during at least during the media availability when we're hearing from these guys has been the run game and the fact that they, they've really got some momentum building on the ground. The Eagles do with Saquan Barkley, you know, with the angry runs and, you know, running with a lower pad level. And I just think that like, I, I think that not it's not that you want. I don't think you can learn that much. If they go to Buffalo and they run for 120 yards or 150 yards,

you feel good about that. But you keep in mind it's against a bad run defense. I think it's actually the other way that is more concerning if they don't do it. If it's nothing to gain, it's only bad. Right, exactly. I don't think you can gain that much, but you can, because I think so much of the Eagles offense and I'm not like a confidence guy. You know, I'm not somebody who like puts a lot of stock and like they need to,

you know, they need to get momentum. I'm not a momentum guy. You know, I really, like, what's the Jalen Hertz quote? Like, momentum can end and begin in any moment or something like that. Like, you know, I think that, but I do think with the Zhego's offense, because so much of it does seem like just defying the level of talent they have, I do think there is an element of it where getting something, whether it's confidence in an identity, confidence in what they're doing.

I do think that there's some significance to that. But back to you, like talking to this. about the conversation that Dana is and Fran, basically the debate that they had about the game, my biggest takeaway from it, and I don't know, like, we kind of left it unresolved because I think it is an unresolved thing, is like, the concern is that they really haven't had a common thread for the last couple of weeks. It's really been, you know, the undercenter game against the Raiders, the empty game against the commanders, and then we'll see what it is this week. But I think if they're going to be like this week by week, every game calls for something different, we don't have an identity,

that makes me very nervous about what this offense is going to look like come the postseason because you're going to be going up against good coaches who are going to give you unscouted looks and they're going to be prepared for the things that you do well and if it's like you're banking on like knowing what you need that week again I said it on during the show like you're putting the onus on your coaching staff to get it right each week and you're taking some of the onus off of your players to just be better than the opposition. So that's my that's my big concern. But again, I think that if they don't get the run game going against the bills, like that to me is like, okay, like scratch another one off the list. Like this isn't, you know, the, the train starts to

roll. Sequin's really, you know, rolling going into the postseason. I think that they kind of need that to build something going into the postseason. Yeah, but then I also wonder like, you know, if they did run it well in this game when they build like some false confidence where they feel like their identity is back on the ground I'm with you and I think just like last year we're just going to you know we're going to have 40 rushing attempts and we're just going to get 200 yards on the ground and that's how we'll win games I mean especially like that Sequin 40 yard run last week that's just it's just so different from last year right like his his home runs he's not getting even let's say not even touch but he's not getting a defender is not coming

within, you know, a couple yards of him until he's like four or five yards down the field, whereas he has to make this crazy move in the backfield in that one. And yeah, that was amazing. And I think that certainly felt good for the people who said, hey, Sequan still got the juice and he still, he still looks like he has it. Yeah. So that would be the concern. I do agree with what Fran has said, though, the idea that, yeah, it's nice to be multiple and have a bunch of different pitches, but I would prefer an offense that has a certain style of play and then maybe they make a few adjustments off of that. Yeah, and I'm not sure the Eagles have that. And I do share your concern too, where if it's a week by week type of thing and they got to completely change

the game plan up, just feels like you're going to step on a rake at some point. Yeah, it's just, it's a risky way to go about it. You know, it is so much more reliable to just, and that's, it's kind of against like the Nick Siriani, like, ethos of like our players are better than yours and we're going to simplify it, right? You know, it's not. like we are just going to run our stuff and run it well and run it better than you can defend it's a lot more like this is the empty week where we're going to try to spread it out and like the next week is the under center week and again i just i i think most egos fans would like to see them at least have something they can lean on going into the playoffs but i think we're probably

it's probably too far gone at this point um really quick on the on sequin's long run it's funny because one of the topics of conversation this week was like that saquan didn't have a single negative run. It was the first time all season he hasn't had a negative run. It's like, well, yeah, because he's dodging guys in the backfield. Yeah, it's like, you know, I don't know if we, I don't know if the offensive linemen have a really good explanation for that one.

