The start of a new NFL season brings a certain kind of excitement. A new season against a division rival? Well, that brings the thrill of a whole other kind.
After resting most of their starters in Week 18 and dropping their regular-season finale to the Commanders, the Eagles are ready to run it back against Washington on Sunday (4:25 p.m., Fox29).
However, the feeling is mutual. Here’s what the Commanders are saying ahead of their Week 1 opponent.
The Commanders have two new systems in place with new play-callers on both sides of the ball. Daronte Jones is in his first season in Washington as defensive coordinator and will go against a new offensive system for the Eagles in Sean Mannion’s NFL debut as a play-caller. On the other side, David Blough, the Commanders’ first-year offensive coordinator, has the challenge of facing a well-established Vic Fangio defense.
Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough has seen a Vic Fangio defense firsthand, spending two seasons as an assistant quarterbacks coach in Washington. Nick Wass/AP
Blough is in his third year with the Commanders after spending the past two seasons as an assistant quarterback coach. His few years with Washington have provided him a close look at Fangio’s defense and how it operates, a familiarity Blough is hoping will help come Sunday.
“They’re so sound as a defense, how they attack you, where they try to stress you as an offense, and they got a lot of really good players who have been there for a long time,” Blough said about the Eagles defense Thursday. “We’ve seen matchups with some of our familiar players. We’ve seen things that Jayden [Daniels] does well. We’ve seen ways that they’ve tried to attack us. So, all of those data points for us kind of go into how we build the plan to get after him this week.”
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley runs past Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin in Landover, Md., on Saturday, December 20, 2025.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Stopping Saquon
For Jones and the Commanders’ defense, a whole new problem is apparent. While there is less data to use to game plan for Mannion’s new offensive scheme, one thing is clear: in each of his four games, including playoffs, against the Commanders as the Eagles’ primary running back, Saquon Barkley has rushed for over 115 yards and has scored at least one touchdown.
Whether Jones hasn’t yet figured out how to stop Barkley, or is just keeping his cards close to the chest, he offered a vague answer regarding his plan to slow down the running back.
“Saquon is special,” Jones said. “It’s not a one-man job. It’s a team effort and even with that, I mean, his explosiveness, his playmaking ability, he’s very dynamic, and they’ve done a great job of using him in that way and finding different spaces to get him touches. And so, you take your hat off to the organization [for] how they utilize their personnel over there.”
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (center) will have his hands full trying to stay away from the likes of Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith Jr., and the Birds’ rabid defensive front. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
‘A hard-fought game’
After a sophomore season riddled with injury, quarterback Jayden Daniels said he is ready to do “whatever it takes to win a football game” on Sunday.
During his rookie season, Daniels faced the Eagles two times during the regular season, passing for 449 yards, rushing for 99 yards, and tossing six touchdowns compared to three interceptions. His most recent game against Philly did not go as well and ended with a 55-23 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship at Lincoln Financial Field.
Head coach Dan Quinn said the fire in Daniels to get back out there has been burning since the end of last season, and while working through a new system and changes, Daniels has been “more accurate than he’s ever been,” and getting bigger and stronger.
LIVE: HC Dan Quinn speaks to the media after the final practice of the week https://t.co/uqwCssFWn5
“It’s an exciting time just in general; football is back,” Daniels said. “I know [the Eagles are] not worried about who they play, who’s on the schedule. They’re just worried about executing, being the best version of themselves. And us too. So, go out there and just try to execute at a high level. Like I said, they got really good players over there. We got good players over here too, and this is going to be a hard-fought game.”
After injuries sidelined both Makai Lemon and Eli Stowers for portions of training camp, the two top Eagles rookies are looking forward to their first regular-season game action on Sunday.
Stowers, the second-round tight end out of Vanderbilt, is listed as questionable to play with a hamstring injury on the final injury report. However, he said on Friday that “the plan” is for him to play against the Washington Commanders.
He sustained his hamstring injury in the second preseason game against the New England Patriots, and while he missed the final week of training camp and the last preseason game, he said he’s feeling good and doing well in practice as a limited participant.
Lemon missed three weeks of camp, also with a hamstring injury, but he returned to action in time for the third preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Makai Lemon (9) played sparingly in the preseason but did see some action against the Bengals. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Two weeks after his preseason debut, Lemon said that he feels caught up from the time he missed in training camp. Even on Friday, he stayed late after practice working on the field with wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead as he prepares for his first regular-season outing.
