After a comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 2, the Eagles (2-0) travel to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears (1-1). As both teams prepare for a Week 3 matchup on Monday Night Football, here’s a look at updated game odds and some interesting prop bets from two of the biggest sportsbooks:
This time around, the Week 3 matchup was looking like the Birds’ toughest challenge to date — especially following the Bears’ 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. However, that changed in Week 2 after the Bears struggled in a 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and saw quarterback Caleb Williams get carted off with a hamstring injury.
Williams is not expected to play against the Eagles, forcing the Bears to rely on Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum under center. Meanwhile, the Eagles have escaped their first two games with a win.
Entering the week, the FanDuel and DraftKings sportsbooks have the Eagles as 4.5-point favorites.
As of Friday morning, with questions surrounding the Bears starting quarterback, both sportsbooks only listed the over/under odds for Hurts’ passing yards.
Over the last two weeks, Hurts has thrown for over 200 yards — 203 yards in Week 1 and 264 yards in Week 2. For Monday’s game, his over/under is set at 218 passing yards.
In the Bears’ last meeting with the Eagles, Kyle Monangai rushed for 130 yards, and D’Andre Swift rushed for 125. However, in their Week 2 loss to the Vikings, Monangai rushed for 47 yards, and Swift, a former Eagle and St. Joseph’s Prep product, rushed for 45.
Meanwhile, Tank Bigsby led the Birds in rushing with 33 rushing yards in the team’s Week 2 win over Tennessee. Barkley missed much of the Week 2 win after suffering a stinger, and his status for Monday is unclear.
Receiver DeVonta Smith led the team in receiving with 117 yards on 10 receptions vs. Tennessee. Dontayvion Wicks followed with 74 receiving yards on five receptions.
Swift led the Bears in receiving yards with 54 yards on five receptions last week.
Patel reportedly flew to Pearl Harbor and received a VIP snorkeling adventure near the sacred underwater tomb of the USS Arizona that contains the remains of more than 900 Navy sailors and Marines who died in the attack.
He and his girlfriend used the FBI’s Gulfstream V to fly to Philadelphia to watch a concert from a $35,000 luxury suite at Lincoln Financial Field.
Patel also used the $60 million jet to go hunting at an exclusive resort in Texas named the Boondoggle Ranch that is owned by a Republican donor.
An article in the Atlantic claimed Patel drank excessively, and that hisunexplained absences and carousing put national security at risk. Patel denied the report and sued the magazine for defamation. Drinks aside, Patel is abusing his office.
Patel’s air travel should not be confused with that of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who spent $300 million in taxpayers’ money for a fleet of planes, including two Gulfstreams and a luxury Boeing 737 Max 8 jet that included a private cabin with a queen bed, full kitchen, bar, seating area, and four flat-screen TVs — supposedly for deportation missions.
Noem’s office wasted $220 million on a taxpayer-funded ad campaign that depicted her on a horse near Mount Rushmore. A no-bid contract divvied up the funds between a company created eight days before they were awarded and another company that played a role in Noem’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign.
Noem is gone, but taxpayers are stuck with her bill.
Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid allegations of using her office for personal gain, including personal travel and allegations of drinking on the job and an alleged affair with a member of her security detail.
One staffer accused Chavez-DeRemer of ginning up “official trips” funded by taxpayers in order to see friends and family. Her husband was banned from the Labor Department headquarters after at least two staffers said he sexually assaulted them. Another brief tenure of taxpayer waste and debauchery that contributed scant value to the country.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has used his office to dangle policy favors in return for investments and deals that benefit his family, according to a report in the New York Times.
Lutnick’s sons oversee a network of companies, including their father’s Wall Street investment firm, that are involved in a wide range of businesses, among them data centers and cryptocurrency, which overlap with the Commerce Department’s efforts to attract new entrepreneurs.
U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D., Pa.) accused Lutnick’s investment firm of profiting off the failure of Trump’s tariff policy, which the U.S. Supreme Court found was unconstitutional.