No, no, I think that's fair to say. Yeah, the yards before contact on that run were probably a little misleading. I don't know if the defender might have, might have touched him a little bit in the back, but he certainly made him miss. Okay, I think that's enough on the game. We will have our normal postgame show crew, E.J.

be in Buffalo. We'll have Jamie, Vinny and Bo also for, for that game. All right, E.J, let's let's wrap it up because again, it's, it's been a holiday week. It's been, you know, a little bit of a weird schedule for everybody. Some people like me have been traveling. Others have been off, you know, whatever. We are going to give away a few gifts, not for the entire year, because that's, I think that's the Osprey awards, right? Like that's true. Yeah. We can, we can give away the full year awards with the off season and all those things. We are strictly looking back at the last four months of Eagles football, the 2025 season. And we're going to give away a few gifts, awards, superlatives,

whatever you want to call it. And let's start, Lindsay, with the biggest gift so far. EJ and I submitted answers. We don't know each other's answers, too. This is fun. Oh, okay. I see where you went there. Yeah.

I like your answer more. So EJ said Brandon Graham and I said the rest of the NFC East. I think my answer is pretty self-explanatory just in terms of, like, look, I think it's as frustrated as we are about this season, the fact that the Eagles clinched very early, you know, have a couple weeks where they know they're going to host, and it's something that has not been done in 20 years. I think that's cool. I think the Eagles deserve credit for the fact that even their down years at this point are still very good seasons. But the rest of the NFC is like, you know, I'm watching that. Washington Dallas game yesterday. And it's like, yeah, that's, you know, they weren't really given a,

a ton of competition. I like your answer more, I think especially because I was here the day after the Chargers game and BG, it's just like everybody is so down and they're so tired. And BG is just a breath of fresh air. He was so excited. And then he comes out the next few weeks and he has three sacks over the next two games. He backs it up. It backs up the positivity.

Yeah, I think, I think BG on retirement. hiring is probably the biggest, just because, like, not only the, the intangible things you get, but I can't believe how well he's played as a three tech. I do actually wonder, like, if he could play another season, uh, as just as a three tech, like a rotational three tech. I don't want to, I don't want to, you know, write checks that he doesn't want to cash here. But, you know, I do think that he, uh, he's got some juice as an interior rusher there. So, but I like yours because I'm looking here and it's like the collection of good teams in the NFC West. If you are, I don't want to say the 49ers because they've had a really easy schedule.

But if you're the Rams or the Seahawks, you've got to be so annoyed watching the Eagles have this division cakewalk. Like, you know, these guys are playing for the number one seed and like, you know, like, I mean, even like the Lions, you look at the NFC North. Like, totally. Some of these teams are like, if we were just in the

NFC East, we would have a chance this year, you know? So not to take away from what the Eagles have done. I think that the resilience that they talked about after the game in Washington, I think, does stand out, you know, some of the things that people have had to overcome. But still, yeah, I mean, it could have been a much tougher fight. Like that Cowboys game yesterday, I could have been watching it for real if, you know, if a couple things had

gone differently. Eagles and give them credit, they battled through a tough schedule at the beginning of the year. Like they definitely played harder teams than some of those NFC West teams. But yeah, I mean, it's luck of the draw where you're reliant on the three other teams in your division, you know, depending on how they do. It could be a very stressful late December, January type period. And For the Eagles, it just, it isn't. Okay, so that, I liked, I liked your answer more. You also gave me a little credit as well. I liked that.