“I feel like that’s an every day thing, getting extra reps,” Lemon said. “I feel like that’s what’s going to take me to that next level.”
The Eagles took both players early in the draft to contribute to a new-look offense that features a retooled corps of pass-catchers and a first-time play-caller in Sean Mannion. But their precise roles for Week 1 are unclear.
Both Lemon and Stowers could have special-teams roles in addition to their offensive responsibilities. Lemon, the first-round receiver out of USC, is listed on the depth chart as the first-string punt returner, but the Eagles could also elevate the incumbent Britain Covey from the practice squad to the game-day roster.
Lemon didn’t return many punts at USC; he finished his career with six returns for 71 yards. He was the team’s top kick returner in 2024, totaling 19 kickoff returns for 514 yards (his longest was an 80-yarder). Lemon said he has been fielding punts after practice in addition to the work he is doing in special teams periods.
“Just being ready, so whenever the coaches need me, I’m there,” Lemon said.
Similarly, Stowers could see playing time on special teams on Sunday, even though he has a limited college background in that phase of the game.
Tight end Eli Stowers (87) was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report and could see most of his action on special teams. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Special teams coordinator Michael Clay acknowledged on Thursday that Stowers’ skill set as a tight end translates to the duties that might be required of him on special teams. He listed his blocking ability and his overall athleticism as boons to the special teams group.
“A lot of special teams units, you use your athletic ability to your advantage and he progressively got better as the training camp went on,” Clay said.
Their prospective playing time on offense is unknown. Compared to Stowers, Lemon has more experience working with the starters. Even though Lemon missed time with a hamstring injury, both during the offseason program and training camp, he was taking reps with Jalen Hurts and the rest of the starters when he was healthy.
When he was injured, Lemon was still attentive, both on the sideline during team drills and in the meeting room. Now that he’s back in action, he’s continuing to build chemistry with Hurts.
“Every rep, building that trust, really. We get limited reps out at practice,” Lemon said. “It’s only a short amount of time. So just making sure every rep counts. Just building that trust up so when we go out Sunday, we’re not even thinking.”
While Lemon’s training camp reps with Hurts might have been limited, Stowers had even fewer. Most of his reps came with the second- and third-string offenses, catching passes from backup quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee.
With the regular season underway, Stowers is working to build trust with Hurts. That effort from the rookie tight end occurs both on and off the field.
“It’s on me to learn my assignment, understand what I have to do every single play so he can build that trust and know that I’m going to be in the right spot,” Stowers said. “And then from that point, it’s just reps, working with him on the timing, where the ball is going to be, where I’m going to be at, things like that.”
Eli Stowers is trying to negotiate the NFL learning curve. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Stowers acknowledged that his transition to the NFL has required him to have patience, especially as he grows his skill set beyond his abilities as a receiver. At Vanderbilt, he displayed his pass-catching prowess, but blocking wasn’t one of his primary responsibilities.
He called training camp a “really good opportunity” to learn as his role evolves at the next level. He noticed personal growth in every aspect of his game, including his route-running, blocking, and understanding of the overall playbook.
Given that the Commanders have limited film of Stowers from the preseason — in a pared-down version of the offense at that — the Eagles could use their lack of familiarity with him to their advantage.
“They’ve seen your college film, but how that translates to the new offense, to the new team, teams aren’t really sure what it’s going to be,” Stowers said. “So I think that is an advantage to some extent. I really just want to put my best foot forward.”
Lemon will also have the opportunity to put together a better performance after he finished with three receptions for three yards in his limited preseason debut.
Regardless of his shaky showing, Lemon said it was “definitely important” to get a game-like experience in the preseason.
On Sunday, it’s for real.
“It’s hard to put it into words, really,” Lemon said. “I’m just super excited.”
The Eagles are heading into Sunday’s season opener against the Washington Commanders without their top outside linebacker.
Jonathan Greenard, the 29-year-old edge rusher, was ruled out on Friday as he works his way back from a pectoral injury that sidelined him throughout training camp. He was a limited participant in practice all week.
Eli Stowers, the rookie tight end out of Vanderbilt, is listed as questionable to play with a hamstring injury. However, he said in the locker room on Friday that “the plan” for him is to play.
Stowers was also a limited participant in practice this week.