“Your sons figured out how to profit from the high tariffs by buying up refund rights, pennies on the dollar, just as you were out there cheerleading the tariffs,” Dean said at a hearing in April. “As a result, federal taxpayers like my constituents may now owe your family tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Lutnick denied the charge, though his firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, now run by his sons, reportedly posted record revenue last year.
Despite running on a message of reducing prices and helping the working class, Trump’s administration includes 12 billionaires and is the wealthiest ever, if not the most out of touch.
Other Trump administration officials have also found ways to cash in. Several have profited from well-timed investments in the stock market.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares in Trump Media the same day the president announced new tariffs that caused the price to drop. While her tenure was a train wreck, Bondi’s successorhas already demonstrated he will be even worse.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense attorney who replaced Bondi at the Justice Department, owned cryptocurrency investments valued between $159,000 and $485,000 at the same time he shut down investigations into crypto companies, dealers, and exchanges launched during the Biden administration.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy filmed a reality TV show bankrolled by firms he regulates, and sold stock in nearly three dozen companies two days before Trump announced a number of “reciprocal” tariffs.
In all, more than a dozen Trump administration officials sold stocks before the president implemented tariffs that caused stock prices to plummet, ProPublica reported.
The White House routinely defends the actions of Trump’s inner circle, stating recently, “President Trump has assembled the most talented Cabinet in American history who work every day to implement his common sense, America First agenda.”
But Trump’s broker may be one of the busiest traders around. Trump disclosed making 3,500 stock trades valued at hundreds of millions of dollars in just the first quarter of this year, but said his accounts are independently managed. However, the amount of trading raised eyebrows among ethics experts.
“We’ve never seen a president trading actively in the stock market before,” said Richard Painter, the ethics counsel under former President George W. Bush.
Democratic lawmakers called for an investigation into whether Trump or others around him have engaged in insider trading. But nothing will change as long as Trump and the Republicans control all the levers of government.
As millions of Americans struggle with rising gas, food, rent, and healthcare costs, Trump and his cronies have turned public service into a private jackpot.
The emergency order allows states, for now, to use the Department of Homeland Security program, called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, in their efforts to verify the eligibility of voters on their rolls. But because existing law blocks most states from systematically purging voters from their rolls within 90 days of an election, the immediate impact on the upcoming midterms is likely limited.
States’ use of the SAVE program is voluntary.
The court’s order puts on hold a federal judge’s June ruling that had deemed the Republican administration’s recently revamped version of SAVE illegal. U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan had blocked the use of the tool, saying it violated Americans’ privacy rights and could result in voters being wrongly removed from the rolls.
A federal appeals court declined to pause Sooknanan’s ruling, prompting the administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court.
The SAVE program was created under an immigration law mandating that DHS help federal, state and local agencies prevent government benefits from going to noncitizens. The Trump administration last year moved to significantly expand its search abilities. Since then, at least 67 million registrations have been scanned through the program, but critics worry it could end up purging valid voters from the rolls.
Some registrants have already been wrongly flagged. In Travis County, Texas, for example, officials said they investigated 97 voters flagged by SAVE as apparent noncitizens and found that at least 10% of them — and likely up to 21% — were U.S. citizens. The county urged the Supreme Court to reject the administration’s appeal, while the state of Texas submitted its own brief defending the database.
Even though the use of the SAVE program has been blocked for months, the administration said in court filings that DHS officials have continued using Social Security Administration data “in certain cases to verify information and help determine whether illegal voting may have occurred.”
DHS in August launched its own investigation to find noncitizen voters on state rolls, according to a federal whistleblower statement that said the effort is rushed, filled with errors and potentially violates state laws. DHS has defended that investigation as being conducted “diligently and professionally.”