All right, let's do the nice list next, Lindsay. I think we combined our answers on these. Oh, yeah, of course. I guess let's start with the final name, and I think you can guess who submitted that one, and that is Cam Latu. And then the other names, I think it's very telling that all of these names come from the defensive side of the ball.

that is Zach Bonn, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeGine, Jordan Davis, Morrow Ojimo, and EJ submission, Cam Latu. Yeah, not much of a surprise, I would say that it all comes from the defensive side for the nice list. Yeah, and I think all of these guys, whether it is, I think even Zach Bonn, you could say, like, they've all exceeded expectations in one way or another, or at the very least, I think Zach Bonn and Quinion Mitchell, you look at the season they had last year and you go, if they are just that good again, you feel really good you know like you kind of can't bank on them being that good you know they both played out of their minds and for both of them to honestly like take a step forward from there i do think gives them the nice list nod there cooper to jean it's like the cooper to jean jordan davis like that like alleyway of the nice list there those are just like guys who are integral to what they do defensively like the eagles defense is not the eagle's defense without those guys

and the versatility they have, the ability to cover for other people and just become like, they're, they're kind of the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, they are very, very important for the way that Vic Fangio operates. And then a Jomo and Kamatu are kind of just, you know, they're the, they're, they're the, they're taking a victory lap, me taking a whiff here. Uh, but yeah, no, I think that we, I think we got that we, pretty much, pretty much, pretty pretty much nailed on there. I think it's good. What, one other name I would add, which is also on the defensive side, we're talking just everybody involved Vic Fangio like I think has been yeah maybe he should have been biggest gift yeah yeah he was probably number two I actually have another off script

Vic take as we go through these awards let's let's do one more before our final break and maybe maybe before the naughty list let's do let's do right direction Rudolph the the unexpected leader of of the team oh nice awesome from the defensive side E.J. had Nicoby Dean. I had Jordan Davis. I guess quickly just Jordan Davis like EJ wrote about Jordan Davis over the past week. And I think it goes to show what, uh, you know, what Jordan Davis has sort of taken over the role of Brandon Graham. And as he started to play better as well, just seems like a fun sort of guy. Nicobi Dean, why did you go with him? So first off, let's give a shout out to Lindsay because these graphics are, uh, excellent, you know,

day after Christmas. She's putting reindeer noses on Eagles players. So yeah, shout out to Lindsay. I appreciate the graphics here. I went with the Kobe Dean because I was trying to really think about the season, you know, from the front to back, like really evaluated as a whole here, going into the postseason here. And I think, like, thinking back to training camp, everyone expected to Kobe Dean to just be, you know, coasting toward free agency behind Jahad Campbell. No, everybody. You know what? We expected him to get while he pipped, right? And just for him to become such an important part of the defense,

like the heart and soul of the defense, play at the level that he's played at. Obviously, he's hurt now. But, yeah, I just, I feel like people didn't expect him to play the role that he played this year. You know, and I think that for that reason, I thought about Jordan Davis. I didn't, I feel like, you know, I've been banging the Jordan Davis drum here a little bit recently. So I tried to zag. And, yeah, I thought Nicoby Dean was a player that was definitely unexpected to be this big a part of defense despite obviously he was very good last year but again just because of the injury in jihad

campbell i thought most of us expected him to be kind of on the periphery here this year like you said blown away by how bg has been a a defensive tackle and the stuff he's been able to do blown away by nicoby dean's just overall play like just just unbelievable the fact that he came back from that injury midseason and was awesome and frankly push jihad campbell to the side when jihad Campbell was not playing poorly, but by any means. So I think that is definitely a good one. I pick this one because this is my other honorable mention, Vic Fangio.

I just love how Vic is he's, he's dealt with, with some, I feel like his patience has been good this year, particularly like with the safety position when you have Drew McCube at the beginning of the year. And he's like, look, like he's a, he's a rookie and he has made some, some bad disastrous plays, but we're going to live with it because it's going to get better.

