Eagles news: Brandon Graham injury updates; Birds snubbed by Trump, Sixers; Carson Wentz on facing Philly

Before Sunday’s NFC championship game against the Washington Commanders, at least two separate groups of Eagles fans were roasting whole pigs in the parking lot of the Linc.

One of the fans was roasting his in what might be described as a ‘mobile grill,’ coaxing open flames from the belly of metal shopping cart. Unfortunately, we do not know who this man is. If you are this man, please send us an email because we have a number of questions.

Another of the fans roasting was Jeremy “Greenbeard” Smith, a trained chef who lives in Port Richmond and founded the spice company Greenbeard Spices. He and his tailgate partner, Eric Wayne, have been hosting lively tailgates for the past ten years. As his name suggests, Smith dyes his beard green, and has done so since 2017. (“Over the summer I didn’t dye it for almost two months, and I just looked weird,” he said.)

Call it superstitious: Mayor Cherelle L. Parker's administration has yet to say whether it has officially begun planning for a potential Super Bowl victory parade, according to statement from city spokesperson Joe Grace and the Office of Emergency Management.

"The City's focus is always on public safety, and that will now continue with public safety planning for Super Bowl weekend,” the statement said. “We will publicize those planning efforts as they become available.”

Revelers covered seemingly every inch of Broad Street after the Eagles roused the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship to secure a Super Bowl bid, climbing poles and scaling trash trucks despite a heavy police presence.

A Narberth woman drove a Mercedes SUV through a crowd of celebrating Eagles fans after the team’s NFC Championship victory Sunday night, injuring eight people in one of several dangerous incidents that came amid the revelry, police said.

Just after 9:30 p.m., police said, Rebekah DeShields, 26, hit several pedestrians at North Broad and Spring Garden Streets, as fans hailed the Eagles’ defeat of the Washington Commanders to clinch another Super Bowl berth. Eight people sustained injuries including bone fractures, police said.

DeSheilds, who was pulled over shortly afterward on Ridge Avenue, faces multiple counts of aggravated assault, assault by vehicle, and related crimes, said Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.

There was a chance last offseason that Nick Sirianni would be looking for a new job. A year later, he joined a pretty exclusive club.

Three coaches in NFL history have reached multiple Super Bowls in their first four seasons as a head coach: Joe Gibbs, Mike Tomlin, and Sirianni. Gibbs is already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Tomlin will be one day, and Sirianni’s legend is only in its early stages.

Sirianni is already proving to be a prolific winner. He became the fifth Super Bowl-era head coach to reach the playoffs in his first four seasons and owns the third-best winning percentage by a head coach in the Super Bowl era. The other two? Hall of Famers John Madden and George Allen.

Carson Wentz was 1,122 miles from the stadium where his NFL career began in 2016 and 1,512 days removed from making his last NFL start in an Eagles uniform.

He posed for pictures alongside Patrick Mahomes and his other Chiefs teammates inside the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room at Arrowhead Stadium just after 9:30 p.m. local time Sunday. This time of year, seven years ago, he was preparing to watch Nick Foles lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots while he was sidelined with a torn ACL in his left knee.

The years between Super Bowl appearances for Wentz have been anything but a clear path. From a sour ending in Philly in 2020 to one-year stints with the Indianapolis Colts in 2021 and Washington Commanders in 2022 to backing up Matthew Stafford last season with the Los Angeles Rams, Wentz’s career trajectory looks much different from the expectations set for him in his MVP-caliber 2017 season.

While Philadelphians were deep into their celebrations of the Eagles’ riveting NFC championship victory Sunday, President Donald Trump fired off a late evening Truth Social post congratulating the Kansas City Chiefs for their third-consecutive AFC championship win and even singing praises for the Buffalo Bills, who lost to the Chiefs, 32-29, for their efforts.

Acclaim for the Eagles' 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders was nowhere to be found.

“Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs. What a GREAT Team, Coach, Quarterback, and virtually everything else, including those fantastic FANS, that voted for me (MAGA!) in record numbers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Likewise, congratulations to the Buffalo Bills on a tremendous season. They will do a lot of winning long into the future!!!”

Has Inner Excellence inspired you, too? Or is there something you’ve always wanted to tell Jalen Hurts, maybe beyond the ears of your spouse?

Now is your chance to let members of the Eagles know. This week, Visit Philadelphia is placing rotary phones across the city for fans to leave voice messages for the team after last night’s NFC Championship victory. The “Bird Call” campaign will also feature a roving phone traveling through Center City with a video crew in search of fans.

The vintage phones will be available at the following locations on Monday and Tuesday of this week:

The Kansas City Chiefs have a slight advantage over the Eagles in their all-time history against each other. The Chiefs have won six of the 11 rare matchups.

That includes the lone time they met in the Super Bowl two years ago, the Chiefs hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after their 38-35 victory over the Eagles.

But the Eagles won the most recent matchup with the Chiefs, erasing a 10-point halftime deficit with two Jalen Hurts rushing touchdowns in a 21-17 road victory on Nov. 20, 2023, in Kansas City.

The Flyers, Phillies, and Union did their customary social media posts wishing the Eagles luck before Sunday's NFC championship game or congratulating them for winning.

It's a meaningless gesture, of course.

But missing from the friendly digital fist bumping as of 9 a.m. Monday is the Sixers, whose owner, of course, owns the team the Eagles beat to reach the Super Bowl.

If Nick Foles is in the building, you have to pay him respect. It’s an unwritten rule in Philadelphia. So, with the Eagles on the brink of another trip to the Super Bowl and with Foles in attendance, the conversation naturally turned to the Super Bowl LII MVP.

Bringing up some repressed memories for Tom Brady in the booth, Kevin Burkhardt asked, “Do you know who he played for?”

Brady didn’t hold back, once again stressing that he doesn’t hate the former Eagles quarterback.

One big question heading into the Super Bowl — will Brandon Graham be available to play?

The Eagles defender suffered a tricep injury in Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams that ended his season, but has hinted all season at a return during the playoffs if the Eagles made a deep run.

Graham is expected to come off injured reserve Monday in an attempt to make his return during the Super Bowl, a team source told Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes.

Bourbon Street, creamed white last week by a historic snowfall, is about to turn a decided shade of green.

With the Eagles headed to the 59th Super Bowl in the Big Easy, flocks of Birds fans are sure to follow — providing they have some energy left from raucous celebrations Sunday night after the 55-23 dismantling of the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship game in South Philly.

Within an hour of the game’s end, every inch of Broad Street near City Hall was taken over by revelatory fans, some of whom managed to climb poles despite an impressive police presence.

As Yogi Berra would say, "It’s like déjà vu all over again."

Following the Eagles' win over the Washington Commanders Sunday night, Birds quarterback Jalen Hurts lit up a celebratory cigar. The moment was captured by The Inquirer's Jeff McLane, where it swiftly went viral on social media.

“Lmao he looks like he’s in his 50’s,” wrote one fan. Another pointed out, "He’s also dressed like the best D-coordinator Texas 2A football has ever seen."

Now that the Eagles have defeated the Washington Commanders to earn a rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the first thing on the mind of many Birds fans is: How do I purchase Super Bowl tickets?

The short answer is it’s not going to be easy, or cheap.

The face value of tickets for the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 is around $1,000 for the nosebleed section. But other than a few lucky season ticket holders, most fans will pay thousands of dollars more for a seat at the NFL’s biggest game.