The effort to create a national voter list is among numerous steps Trump has taken during his second term to try to overhaul the way elections are run. Most of those steps have been blocked by various courts, in part because the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, but provides no such power to the president. In mid-September, the Supreme Court rejected a bid from Trump to restrict mail ballot procedures before the midterms.
Research shows that noncitizen voting, which is already illegal and punishable as a potential felony that could lead to deportation, is exceptionally rare. But Trump has remained fixated on the idea that massive numbers of noncitizens are voting in U.S. races.
Jenkintown School District will hold homecoming festivities around a coed varsity soccer team game next week after ending the football season early over low participation.
School leaders announced a new homecoming schedule on Friday, days after the football season cancellation.
The homecoming soccer game will start at 11 a.m. on Oct. 3 at the Jenkintown stadium, and homecoming court celebrations will be at halftime. Snack shack proceeds will benefit the senior class.
This coming week will be spirit week for Jenkintown’s upper grades, principal Tom Roller wrote in the announcement to families, ending in a pep rally on Friday.
The teams postponed the match originally planned for Tuesday, according to the charter school’s soccer schedule.
“We appreciate [MaST] Community Charter agreeing to change our game with them so that we could play a Homecoming match,” Roller wrote. “We hope that our community comes out to support our Homecoming court and our Varsity Soccer squad.”
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“I had a tape recorder I would sing into,” said the South Jersey jazz vocalist.
“I was one of those kids holding a brush in the mirror, singing Billy Joel songs. I was that kid.”
But it was a roundabout route to the stage for Farnese, whose debut album, Oh No, I’m in Love Again, was just released on Philly jazz pianist Orrin Evans’ Imani Records.
First, he followed his father, Aldo Farnese — the star of Philadelphia children’s television shows Dickory Doc and Adam Android in the 1960s and 1970s — in pursuing an acting career. After a stint in Hollywood working in production and scoring some small movie and TV roles, he came home to Philly in the mid-1990s.
Since then, Farnese has had a day job — actually, usually a night job — as a TV camera operator for the Phillies, first at Veterans Stadium and, since 2004, at Citizens Bank Park. He operates a super slo-mo camera from the left field power alley in front of Ghost Energy Deck (formerly Harry the K’s).
By 2012, Farnese was long settled into that job, and also working Sixers and Flyers games for NBC Sports Philadelphia. In 2012, he won an Emmy for his work on the World Series.
But then he felt — as he puts it speaking via Zoom from his home in Woolwich Township, Gloucester County, while his golden retrievers Bailey and Oliver lounge on a sofa behind him — “a tap on the shoulder.”
The cover image to Greg Farnese’s album “Oh No, I’m in Love Again.”Courtesy of Imani Records
“When I was a kid, my father would sing throughout the house. We would say ‘Dad, you’ve got a great voice, you should be a singer,’” Farnese said. “And he would go, ‘Meh,’ and kind of blow us off.”
Then one day, he said, “I was singing while putting my son’s air hockey table together.” His wife, Laurie, said “Greg, you’ve got a beautiful voice. You should sing.”
“I started to go ‘Meh …’ — and then I stopped myself. Because I remembered that as a child, I thought my father was wasting his talent.
“So I said: ‘Get me a karaoke machine for Christmas, and I’ll start working on my voice.’ And that’s what I did.”
Farnese, who will perform at Tim McCloone’s Supper Club in Asbury Park on Oct. 4 and the Exit 0 Jazz Festival in Cape May on Oct. 23, is a poised vocalist and skilled song interpreter. Oh No! I’m in Love Again features two originals, including the title cut, both written with Alan Gardner, a former collaborator with Farnese’s father.
Greg Farnese, a television cameraman and musician, is photographed Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2026, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where he works as a camera operator in left field. Farnese, a crooner, recently released his debut album, “Oh No, I’m in Love Again,” on Grammy-nominated Philadelphia pianist Orrin Evans’ Imani Records. Farnese also works as a Phillies television cameraman for NBC Sports Philadelphia, stationed nightly in the left-field power alley.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
‘The magician canceled, can you come down and sing a song?’