And he just sort of cycled through these guys. like he gave Sidney Brown a shot and it was like all right that's that's not going to work now it's Marcus Epps and it's I don't know I feel like there's been a lot of that from Vic Fangio this year where he does have very good high end players we've already mentioned a few of them but like on the margins he's really maximized what he's got I mean even Marcus Epps's like settling into that position you're right I mean it is it's like having like a coach that can bring players along like that is so valuable you know you look at like what the Eagles have built on defense and it's just I mean it is, it's scary how they not only have this collection of talent, but you,

you feel good about them building with it. So yeah, I mean, it's, it's been in, it's not only like, like, the Eagles obviously drafted so heavily on the defensive side of the ball over the last few seasons. And having someone like Vic to bring those guys along, like, I think it's massive. It's been so important for them. Totally. On the margins, it hasn't been perfect. And I, I just like this temperament where it just feels like even the weeks, like that

Chicago game where it's like, look, we didn't play well. in that game but it feels like you just haven't felt a sense of panic from him and look they figured it out where they're the only one that hasn't been panicked all season totally like he's like we got a new guy you know we're going to give him a shot and he's like look he's dealt with the cornerback two thing all year and he's you know he starts with with basically dissing adori jackson and training camp and then at the end of the year he's like look he's a survivor he's been playing pretty well for us as well so that would be another one where i'd go with dick vangio okay we do have a few more presence and superlatives to give out.

We'll do overtime, not that other version of it today. But first, we're going to hear from a few more of our friends. Guys, you need to shop the bestsellers at Ashley Furniture where no matter what your holiday traditions are, you're always at home. Whether you're making extra room with their extendable dining tables so your family can make something delicious together or creating a cozy space by rearranging their modular seating like the Alyssa Court performance fabric sectional. Ashley's selection of adaptable furniture is here to help you carry on your treasure

traditions year after year for years to come, shop holiday deals and make lifelong memories at Ashley. Next, we're going to talk about Monarch Money. You feel organized and confidence in your finances with Monarch Money. It's an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or phone. Whether you're switching jobs like me with past retirement accounts to monitor or just trying to simplify checking your portfolio.

Monarch has been perfect to keep an eye on all my finances in one place, and it can be that for you as well. Monarch is built for people with busy lives. If you put off organizing your finances, Monarch is perfect for you. You don't want to leave money on the table, especially when you're making good money. It's easy to get complacent. But after the holiday season, again, Monarch is really the perfect tool.

You don't want to let financial opportunity slip through the cracks and the app comes in handy for exactly that. You can use code P-H-O-I at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off, 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with the code PHLY. Guys, you need to shop the bestsellers at Ashley Furniture where no matter what your holiday traditions are, you're always at home. Whether you're making extra room with their extendable dining tables so your family can make something delicious together or creating a cozy space by rearranging their mind. modular seating like the Alyssa Court performance fabric sectional.

Ashley's selection of adaptable furniture is here to help you carry on your treasure traditions year after year for years to come, shop holiday deals and make lifelong memories at Ashley. Welcome back to the P.H.O.I. Eagle Show presented by Bet365 and Ashley, before we get you guys out of here, we have a few more awards to give out. We have a few more things to touch on as well. I guess what's next, E.J. is we well let's do the naughty list i guess next right uh this uh i think this is probably going to go from the from the offensive side oh yeah you here okay i like this yeah okay so i will say i think

the top four are yours in the bottom to our mind yes the reason i have jalen carter and tyler steen has nothing to do with their level of play oh jelan carter okay jalen carter spit on a guy and tyler Steen got in one of the best fights I've ever seen you know I think he's going to make make the naughty list I love it as an eagles fan but I think objectively he's going to be on the naughty list now you had like mostly like the the the people who have garnered the most attention maybe negative attention around the team uh will Shipley was I'll be honest that was my Julia uh wanted will Shipley on the naughty list she's like why does he keep dropping kicks it's ridiculous why don't they have Britt Covey just get the feel those kicks before the

record on the kickoffs the reason that it's not britton covey fielding those kicks is because the other team knows that britain covey's good at catching kickoffs so they kick it to will shippley on purpose the eagles actually start with will shippley and britain covey like hiding behind each other in the middle of the field before the kick off and then they declare which side they're going to right before the kick happens but they still know that will shippley's going to be on the right side and they kick it to will shippley so that's uh that's the answer there um so i figure and then AJ Dillon, the positivity rabbit really backfired. So those were my three.