The Eagles acquired Greenard this offseason from the Minnesota Vikings and signed him to a contract extension, adding pass-rush prowess to the defense after Jaelan Phillips departed in free agency. Greenard said on Thursday that he feels good, but he wasn’t certain about his timeline to return to game action.
Jonathan Greenard (52) missed training camp with a pectoral injury but had returned to practice earlier this week. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“I feel I’m in a good spot,” Greenard said. “Just know that. I know that I’m working every day to continue to try to get this thing stronger. We’re close, I know that.”
He confirmed that he sustained the pectoral injury prior to camp while lifting. Greenard was sidelined during the offseason program, too, as he recovered from the shoulder surgery that prematurely ended his 2025 season with the Vikings.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio acknowledged on Thursday that the Eagles have to be “careful” with Greenard given his lack of practice time, even when he is healthy enough to play.
“It’s going to be a while before he’s game ready for a full load,” Fangio said. “It’ll be a pretty good rotation.”
Stowers was added to the injury report the Monday after the Eagles’ second preseason contest against the New England Patriots. He did not practice during the final week of camp, nor did he play in the last preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Eli Stowers dealt with injuries during his first NFL training camp. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The second-round pick had a relatively quiet performance this summer, both in training camp and in the preseason. In his pair of preseason games, Stowers played 39 offensive snaps. His only production came in the first game against the Baltimore Ravens, when he had three receptions for 12 yards.
Stowers also had 20 special-teams snaps through two games, finishing with one tackle.
Despite his slow start, Ryan Mahaffey, the Eagles tight ends coach, spoke highly of his development since the start of training camp earlier this month.
“I think for any rookie, as you’re coming into the NFL, it’s an adjustment, regardless of the position you play,” Mahaffey said. “And for him, I think he’s been very diligent about his preparation each and every single day. He’s growing each and every single rep that he has. So I’m excited about him, and I’m excited about the trajectory he’s on. I think he’s going to continue to get better just as he gets more time on task.”
Seven hours after Unrivaled announced its return to Philadelphia on Thursday, the city’s diehard women’s basketball community was lined up around the block at Dock Street South for a celebratory block party. The event was hosted by Unrivaled, the women’s professional three-on-three league that serves as a second season for several WNBA stars.
After a record-setting first go-around at Xfinity Mobile Arena, Miami-based Unrivaled is expanding its presence in other cities. Philly will be the third stop on the league’s 2027 bus tour, and one of eight cities outside of Miami that will host games next year.
“Obviously, tens of thousands of people are going to buy tickets, but to see the people pull up in their Unrivaled gear, waiting in line, it speaks to how diehard their fandom is,” Kirby Porter, chief brand officer at Unrivaled, said. “For us, we want to do things that are engaging fans in digital, but especially in real life, which is I think even more long-lasting.”
Porter said that Unrivaled’s internal data showed that the Northeast is one of their strongest markets, and all three of the announced stops — in Boston, New York, and Philly — are in the region. Unrivaled wants to “fill the gap” in Boston and Philly, two cities that are not currently home to WNBA franchises, which leads to a large fan appetite for live women’s events.
Katie Chen (left) stamps the Unrivaled passport for Ren Gaines, of Pennsauken, during Thursday’s Unrivaled party.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Unrivaled, in collaboration with Xfinity, handed out freebies, including fan passports, which could be completed with an Unrivaled trivia game to win a free poster.
Ticket sales for Unrivaled’s return are already trending above the 2026 stop, according to Ashley Lunkenheimer, the vice president of the Philadelphia Sisters. In addition to helping bring a WNBA team to Philly in 2030, the Sisters helped secure the city as Unrivaled’s first tour stop and bring it back. After setting a venue record and a record for pro women’s basketball, they’re setting their sights on raising the ceiling even higher.
Thursday was a huge start. About 250 fans came out to celebrate the league’s return, including Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, one of the biggest supporters of bringing Unrivaled to Philadelphia. She led a spirited cheer of “Philly is Unrivaled” to kick off the evening.
Ashley Lunkenheimer (left) is the vice president of the Philadelphia Sisters, the women’s sports advocacy group that has played a major role in brining the WNBA, Unrivaled, and more to the city.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“People that I didn’t know — man, woman, young, old, didn’t matter — were coming up to me and saying that Unrivaled was one of the best sporting events they’d ever been to,” Lunkenheimer said. “Everybody who didn’t go, they had FOMO.”