The album, whose polish belies that it was recorded in a single day at MorningStar Studios in Montgomery County, features Philly jazz players like drummer Leon Jordan Sr. and horn arrangements by trumpeter Elliot Bild.
Along with a delicate version of Johnny Mercer’s “Dream” accompanied by guitarist Paul Bollenbock, the album includes Green Day, Oasis, and Tears for Fears songs, all artfully rearranged to make familiar sound fresh.
It’s been a long road of confidence building for Farnese to work with a musician as accomplished as Evans, a three-time Grammy nominee who this spring was named artistic director of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. (He’ll split his time between Seattle and Philly.)
Speaking between innings during a recent Phillies-Astros game — an 11-7 win, thanks to a Kyle Schwarber grand slam — Farnese calls Evans “so smart and honest, and a great pianist. It’s like having Quincy Jones in my corner.”
Greg Farnese (center) performs at the World Stage in University City on Sept. 18, 2026. Farnese just released his debut album, “Oh No, I’m in Love Again.”Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“I started out singing in pizza parlors,” said Farnese, 62. “My wife is a psychologist and she used to work at nursing facilities. She called me one day and said, ‘The magician canceled, can you come down and sing a song?’
“I told her no, I’m not ready yet. She said, ‘Get the hell down here, just do it!’ I was afraid, and I was so self-conscious about being good.”
But as Farnese sang the 1940s standard “Moonlight in Vermont” to an elderly audience in Egg Harbor Township, he had a revelation.
“The two ladies in the front started crying. I was bringing them back to when they were young. That moment I realized that it wasn’t really about me. It was about the effect the music had on the audience. I saw them crying and I thought: This is what I want to do.”
Since then, Farnese has surrounded himself with first-class musicians and sung in area jazz clubs and private events, while also traveling for gigs in New York and Chicago.
Working with the Phillies suits his ambitions. Knowing his schedule months in advance, he books shows when the team is on the road.
“We’ve brought him on a couple of times to sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’” said Phillies TV play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy. “I love his energy. He just brings so much professionalism and creativity and knows how to get the crowd involved. He’s an entertainer.”
Farnese put an exclamation point on one of the Phillies most memorable wins this year.
‘What would Ray Charles do with a Green Day song?’
Evans wasn’t all that familiar with Farnese’s music before he decided to produce Oh No, I’m in Love Again and put it out on his label, home to artists like Philly keyboard player Luke Carlos O’Reilly and Los Angeles drummer Tina Raymond.
Choosing who to work with isn’t about “it has to be the best vocalist, or the best saxophonist. It’s if somebody asks me to help them, and I believe in them as a human being.”
Though he “wasn’t super-duper familiar with Greg’s singing,” Evans said, “I knew some of the people he was playing with. So I know this person doesn’t play with slouches, so he can’t be a slouch.”
The key to success in recording, Evans says, was trust.
“I just like working with people I like. And I know that if we can vibe off the bandstand, there’s no way we’re not going to vibe on the bandstand.
“One of the best things I can say about Greg is his desire and ability to learn. He has an inquisitive spirit. He’s not done evolving. I really love this record, and I’m excited for the next one because of him.”
“I love jazz and swing music,” Farnese said. “You know, Bennett, Bublé, Sinatra. That’s my wheelhouse. But growing up I was exposed to all these different styles. Everything from Simon and Garfunkel and the Beatles to Curtis Mayfield and Puccini.
“So I’m creating a vocal style that combines songs I really love in jazz arrangements. What would Ray Charles do with a Green Day song? What would Duke Ellington do with a Blood, Sweat & Tears song? I want to be my own artist that creates my own music in my own style.”
“I have a great job at NBC Sports Philadelphia. But when I got that tap on the shoulder, that was God saying. ‘This is not what you’re supposed to be doing.’ And being a middle-aged man, this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. Now’s the time.”