Oh, and the Coward's Draw. I mean, come on. We got to get the Coward's Draw. Nick Sirion needs to leave the Coward's Draw on 2025. That should be his New Year's resolution. Completely agree with you. I think the Coward's Draw is leading the list, frankly. It just, I mean, has given me so much angst over the last four months, that one play, that one decision.

All right. Now let's go. to the, let's do the most excellent elf heading to the North Pole, a.k.a. elsewhere, Lindsay's got the good graphics as well. E.J. went player-wise, and that's Dallas Goddert with his career high in touchdown receptions. And I went on the coaching staff. I don't think the Eagles are keeping Christian Parker this year. I think another great year from the secondary. I just feel like he's been a guy who's been, you know, when you see those national lists of who the next coordinators are, who the next potential head coaches are.

Christian Parker is going to be on that list. But, but E.J., Dallas Goddard, like, just the guy. What a red zone season for Dallas gotter. Yeah, you know, you think about he came into this year on a prove it deal, restructured contract. And I think that you look at the tight end market, I think he is probably going to garner a lot of interest this offseason. And I think, I mean, I would be surprised if it were with the Eagles, especially if he gets paid, you know, in that, it's just those three down tight ends, man, they get paid a lot.

So, yeah, I just think it's kind of coming to a natural end here. It kind of reminds me in Josh Schwett last year where it's like you like, you like the player. You think he's a good player, but, you know, sort of toward the latter half of their career and it kind of feels like a natural end point. So, yeah, I mean, the Red Zone production has been elite for him this year. I could see teams really like parking their ears up at that and feeling like, okay, like this guy is, you know, red zone production, three down tight end. I think he'll get paid and I don't think it's going to be with the Eagles. I like Christian Parker. I think that's a really good one.

I think I might like yours better. So Dallas Goddard to, if he does leave like Josh Swett, I hope he gets paid a lot of money because, again, the same draft class as Josh Wed has been an eagle for a very long time, good soldier. but it does feel like a lot of his touchdowns are schemed up in the red zone with Kevin Piccolo where they're their awesome plays a lot of them are shovel passes and you know other things where the Eagles most creative things and he's the one who's benefiting from those and I don't want to like completely take away the credit from him but it does feel like there are a few players on the roster who could score on those places yeah so I think that another team will value him more than me as well I mean like three down tight ends like Mark Andrews

David and Joku, if you want to count him. You know, T.J. Hawkinson, like, they're on the $13 to $16 million range. Like, I don't think the Eagles are going to pay that for a 31-year-old Dallas got it. Well, then you're going to be spending many an off-season show trying to figure out what the heck the Eagles are going to do at the tight end position. Crazy that they haven't addressed it already. Like, I mean, at least with an undrafted guy. You know, maybe it is going to be Cam Latu and E.J. Jenkins next year. But something tells me that they're going to draft a guy early.

yeah no for sure and they need to they're probably two years late on that but in fairness they won the super bowl so the way they allocated their resources not going to get two up in arms about that all right let's do uh you know what i think we can probably head on over to overtime uh for our uh for our last few awards and i think what's going to on up next is, and I'm curious to say, I think I know what yours is going to be. The Charlie Brown whiff are our biggest miss. Oh, yeah, mine's going to surprise you. Eagle season.

