Eagles legend Eric Allen headed to Canton

Where are you watching the game on Sunday? Who are you watching with? What are you going to eat (and drink, maybe)? And what are you wearing? So many questions to answer between now and Sunday. Only you can answer them for yourself.

Until then, we have a football-heavy send to tide you over. Go Birds, say it back.

In the email today:

• 🥇 Eagles legend Eric Allen elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

• 🤮 ESPN's Chiefs slurping knows no bounds or decency

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

As the Super Bowl nears, Eagles fans are doubtlessly looking for any omen or sign from the greater forces that the Vince Lombardi Trophy will come back to Philadelphia after Sunday.

You could do a whole hell of a lot worse than this, friends.

Based on demographics, many of our readers weren’t born when Allen’s career ended in 2001 with, for him, a subpar season with the Oakland Raiders. Even at age 36, Allen played all 16 games and recorded 49 solo tackles. He didn’t have a bad season in him.

For those of us old enough to remember Allen’s best, words really don’t do him justice.

Allen played seven seasons in Philadelphia and made five Pro Bowls here. In those seven season, Allen missed one — ONE — game in 1989, and started every game he played. Allen’s 34 career interceptions are still tied for the most in team history.

Also, note that Allen wasn’t just a shutdown plugger. He did stuff, serious stuff.

We also note that Allen was a key piece of some of the most dominant defenses in Eagles history, including the bonkers 1991 defense that was ranked first against the pass and dragged the Eagles to a 10-6 record without Randall Cunningham.

And while we have never met the man, Allen is widely revered as a great teammate and a consummate professional.

So congratulations to Eric Allen on his enshrinement, probably overdue. If it’s a positive omen for this weekend, all the better.

The line in the Super Bowl has been Chiefs -1.5 for the better part of two weeks. Over the weekend, it’s as likely as not that “sharp money” will pour in on one side of the line and move it slightly.

But this line isn’t moving to three or four. These teams are both too good, and this line was set where it was because this is a spectacular matchup. Reasonable minds couldn’t possibly all lean one way on this game.

Then again, we don’t look to ESPN for “reasonable,” and as such we are never disappointed.

Four “experts” polled, and all four picked the Chiefs. No, wait, make that five, because Mike Greenberg picked the Chiefs earlier in the week.

Former New England Patriot and New York Jet Damien Woody made the cogent, albeit dull and pat case for the Chiefs.

Ugh. Enough already.

Plus, read that again. If the Eagles are the more talented team (they are), the consensus Chiefs pick stems from complete intangibles and borderline voodoo like “the Chiefs won’t lose the Super Bowl because they won the last two.”

The Chiefs aren’t playing the 2022 Eagles or Brock Effing Purdy and the 2023 San Francisco 49ers. Saquon Barkley was a Giant in 2022.

We don’t think the Super Bowl is rigged. The glazing? Total agreement. The On Pattison newsletter pick: Eagles 31, Chiefs 27.

It’ll be fun to watch almost all of ESPN’s NFL “experts” explain why their picks weren’t wrong, that the Birds got lucky, that Mahomes is still the best, etc.

Because you know that’s what they’ll do, right before picking the Chiefs to win Super Bowl 60.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On February 7, 1974, Bernie Parent became the first goaltender in Flyers’ history to reach 30 wins in a season with a 5-4 victory over the Penguins. Parent won 47 games that season and led the Flyers to their first Stanley Cup.

🔗 Links

• 🏆️ Josh Allen will be watching the Super Bowl with Hailee Steinfeld and the NFL MVP Trophy.

• 🙄 We’re linking to and not showing this picture of Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old girlfriend out of common decency.

• ⚖️ Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter will be sharpening his language skills behind bars.

• 🦅 Travis Kelce had to admit that neither his brother nor his sister-in-law will be on his side Sunday.

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

Friday, February 7, 2025

• Sixers at Pistons, 7:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Saturday, February 8, 2025

• Flyers vs. Penguins, 7:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Sunday, February 9, 2025

• Sixers at Bucks, 2:00 p.m. (ABC)

• Super Bowl 59: Eagles vs. Chiefs, 6:30 p.m. (FOX)

Thanks for reading. See you Monday. GO BIRDS.

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