Greg Farnese will perform Oct. 4 at Tim McCloone’s Supper Club, 1200 Ocean Ave N, Asbury Park, timmcloonessupperclub.com and Oct. 23 at the Exit 0 Jazz Festival, Cape May, exitzerojazzfestival.com.
Delta Air Lines is cutting a route out of Philadelphia International Airport just months after launching it.
The daily flight between Philadelphia and Seattle, which began operating in May, will stop flying at the end of November and will not be offered again in 2027.
The airline made the decision “based on customer demand,” a Delta spokesperson said via email this week.
American Airlines and Alaska Airlines also offer nonstop flights between PHL and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Delta last year carried nearly 1.9 million passengers through PHL, the airport’s third-largest airline by passenger volume.
American Airlines, the largest, carried over 20 million passengers through the airport that year — roughly 70% of total passengers.
While Delta is terminating service between PHL and Seattle, the airline plans to launch a new daily route between Philadelphia and Los Angeles in June. The airline already offers flights connecting Philadelphia to Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City.
The airline recently modernized its PHL lounge with new furniture, carpets, and updated restrooms, as well as a larger buffet area. It’s one of many traveler lounges at the airport.
Delta has over 700 employees based in Pennsylvania, many of which are based out of Philadelphia.
The Flyers won their first game of the preseason, 2-0, against the Boston Bruins on Thursday, their first home game and the first game featuring most of their projected NHL lineup.
Audible excitement filled the air among the sparse crowd as Michkov appeared to think about going for a “Michigan” lacrosse-style goal from behind the net early in the first period. He backed off, and instead helped generate the Flyers’ first sustained offensive possession, ending his shift with a rebound goal.
It was just the first of many positive shifts from Michkov in his first game of the preseason.
“[Michkov], I thought, obviously, he was skating really well, and felt it with the puck still, which was really nice to see,” head coach Rick Tocchet said.
Michkov has mostly been practicing with Noah Cates and Owen Tippett, but his line with Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak was the Flyers’ best line Thursday. The Russian winger was noticeably quicker on his feet and was active as a passer. After fielding questions and concerns about his fitness heading into last year’s camp, Michkov made a strong start to his third NHL season despite facing the Bruins’ “B-team.”
The other massive question facing the Flyers is the state of the power play. After spending significant time in practice the past few days tinkering with their top two units, the Flyers finally got to try at least one of them in an actual game. The results?
“Needs to be better,” Michkov said.
There were definitely things to like, especially from the top unit featuring Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, Tyson Foerster, Porter Martone, and Michkov. On their first opportunity, they cycled and got two good looks on net, with some creative motion and passing.
“We had a couple good entries,” Martone said. “Pucks are bouncing, but we’ve got a lot of skill on that unit. I think if we put it together, it can work really well.”
Tocchet characterized the power play as “not bad” for the first game. He said the Flyers are going to run with the top unit for a bit, and give the players time to get used to each other. There were already encouraging signs.
“[Michkov], I love that he took it to the net,” Tocchet said. “I know he didn’t score. I don’t care. He took it to the net. … A lot of the best power plays, you’ve got to go low with it.”
The second unit saw more mixed results, to be expected since the absence of players like Owen Tippett, Alex Bump, Noah Cates, and David Jiříček from the lineup meant the group was significantly different from the one that practiced together in camp.
‘The kids are all right’
The absences of those key regulars opened the door for prospect Cole Knuble to get some power-play time. Tocchet said Knuble, one of the few prospects in an NHL-heavy lineup, stacked another good game onto his impressive camp, and is “pushing” for an opportunity. With Denver Barkey injured and questionable for opening night, he might just get one.
Knuble, 22, scored a greasy rebound from in front in the third period after starting the rush with a pass to Jett Luchanko, and he nearly added an empty-netter. His line with Luchanko and Jacob Gaucher carried an expected goals share of 84.77%, according to Natural Stat Trick, and was the Flyers’ best line by that metric.