Okay. So I have some explaining to do on the quarterbacks here. Well, Dorian Thompson, I mean, that's, that's self-explanatory for, for the sickos out there. I'm going to say Jalen Hertz was another one of my whiffs this year because, I mean, he's been, he's had a fine season. Obviously, it was pretty rocky a few weeks ago. But I have to put my hand up and be honest. You know, it's the end of the year. Got to make sure I'm living right. Like, I go after the by week, I thought that Jalen Hertz is going to be an MVP candidate. And it has just been progressively getting worse and worse for him since the biweek, really. And now again, he's

rebounded some. But yeah, I mean, I thought if he looked at his numbers coming out of that, going into the biweek, he looked at his numbers, you looked at the way that he was playing. I I remember early in the season, there was a lot of talk about him processing more quickly. And then that Packers game happened, and it just feels like that Packers game, just, you know, the floor kind of fell out from underneath them. So I'm putting my hand up on that one. That was my Charlie Brown, you know, trying to kick the ball. That was my whiff this season was writing the story about Jalen Hertz being a dark horse MVP candidate.

You know, and I think it does tell you how difficult things have been for the Eagles since the bye week. because I think my main argument was that they were probably going to be the number one seat and he would be a big reason why. And, you know, again, they definitely hit some adversity here over the last couple of months. That is a good one. I would say, for me, just the offensive line, like just. Yeah. And I don't even think that's a, it's not even a whiff where I thought the offensive line was going to be amazing.

But the fact that they took such a step back, it's just something I've baked in to every Eagles team for such a long. long time. And they have certainly taken a step back. And look, I think you can look at Jalen Hertz. You can look at the passing game, Kevin Petullo and all those designs. But to me, it's just like the biggest thing that they were playing a different sport than a lot of teams because their offensive line allowed them to play a different way. So I think that for me is the biggest one, because I didn't really have that factored in when I saw who was returning. I was like, all right, Tyler Steen is, he's going to be fine like in Mackay Beckton's place. And he probably has been fine it's been the other guys it's been injuries it's been drop off it's been a bunch of

stuff so yeah that would be my biggest miss i think we only have one more left and i like this probably the the best labeled award which is oh you like this one i appreciate that precocious prancer award for the most exciting young player and e j goes with the youngest guy on the team who probably will play this week but has not played a ton over the last month and that's jihad campbell i went with Cooper to Jean, that's probably the easy one. E.J. You went with the more interesting pick. I considered it. Why do you go with Jehad Campbell here? So I felt like Cooper didn't count because again, last reference for my Julia, she helped me with the list. Like, what can I say? She said, well, what about Cooper to Gene? I said, oh, I don't really count him. Like,

he's, he's established. I'm talking like a guy with, you know, some stock. Like, you're buying the Cooper to Gene stock up here. I'm getting the Jehad Campbell stock, probably like here, probably around here. Just like your predecessor, giving me stock tips. Yeah. I won't give you real stock tips. You don't want my stock tips. But, yeah, no, I went with Jahad Campbell here because I feel like everyone, I mean, he lost his job to Nicobie Dean, but it was really to no fault of his own. I mean, he could have played at a higher level to ward off the Kobe Dean.

But really, I think Jihad Campbell is still going to be a really good player. You know, I think what we saw from him throughout his rookie season, you know, I'm getting ahead of this for the Bills game. You know, they could go one or two weights for me here. but I do think that he still has a trajectory to be one of the best linebackers in the NFL. So, yeah, I think he's still an exciting player on the Eagles roster. It's just a matter of figuring out what they're going to do with that position this offseason because I don't think they're going to resign to Kobe Dean,

but they don't like to let like homegrown impact players just leaving free agency. So it's going to be, I think it'll be more complicated than we'd like to give it credit for, but it's hard to envision them keeping them past this season. especially with as you said like jihad played pretty well now i i will say you mentioned the the penny fronts and and him up on the line you know i think heading into the year in large part because of how he's comments at the draft where it's like could this guy be an edge rusher that type of player i don't feel as great about that i don't think he looked awesome in in that role but i really like some of the stuff he did in coverage as a linebacker was awesome

and I think he'll figure out the run defense. So, yeah, I think like the idea that Jehad Campbell is going to be, you know, an excellent offball linebacker for at least like the next five years. I'm with you. I'm buying that stock. Another guy, too, that you could mention to. Drew McCuba was playing better. Oh, for sure.