Nearly a year after its opening, Marsha’s, Philly’s only female-centric sports bar, is gathering staff and supplies to celebrate a partnership that the owner, Chivonn Anderson, says is “definitely a first.”
Dove, a national sponsor of the U.S. Open, is picking up the tab at 10 women-owned sports bars around the country during the U.S. women’s singles final this Saturday. Dove will pay for all food and drinks at the South Street bar during the game, or until supplies last, and will also be doing complimentary giveaways. For Anderson, the campaign is a dream come true.
“When I received an email from Dove’s PR company saying that they were looking to partner with women’s sports bars, we were just taken aback,” Anderson recalled. “Between 4 [p.m.] and 7 p.m., they’re going to pick up the tab for everybody that’s in the bar watching the finals, which is insane and amazing.”
Marsha’s owner Chivonn Anderson says she was surprised that her bar was picked as one of several that will take part in Dove’s promotion. Melissa Lyttle / For The Inquirer
Marsha’s is preparing to be busy. Anderson has been gathering a full staff to help things flow as smoothly as possible. The bar will still open at noon, so patrons hoping to grab a seat for the game should plan to arrive early. Anderson says that “People are encouraged to tip, but there is a gratuity for the three hours of service paid for by Dove.”
Marsha’s is no stranger to a busy night, though, having gathered plenty of practice during the WNBA season and, more recently, serving as one of the few bars in the area to stream NWSL and WPBL games. The bar’s first anniversary is on Sept. 19, and it marks a big milestone not only for Anderson — but for women’s sports.
“It’s really exciting to see that our one-year anniversary is next week,” Anderson said. “To see all the things that we have been able to do in this past year feels really good. … The momentum has been there for a while. It’s just now women’s sports are finally getting their due publicity, and people are really paying attention to it.”
The match will pit Aryna Sabalenka against Elena Rybakina as the two meet in a Grand Slam final for the second time this year. Rybakina beat Sabalenka at the Australian Open earlier this year.
A look at some of the Dove items that will be available at Marsha’s on Saturday.Becca O'Reilly / For The Inquirer
The partnership is part of Dove’s “Don’t Sweat It. Make a Racket” campaign, an initiative Anderson says is doing the right thing by “highlighting small businesses that are trying to bring more awareness to this industry.”
“These advertisers are starting to realize that there’s a whole market out there that is untapped,” Anderson said.
Marsha’s will offer its full menu Saturday, including a pasta buffet and a Mexican buffet, and will sample new cocktails that could be added to the regular menu. The team hopes to use Saturday to “put their best foot forward” and highlight all Marsha’s has to offer, in both food and community space. The unexpected partnership is a boon for any bar, but especially for a space like Marsha’s.
“I really think that Dove is kind of setting a precedent moving forward in women’s sports,” Anderson said. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, and I hope other businesses kind of take note of what they’re doing, because it is pretty significant.”
Players face their old teams all the time in every sport. So Milan Iloski knows there’s nothing new about what he’ll go through this Sunday when the Union visit San Diego FC (9 p.m., Apple TV).
But this one does mean a lot, and not just because it’s his first game against San Diego since leaving there to come east just over a year ago. Or even factoring in that he’s from Escondido, Calif., a northern suburb of San Diego, which should make for a lot of Iloski jerseys in the stands.
“I talked to the team administrator over there, and I talked to our guys here and told them to send me whatever you got,” he said regarding finding tickets for folks. Both teams agreed, Iloski expects a final total “anywhere from 75 to 100.”
They will show up to watch a player who feels he has a point to prove, after a somewhat fractious departure. Iloski was initially in San Diego on a four-month loan from Denmark’s FC Nordsjælland, a team with the same owner through the Right To Dream player development network.
“I loved my time there and I have nothing but positive things to say about most of the people,” he said, particularly players who took him in and a coaching staff with many San Diego-area natives. “It’ll be nice to see them. But also, I’m there to show some people that they made a big mistake. I think I have a big chip on my shoulder, and I’m looking forward to the challenge, and they’re a good team that’s playing well.”
That will be one storyline on Sunday. The Union’s resurgence since the World Cup will be another — and it will certainly put Cavan Sullivan, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield in the spotlight, in the weekend before Mauricio Pochettino picks the U.S. roster for the upcoming friendlies.