Cole Knuble, 22, is making a strong push to make the opening-night NHL roster.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“My game hasn’t changed game to game or day to day, even,” Knuble said. “That’s important to me, and to always bring that compete and energy and play with pace.”
Luchanko, the Flyers’ 2024 first-round pick, also played a strong game, picking up an assist on Knuble’s goal and making smart plays with the puck using his speed. Based on the numbers, he and Knuble are unlikely to make the NHL roster, but they flashed some great chemistry that the Flyers will likely explorer further in Lehigh Valley.
On a Woll
Joseph Woll, playing his first full game of the preseason, earned a 28-save shutout in his home debut. Dan Vladař’s injury status remains “day-to-day,” so Woll could get a bit of run to start the season.
“He looks big in net,” Tocchet said of his new 6-foot-3, 213-pound netminder. “He made some really good saves, really solid.”
Flyers goalie Joseph Woll stopped 28 shots to earn a shutout in his first appearance in front of the home fans in Philly.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
The Flyers play their final game of the preseason Saturday at home against Washington and will ice another lineup primarily made up of NHL regulars. This will represent their final opportunity to test things before they finalize their roster by Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline and open up the season Wednesday vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV/HBO Max).
It’s very possible that by the time you read this, the Phillies are either officially a part of the MLB postseason or still scratching and clawing for a chance at a Red October. Either way, our team of photographers captured their chase in addition to a slew of other dazzling sports moments from the week in our latest edition of The Big Picture. Enjoy.
Phillies infielders Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Luis Arráez, and Trea Turner greet each other after the Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4, on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerBrewers third baseman David Hamilton beats the tag by Phillies second baseman Luis Arráez for a stolen base in the sixth inning Tuesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies pitcher Aaron Nola watches a home run hit by Brewers second baseman Brice Turang in the first inning on Wednesday. The Phillies lost, 4-1.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies reliever Tanner Banks is greeted in the dugout after pitching a scoreless eighth inning on Wednesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerSixers star Tyrese Maxey sits on the front step of his barbershop, Faheem’s Hands of Precision, while promoting his new signature sneakers, New Balance Maxey v1s on Wednesday.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerEagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith goes up for a catch over Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker on Sunday in Nashville. Smith finished with 10 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in the 24-20 Eagles win.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles wide receiver Darius Cooper runs past Titans linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. on Sunday. Cooper had the game-winning touchdown catch in teh game’s final seconds.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles cornerback Cooper DeJean and linebacker Arnold Ebiketie bring down Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard on Sunday. Pollard was the Titans’ leading rusher with 64 yards on 14 carries. DeJean had five tackles and Ebiketie added two.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts looks to throw on Sunday against the Titans. Hurts finished with 264 yards on 26-of-37 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles wide receiver Darius Cooper hauls in the game-winning touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter on Sunday. The Eagles improved to 2-0 with the win.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles wide receiver Darius Cooper made the game-winning catch with nine seconds left.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerEagles center Cam Jurgens lifts up wide receiver Darius Cooper after Cooper’s game-winning grab. It was the first career touchdown catch for Cooper, who went undrafted out of Tarleton State.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerEagles running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrate one of Hurts’ two touchdown passses against the Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles running back Saquon Barkley signs autographs for fans before the team’s Week 2 game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Nashville.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerA large topiary depicting the Phillie Phanatic sits at the entrance of Sprouts Farmers Market on Wednesday in South Philadelphia.Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerFlyers forward Andrew Perrott (right), defended by Carson Bjarnason, shoots wide during training camp on Sept. 18 at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
A Monday night trip to the Windy City sure looked daunting about a week ago.
The Chicago Bears opened the eyes of NFL observers with a 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, with coach Ben Johnson’s desire to produce the highest-scoring team ever looking like a realistic wish. Then came Week 2, when the Bears struggled in a 9-3 loss to Carson Wentz and the Minnesota Vikings, with the indelible image of quarterback Caleb Williams being carted off with a hamstring injury changing the framing of Monday night’s Eagles-Bears matchup substantially.