Yeah. You got hurt. Like, I think the Eagles can feel, like, that was a little bit of a controversial pick at that point. Some draft analysts thought, you know, he might have a third round grade, like maybe even a little bit lower. I don't know. It seems like he'll be able to fill that position well. He was playing better and then he got hurt.

But I think the Eagles can feel okay about that one. And we should mention, too, the fact that I got off track and went with, went with Steen and Carter for the naughty list, Jake Elliott, I'm sorry. We got to give you something. Yeah, Jake Elliott belongs on the naughty list. You're not making enough kicks. You got to, come on. A quick one on Tyler Steen, someone was asking about, like,

Jalen Hurts talked to you on the sideline after. Like, what was he saying? And like, what does that say about his leadership? and Tyler's team was like I was pretty upset like I don't really know what he was saying I really appreciated that honesty from Tyler Steve it's like like I just crashed out on the field like I just fought an entire team like I wasn't really paying attention to the message the greater message from Jalen Hertz there I mean let's be real like last week like the Eagles we could argue about the offense but professional effort got the win got the back to back

at of C's champions the one thing everybody's going to remember from that game is Tyler Steen fighting the entire team like that's yeah credit to him it's just i did not know he had that in him well the people say oh he's usually so mild mattered he fought jalen carter and training camp like i'm sorry like i didn't think that you could fight jalen carter and training camp and not earn a reputation for being like down for a fight you know like uh one of the kids say like he stays ready like i mean i don't want to fight jalen carter i don't think most humans would so i think tyler seeds always had that in him he don't let his like soft-spokenness full like you know Andre Dillard was good for a fight toward the end of his career too i think you know

some of these guys i'm here for it i i'd love a training camp fight i i like an in game fight but i thought sayquan put it well like you know bobby wagner apparently told sayquan like what are you going to like punch somebody in the helmet hopefully don't break your hand get a massive fine maybe get suspended and all just to prove that you're a tough guy like it's kind of not worth it but i still do like i mean listen they're not not supposed to love each other out there it's kind of that's the that's like that's part of the fun of sports no that i'm happy bobby wagner said that that is the one thing where it's like oh you throw a punch it's like well it's not going to hurt the guy unless you i don't know hit his jaw maybe like yeah like the only thing

that could get hurt is is your hand i still like the fight though i still like the emotion and yeah like you're a football player you got to got to work around that you know throw the guy on the ground maybe maybe rip the helmet off but yeah uh the fine element of it uh yeah i can take that if you don't break your head all right e j j i think we're pretty good here now the one thing you wanted to get to at the end is sort of to let people go is the rooting guide for this weekend because you know I've mentioned eagles could be anywhere between two and four and I think this game obviously will will inform what are the Eagles going to do in the final week of the season where they're playing a Washington team I know

Dan Quinn he wants his shot at the Eagles after after they went for two to go up 19 and disrespected Dan Quinn you know what's put the you know what I'll join you in the back here huh I'll join yeah there we go yeah that's how they want to get down then that's how they'll get down Dan Quinn who basically has my hairline loves this uh loves this backwards uh yeah I mean I'm right there with you I mean yeah how do you do fellow kids but anyway they will play Washington in the final week of the season and you know they as Danes sort of laid out, they might have something to play for.