Perhaps Quinn Sullivan will get some attention too, and he deserves it. His all-around game against Cincinnati on Wednesday showed that while he isn’t quite fit for a full 90 minutes yet, he’s back to his pre-injury quality.
Union’s Quinn Sullivan celebrates his first-half goal during the Union’s win against FC Cincinnati on Wednesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
If he continues, he might also get calls for a national team return down the road. He hasn’t forgotten walking down the hall at Subaru Park with Mauricio Pochettino last October, a few months after making his senior U.S. debut.
Quinn Sullivan met Mauricio Pochettino at the mixed zone to walk (gingerly) toward the #USMNT locker room, which is the Union locker room.
Nathan Harriel and Alejandro Bedoya followed a few steps later.
“I think everyone’s excited for an opportunity,” Sullivan said. “That was such a special honor to represent the team, and I want to do it again. I know the coaches watch all the games, and all we can do is continue to perform. And I know if the opportunity presents itself, everyone will be ready.”
San Diego is also great at developing young players. Recent examples include 20-year-old left back Luca Bombino, just sold to English second-division club Stoke City for $5 million; 21-year-old centerback Manu Duah, who just signed a contract extension; and 20-year-old former Union midfielder David Vazquez. He’s now in his second year out west, and will face his old club for the first time.
In a league so often headlined by veteran stars — Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann, and so on — it will be fun to see two teams that value homegrown talent get center stage.
“It’s a similar business model, I would say, similar team model, to have a lot of young guys mixed in with some older guys who they can lean on and gain some experience with,” Iloski said. “It says a lot for them, and for us as well, that there’s a lot of good players in America, and there’s a lot of players that slip through the pipeline. And hopefully this new era coming up, with the Bombinos and the Sullivans, and Frankie and Neil, and the Manu Duahs and those kinds of guys, hopefully it’s a stepping stone for the future, and more teams see that success can be found in a lot of young players.”
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The Wings, Philadelphia’s National Lacrosse League franchise, are folding.
On Thursday, the NLL announced that the Wings and the Ottawa Black Bears would cease operations. For the Wings, the decision comes after Comcast Spectacor pulled its ownership of the franchise following the 2025-26 season. At the time, the NLL announced that it had initiated a “comprehensive process” to find an owner for the team, but the league ultimately decided to contract. The move to discontinue the Wings and the Black Bears, which also had ownership turnover, leaves the NLL with 12 teams.
“Today is a difficult day for the National Lacrosse League and, most importantly, for the fans, players, employees and partners who have supported the Ottawa Black Bears and Philadelphia Wings,” NLL commissioner Brett Frood said in a release. “These are proud lacrosse markets with passionate communities, and we are grateful to everyone who has invested their time, energy and belief in these clubs.
“As we enter our 40th anniversary season, our responsibility is to provide certainty for our constituents and move forward with 12 active member clubs aligned behind the League’s collective future.”
The NLL noted in its release that both cities “remain important markets to the NLL,” and the league would “consider future opportunities in either community if the long-term conditions and partners necessary to support a sustainable franchise are established.”
After Comcast Spectacor pulled its ownership of the Wings, it was expected that the franchise would move out of the city. The team was never included in Comcast Spectacor and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment’s plan for a new arena in the stadium complex that will open in 2030.
Sam LeClair hugs Brennan O’Neill (left) after the Philadelphia Wings’ final home game at Xfinity Mobile Arena in April.Heather Barry / NLL
A dispersal draft, allowing the 12 remaining franchises to select players from the Wings and Black Bears, will be Sept. 15.
Last season, the Wings (5-13) finished with the worst record in the NLL. The franchise was established in 1987 as one of the original four teams of the NLL. The Wings became a fan favorite at the Spectrum as box lacrosse, which originated in Canada, gained popularity in the United States. The Wings relocated to Connecticut in 2014 and were renamed the New England Black Wolves. However, in 2017, the franchise was reestablished as an expansion team under the ownership of Comcast Spectacor.
The termination of the Wings franchise does not leave Philadelphia without a professional lacrosse team, as the Premier Lacrosse League’s Philadelphia Waterdogs have gained a fan base in the area. The league uses a touring model, in which teams travel from city to city as a league and franchises have “homecoming weekends” in their home markets. The Waterdogs, who played at Subaru Park last month, are slated to take on the Denver Outlaws in the league’s championship game on Sept. 20 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J. (12:30 p.m., 6abc).