This is the same Bears team that ran all over the Eagles at the Linc last year on Black Friday, but are they going to beat the Birds with either Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum playing QB? That’s the question The Inquirer’s Eagles writers considered for their weekly predictions:
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) waves as he is carted off the field after an injury during the second half against the Vikings last week. Nam Y. Huh
Jeff Neiburg
“The guys with cannons, the way they throw …
ABC’s got the most explosive show.”
I don’t think Hank Williams Jr. was thinking about Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum when he wrote the old Monday Night Football theme song. Alas, that’s whom Bears coach Ben Johnson seems likely to turn to if Caleb Williams misses Monday’s game with his hamstring injury.
Bagent, Williams’ backup, is in the concussion protocol, making Keenum the most likely starter at this point. Yes, that Keenum, the one who is 38 years old and hasn’t started a game since 2023. Yes, that Keenum whom the Eagles romped in the NFC title game in January of 2018.
It’s hard to pick against the Eagles given the circumstances. Sure, the Bears have an elite ground game that bullied the Eagles for 281 yards last season and already leads the NFL in yards per game so far this season. The Eagles missed 12 tackles last week and have been a bit leaky against the run through two games.
Video: unCovering the Birds: A version of Jalen Hurts ‘we’ve never seen’
But it’s hard to imagine Vic Fangio not breaking from his typical light box strategy by adding bodies there to take away the run and dare whichever quarterback starts to beat the Eagles with his arm.
The Eagles do have plenty to clean up. They need to block better for their own running game to be more effective. They need to solve their early-down issues and stop putting themselves in unfavorable third downs. They need to tackle better. They need to get after the quarterback more often.
Saquon Barkley’s health is a factor worth monitoring, as is the game status of Jonathan Greenard. But it’s a quarterback league, and I can’t see this version of Jalen Hurts — the guy who took over when it mattered in the first two games — losing a close game to Bagent or Keenum.
Prediction: Eagles 24, Bears 11
Could Jonathan Greenard be ready to make his Eagles debut on Monday?Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Ryan Novozinsky
The 2-0 Eagles are not a perfect team. That much is clear.
They squeaked by two lesser opponents in the Commanders and Titans and have posted some concerning stats — chief among them their weak run game production (Eagles running backs have averaged just 3.7 yards per carry).
It hasn’t all been bad, though. Their third-down conversion rate (53%) is superb and Hurts is clearly meshing with Sean Mannion’s offense. Couple that with their rock-solid defense and you have a winning formula.
Video: First look at Zach Ertz back in an Eagles practice uniform
The Bears shined in their 59-point effort in Week 1, but they’re trotting out Bagent or Keenum at quarterback with Williams injured. Chicago struggled against a tough Vikings defense even before Williams went down, with the QB going just 1-for-4 with an interception on throws of 10-plus air yards.
The Eagles defense should present similar challenges. While the Eagles don’t blitz nearly as much as the Vikings, their stout defensive front, which also needs a breakout game, will come to life to force Bagent/Keenum into making bad decisions. Chicago’s O-line is tough, but I’m not betting against a motivated Jalyx Hunt, Jalen Carter, or Greenard (if he plays).
Even if the Bears’ line does protect Bagent/Keenum, they’ll have to worry about a secondary that has allowed the fifth- fewest passing yards so far this season (347). I’m taking Quinyon Mitchell and Co. over a Bagent- or Keenum-led offense every time.
Prediction: Eagles 28, Bears 3
Olivia Reiner
When the schedule first came out, I circled this game as a loss.
Less than a year ago, the Bears handed the Eagles arguably their worst loss of the 2025 season. This season, the Bears were poised to return to NFC North contention with Williams entering his third year as the starter, his second under Johnson.