They might not. But we do have some scenarios for everybody with not only the Eagles, but also Chicago and the other teams to sort of display, display how the Eagles can fare and what spot they'll end up in here. Yeah. So just like a rooting guide as you're watching the games around the Eagles game, you're really rooting against the Bears. Because one of the, the Eagles clearest path to the number two seed is for

them to win each of their last two games and for the bears to lose both. Bears are at San Francisco this week on, I think it's a Sunday night game. And then they play the Lions in the regular season finale. Those are two tough games. You know, even if the Lions are eliminated from the playoffs, I think, you know, Dan Campbell's track record would suggest they will be up for that game, a division game there. From there, you're rooting against Seahawks, obviously. The Eagles have to win each of their final two games and have the Seahawks lose both of their final two games. They play the Panthers, and then they are also at the 49ers there. And you need the 49ers to lose to the Bears and the Rams to lose one of their final two games as well. So a little bit more

complicated, but still a pathway forward for them. And then, you know, I saw this one from De Niz as well. You're so rooting against the bears. He says this is his favorite that the Packers would have to go one, zero, and one. I'm assuming that tie would have to be against the Vikings, but I'm not positive. So, yeah, I think it's pretty straightforward, though. You're really just rooting against the Bears for these final two weeks if you're hoping that the Eagles still find their way to that number two seed. So for me, just looking at all that stuff,

the team that I'm rooting against is the Panthers. Like just don't drop the four because I would really value that final week off. Like it really helped the Eagles last year. You probably still, and let's say the bears do lose this week. like if you throw Tanner McKee out there like he could easily still beat Washington depending on yeah I think that's the thing is like if you play your backups is not especially against the commanders it's it's not like you're you know forfeiting the game you still probably feel decent about that one so so I think that's how I would settle I mean I do think getting the three seed versus the four

again is that that much of a difference because you're probably still going to have to play like San Francisco a pretty good team as well I think I'd rather have the three seed because they're more past to hosting a game in the next two rounds I would say with that but you know we'll see how it goes just if the eagles do win this game though it doesn't it feel like they're going to rest their guys in the final week like that seems like i would suspect so yeah i think that that that's the most likely thing that'll happen i even if it is like within their grasp i just think that they're going to value uh having the rest going into uh the postseason all right man well uh have a safe flight getting up there

get some uh get some rest you said you're going to get some wings what's the what's the what's the wing spot the anchor bar is that where you go anchor bar is the place that i've heard about i was like trying to get like a gauge on like what like what's the cheese steak spot equivalent of anchor bar like and it sounds like it's like jims you know it's like a solid cheese steak but it's touristy still um i might try and find like the dallas andros of buffalo like i still want a touristy spot but like i want it to be like i want it to feel not like a touristy spot if that makes sense. So Lindsay is saying wing nuts in there, which I've also heard of.

The two that I've heard of are Anchor Bar and wing nuts. Okay. So how would you say are you going to figure out what the Delisandros is? I'm probably just going to ask Zach Berman. Oh, yeah. Well, that's better. I thought you were going to say you were going to use chat GPT, which is that. I think going to Zach Berman is the better of those two.

Only for the smoothie recipe. I maybe I prove I like comported myself as a chronic chat GPT user it's really I'll Bo's not going to like this if he's listening um it's really only when it's like I would I don't want to like go through a entire thread of like you know a message board like Reddit or whatever I'd rather just like have the answer right now that's the only time I'll use so yeah not for this definitely not for this well that uh look buffalo great food city and uh I think uh look I actually isn't the forecast it's it's supposed to be like kind of warm for buffalo like it's very ironic it's going to be like a pretty mild uh kind of like temperature and no snow in buffalo

or at least not very much and like we're not going to get quite as much snow here now but it was like there's going to be four inches of snow in philly and none in buffalo like that's not what i was expecting for this trip but um no i'm excited i don't mind the cold i like i said i'm going out to stuff the jacket in the suitcase this week. Love it. Okay. So for E.J. Smith, I am Rich Hoffman. Thank you to Lindsay, as always, doing some great work behind the scenes with the graphics.

We will, again, we're going to have a full postgame show. We're going to be back, ready to go and have a full week of shows. I think you're not a full week of shows because New Year's, but whatever. We'll have shows for you next week as well, including the postgame show this week. So it's all the sickos. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy holidays, whatever you celebrate, and enjoy the game this weekend.

And as always, we love it.