The regular season is almost here! All the preseason talk has been about Jalen Hurts and new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. But there’s somebody else who will have a big say in how high the Eagles fly. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane explains why this year, in the absence of traded star A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith has to take the next step, while also taking charge of the Eagles’ wide receivers group. Plus, Jeff dips into the mailbag for listener questions about Jalen Hurts and some key roster spots.
00:00 Is DeVonta Smith ready to fill A.J. Brown’s shoes?
17:00 Yes, the Jalen Hurts scrutiny is justified
19:07 Biggest candidates to disappoint, surprise this season
unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the season.
We’re always looking for mailbag questions! Hit Jeff up on his socials, or drop a question in the comments. Jeff could answer it in a future episode!
Merrill Reese sat in his living room chair, awaiting the rapid-fire questions from his wife as she prepared the longtime Eagles broadcaster for another game.
“Thirty-one,” said Cindy Reese, reading off an index card listing Cincinnati Bengals running backs.
Reese — who begins his 50th season on Sunday as the voice of the Eagles — needed a moment to think.
Cindy, who has a doctorate in education and spent 20 years teaching middle schoolers, quizzes him the night before each game on the opposing players. She reads him a number and he spits out a name. They repeat the numbers until he masters it, like a student preparing for a big test.
Reese grew up a Birds fan in Overbrook and would stare at the broadcast booth at Franklin Field while dreaming of being there one day. Now it’s hard to remember a time when Reese wasn’t calling the action in a voice that the Daily News once perfectly described as an “urgent baritone.”
Reese voiced two Super Bowl wins, told you the Eagles stopped ‘em again, and can make the word “good” sound great. He turned 84 earlier this month and has no plans of retiring. His 50th season, Reese said, isn’t a farewell tour.
Cindy Reese holds a note card with the names of Bengals players to help her husband, Merrill Reese, prepare for an Eagles preseason game against Cincinnati.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“Forever,” Reese said of how long he plans to call the action. “My word is always forever. I always kiddingly say they’re going to have to remove me with a crane. Look, I love to golf. But I’d rather broadcast an Eagles game than anything in the world. My greatest pleasure is to sit there and broadcast an Eagles game. There’s nothing I love more. I even enjoy doing the preseason games. I can truly tell you that I love it as much or more as I ever loved it. I have no intention of stopping.”
Reese golfs three times a week, stays active, and says his vision is crisp after having cataract surgery a few years ago. And his recall, which he credits to his work as a child actor, stays sharp thanks to those study sessions in his Blue Bell living room where his wife sits on the sofa and asks him who wears No. 31 on the Bengals.
“Kentrel Bullock,” Reese said as Cindy nodded and moved to No. 35.
Merrill Reese is entering his 50th season broadcasting Eagles games.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Chasing a dream
Reese was making $125 a week in the late 1960s at WBCB in Levittown when he heard KYW was having auditions for a radio newscaster. This was his chance. He nailed his tryout, wrote a strong script, didn’t flub any words, and felt good.
KYW’s news director brought Reese into his office and told him he was going to do him a favor.
Reese, who went to Temple before serving in the Navy, started his radio career in towns like Pottstown. Now he thought he was finally going to land a job in the big city.
“I said, ‘Boy this is great,’” Reese said. “But he said, ‘I’m going to tell you that he would be wise to find another profession because you’re never going to work in a major market station.’”
Reese was crushed. He went home and hid in his bedroom until his mother asked him what was wrong. He told her what the KYW boss said.
“He’s right,” his mom said.
Reese was stunned. His mom didn’t think he could cut it? She told her son that if he could be deterred by one detractor then he would never make his dream come true. She was right. Reese went back to work the next day in Levittown, kept pushing, and was working six months later at WWDB in Philadelphia. That news director? Reese said he soon got canned.
Video: unCovering the Birds: Is tight end the biggest area of concern?
Reese’s mother was a kindergarten teacher who loved the performing arts. She took Reese to the theater and signed him up for acting lessons when he was a boy. He was an extra in a Cecil B. DeMille movie starring Jimmy Stewart, regularly appeared on local TV shows like Chuck Wagon Pete, and did commercials as an 8-year-old.
Reese had a part in a live radio drama but was instructed to memorize his lines while the adult actors were allowed to read a script. They thought it would sound too rehearsed if the kid read. So Reese spent every afternoon studying with his mom before going outside with his buddies. The memory that is now sharpened in his living room was being formed.