And perhaps they still are. But with Williams’ status uncertain for Monday night, their outlook against the Eagles worsens. Johnson has never started a backup quarterback in his NFL career, either as head coach or offensive coordinator, according to Next Gen Stats, making this a unique challenge for the 40-year-old play-caller.
Still, the Bears have a lot going for them offensively, especially in the run game. The Bears have a talented offensive line, which could include left tackle Ozzy Trapilo in his first game back from a patellar tendon injury he sustained in the playoffs. D’Andre Swift gashed the Eagles on the ground last season. But his running mate, Kyle Monangai, is dealing with a knee injury, putting his status in question.
The Eagles defense hasn’t been dominant against the run, as they rank in the bottom third of the league in expected points added per rush attempt. Were their first two performances against the run anomalies, or are they signs of a budding long-term concern?
Even if Keenum starts, the Bears might be able to move the ball , especially if they can get going on the ground. But Hurts is off to a strong start under Mannion, and so long as he can continue to build in the right direction, the Eagles should have a shot at going 3-0.
But the NBC Sports Philadelphia announcer and former Phillies first baseman won’t be joining them.
“Last game for John Kruk,” McCarthy said at the end of Thursday’s broadcast, with Kruk quickly interrupting to add, “Not ever!”
So why isn’t Kruk calling the final series of the season? He’ll be down in San Antonio, Texas, to watch his daughter’s volleyball tournament.
Replacing Kruk in the booth for the Phillies three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays will be Ben Davis. NBC Sports Philadelphia will broadcast two of the games — Friday night and Sunday afternoon — while Fox will broadcast the action Saturday night.
McCarthy will be on hand to call Friday’s game, which begins at 6:30 p.m. with Cristopher Sánchez (18-6, 2.93 ERA) scheduled to take the mound. But he’ll miss Sunday’s season finale because he’ll be calling the Week 3 NFL matchup between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts on CBS.
The timing is obviously not ideal, especially if the Phillies haven’t clinched a playoff spot heading into Sunday’s game. But the way the calendar worked, McCarthy actually missed fewer games this season than previous years.
“I don’t miss any games during the regular season, kind of by design,” McCarthy told The Inquirer last month. “Unless it’s my kid’s graduation. … I save it for football season.”
Former Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels will be back in the booth for Sunday’s season finale. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
That means Scott Franzke, in his 21st season as the Phillies radio voice, will make the jump to TV again to call Sunday’s game. He’ll be joined by Davis and former World Series MVP Cole Hamels, who is finishing up his second season calling Phillies games.
Gregg Murphy will call Sunday’s game on 94.1 WIP alongside Larry Andersen.
Friday might not be the last Phillies broadcast for McCarthy. While NBC Sports Philadelphia won’t be airing any playoff games, McCarthy will call one of the four wild-card series for NBC. That means there’s a chance he could finally call a Phillies playoff game on TV — if they hold on to a wild-card spot.
NBC will name its full roster of wild-card announcers Sunday.
Phillies playoff picture
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As Yogi Berra famously said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
The Phillies enter Friday needing two wins or a win and some help to clinch a wild-card spot.
Both the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres clinched the playoffs Friday, leaving the Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks to fight it out for the final wild-card spot.
The good news is the Phillies still control their own destiny. Here are the scenarios where they end up with a wild-card spot:
Two wins against the Rays
Two losses by the Diamondbacks against the Padres
A Phillies win AND a Diamondbacks loss
The bad news is the Diamondbacks hold the tiebreaker and are hot, having won five straight games and 12 of 20 games this month. Meanwhile, the Phillies have gone 9-12 in September, haven’t won a series since the beginning of the month, and might be without second baseman Luis Arráez this weekend after he sprained his left ankle Thursday.
“We know about the 10-game losing streak, which scares the living daylights out of me right now,” former Phillies pitcher Ricky Bottalico said during Thursday’s postgame show. “If they could do it once, they could certainly do it twice.”
Phillies news
Bryce Harper could be on the move during the season finale against the Rays. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