“I have an unusual memory because I was trained at that age,” Reese said.
Merrill Reese and Cindy, at their Montgomery County home last month, have been married for 47 years.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
‘How about next Saturday?’
Reese and his wife met on a blind date, went out in the city, and didn’t talk again.
“I was geographically undesirable,” said Cindy, who grew up in Wallingford.
They reunited two years later and went on a double date on the Main Line with Reese’s sister and brother-in-law.
“We had a great time,” Cindy said. “I said, ‘Are you going to wait another two years to call me again?’ He said, ‘How about next Saturday?’ That was that.”
By then Reese parlayed his WWDB job into a gig at WIP, which hired him to do five minutes of sports every hour each morning before naming him the host of their Eagles pregame and postgame show.
He joined the broadcast booth in 1975 as a color analyst and then became the play-by-play man at age 35 in December 1977 after his partner Charlie Swift died by suicide. Reese got a call in the middle of the night that Swift died. That Sunday, Reese had to call the action.
Merrill Reese talks with his longtime spotter Bill Werndl (right) in the broadcast booth before a preseason game against the Bengals on Aug. 28.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“I’m standing there in the booth and the Eagles held a moment of silence for Charlie Swift,” Reese said. “All the players on the sidelines turned and looked at the booth. My knees are literally knocking into each other. I’m hoping something can just come out of my mouth. After that, they queued me and I went on. I did a little remembrance for Charlie Swift, broke for a commercial, and from there on it was all football.”
Reese finished the 1977 season but there was no guarantee that the job would be his in 1978. The station tried to land Al Meltzer, the popular broadcaster who was returning to Philadelphia after a year in Chicago. They told Reese that “Big Al” could sell more advertisements. Reese understood. But he wanted that job.
“I used to dream many times that winter that they called me and told me I had the job,” Reese said. “I would wake up depressed because I didn’t have the job. It was just a dream. Other times, I would go to sleep and dream that they called me and said they decided to go into a different direction. I would wake up relieved because I still wasn’t out of it.”
Meltzer turned down the Eagles’ gig to become the sports director at Channel 10. Reese was thrilled. The job was his.
“It was very exciting,” Cindy said. “It really did launch the trajectory of our relationship because that was going to be our lives.”
“I believe we’ve become like members of the family (for listeners),” says Merrill Reese, with longtime radio partner Mike Quick.ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer
Members of the family
Reese and his longtime broadcast partner, former wide receiver Mike Quick, are so popular that fans delay their TV feeds and hit mute to sync their screens with the WIP-FM broadcast. The broadcasters even have their own beer. In Super Bowl seasons or super bad seasons, Merrill and Mike give you a reason to tune in.
“I believe we’ve become like members of the family,” Reese said. “We’re like their old friends who’ve been with them for many, many years. They grew up listening to us and we’ve become somebody who is able to react the way they react. We’re not homers. We don’t paint phony pictures. We don’t make a game exciting. I try to transmit the excitement, but when they’re bad, I’ll say they’re bad. I think people appreciate that. They can identify with us. They feel comfortable with us.”
Reese’s voice — the one that every Eagles fan has tried to imitate — somehow sounds the same year after year.
He said he isn’t a smoker or drinker. He doesn’t scream and tries not to talk on the phone the day before a game. He builds his vocabulary by reading everything from the newspaper to mystery novels. But the secret to Reese’s longevity may be his wife.
“My wife is my partner and basically in everything we do,” said Reese, who married Cindy in June 1979. “Cindy has always helped me prepare. Cindy is my confidant and my friend. We golf together. We do a lot of things together and Cindy is also very accomplished in her own right. She’s a great writer, an environmentalist. She has so many interests. We have a wonderful life together with two great kids and two wonderful grandchildren.”
Cindy listens to each game and gives her husband feedback when he’s off the air. She understands football but isn’t a crazed fanatic.
Cindy Reese holds a note card with the names of Bengals players she uses to quiz her husband in preparation for a game. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“I’m an Eagles fan, but I’m really a Merrill fan,” Cindy said.
The couple raised two children — Nolan and Ida — but Reese’s broadcasting gig took him away to training camp every summer, practices during the week, and games on the weekend. There were radio shows, appearances, and hours of preparation. The job is more than just four hours on a Sunday afternoon.
So it was often up to Cindy to make sure everything was in line at home.
“It’s been teamwork. We had to be a team because of the nature of raising a family under those circumstances,” Cindy said. “The thing that makes our relationship different from a woman married to a football player is that there’s a time limitation. There might be four years or six years or whatever that their husband is involved in. With coaches, and people like Merrill, there’s no time frame. It just went on. Here we are. Fifty years.”
The broadcaster used to study the opposing rosters on his own before his wife stepped in. Cindy, who now mentors student teachers at Gwynedd Mercy University, turns their living room into a classroom. They’ve been doing it like this since Reese got the Eagles gig.
Her husband has to be quick during games as an assistant in the booth points to a number after a play to indicate who tipped a pass or forced a fumble. No. 31? No. 97? No. 56? Cindy says the numbers as rapidly as a football shoots from a JUGS machine. The former sixth-grade science teacher makes sure her husband knows them all.
“He’s amazing,” Cindy said. “He can memorize all these numbers. I’ll do the cards with him and when I leave the room, I don’t know the numbers. But he does. I don’t have that kind of memory. He has an amazing memory.”
Merrill Reese “says he wants to do it forever and as long as he’s able and happy with it then it’s great,” said his wife Cindy.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Reese has called Eagles games from Jaws to Jalen Hurts but still wakes up nervous every Sunday. It’s because he cares so much, he said.
So Cindy always does her best to make sure the house is calm in the hours before her husband leaves. He’s too uneasy before kickoff to eat at the stadium so she makes him a stack of apple cinnamon pancakes every Sunday morning to hold him over. First, she sharpens his memory. Then, she fills his stomach. They’ve done it for 50 years and hope to do it forever.
“The station has changed many times, the ownership has changed many times, the coaches have changed many times, but Merrill is the constant,” Cindy said. “He just loves the seat and being involved. He says he wants to do it forever and as long as he’s able and happy with it then it’s great.”
Nick Foles has a tendency to shine in the spotlight.
He did it in 2018, when he led the Eagles to an unlikely Super Bowl victory against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. And it did it again Thursday night during his debut as an NFL analyst for Netflix.
The Birds legend was loose and informative during a pre- and postgame show sandwiching the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-7 blowout of the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
With Foles, Elle Duncan, Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, and former Green Bay Packers defender Clay Matthews III, Netflix shed the blatant self-promotion that dominated its early sports broadcasting attempts and put the focus on the game and its setting.
That being said, it’s still a pregame show with lots of time to kill. Foles seemed comfortable mixing it up with his new colleagues. He took the opportunity to troll Irvin a bit about the declining popularity of the Dallas Cowboys.
Putting his hand on Irvin’s shoulder, Foles praised “America’s team — the Philadelphia Eagles.”
To his credit, Irvin didn’t trash the Eagles. Instead, he devoted some time to defending Jalen Hurts, who has been a frequent target of critics (including on Philly sports talk radio) despite leading the Birds to two Super Bowl appearances and a championship during his five-year tenure as the team’s starting quarterback.
“You wrap his accomplishments around Trevor Lawrence, they’d be the happiest team in the world,” Irvin said. “For some reason, in the City of Brotherly Love, that brother gets no love.”
While he didn’t bring a dog mask to Australia, Foles was the only member of the crew to correctly predict the 49ers would win, noting he “loves an underdog.” He also let his hair down a bit and downed an unspecified beverage poured into a boot, an Australian custom known as a “shoey.”
“Who’s shoe was that?” Foles asked. “I tasted a little foot right there.”
Netflix’s entire broadcast, which NBC helped produce, was solid. Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly impressed critics during his debut in the booth alongside Noah Eagle. The footage was crisp and clean thanks to Netflix’s 4K ultra HD stream (for those on the premium tier). Even the scorebug drew praise.
About the only misstep was a Netflix-branded kangaroo hoodie the streamer had Foles, his colleagues, and even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wear. The less written about that, the better.
But the best moment of Foles’ trek to Australia wasn’t on Netflix; it was on SEN 1116, a sports talk station based in Victoria. Prior to the game, Foles sat with announcer Gerard Whateley and watched his call of the “Philly Special” during Super Bowl LII.
“When we ran that play, we had no idea what it would represent,” Foles said. “It was aggressive, … we weren’t fearful, and that’s what radiated through our team throughout that 2017-18 season.”
🗣️ “When we ran that play, we had no idea what it would represent.”
