Welcome to Super Bowl week, Eagles fans!

Mondays. Ugh.

Garfield knows what we’re talking about.

Classic.

But this is no ordinary Monday, friends. It’s the Monday before Super Bowl LIX. Eagles and Chiefs, the rematch. Saquon Barkley and the boys against Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Taylor Swift.

Will the Birds go down in history as dynasty-killers? The team that defeated both Tom Brady’s Patriots and Mahomes’ Chiefs on the biggest stage? Or will they be remembered as the team that lost twice to bookend a Kansas City three-peat?

We’ll have answers by the time we face another Monday.

In the meantime, here’s Jon rocking the kelly green and getting a little nuts. One of us.

In the email today:

• 🦅 Birds news from the weekend

• 🧟 Zombie Sixers blow 26-point lead in loss to Celtics

• ✈️ Flyers shut out again after trading Farabee and Frost

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

Some Eagles odds and ends that you may have missed over the weekend:

The Saints can't say they've picked Kellen Moore, but it looks like they have.

NFL rules prohibit the Saints from naming Eagles offensive coordinator naming Kellen Moore their new head coach (or even speaking to Moore again before the Super Bowl). But NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported Friday that the other candidates in the Saints’ coaching search were basically told that Moore is the guy. From On Pattison’s own Tim Kelly:

Not ideal. But as long as Moore stays focused and doesn’t pull a Jonathan Gannon, fine. It’s the price a team pays for success in the NFL.

Can Brent Celek help the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX?

At Friday's Eagles practice, safeties Reed Blankenship and C.J. Gardner Johnson were seen conducting coverage drills against Brent Celek. The work against the ex-Eagles tight end is preparation for Chiefs TE Travis Kelce.

The lesser Kelce brother is always going to get his fair share of catches. But the Eagles need to find a way to contain him, something they struggled to do with Zach Ertz in the Commanders game. Ertz caught 11 passes for 104 yards.

Eagles surprise New Orleans terror attack survivor with Super Bowl tickets

Tiger Bech was among 15 people killed in the New Year's Eve terror attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Ryan Quigley, Bech's best friend and a Philly-area native, was among 57 injured in the same attack.

Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Eagles gifted two Super Bowl LIX tickets to Quigley. Nothing can bring Bech back, but the Eagles hope to help Quigley navigate the healing process with a return to New Orleans for the big game.

“All year, after every win . . . I told [Bech], 'If we win, I promise I'm gonna take you to the Super Bowl,'" says Quigley to Brandon Graham in a video posted to X by the Eagles. “So I'd love nothing more than to still take him.”

Pour one out for the Sixers money line bettors last night.

The Sixers were an 11-point underdog to the world champion Celtics on the Sixers’ home court. Neither Joel Embiid nor Paul George suited up for this game. Yet there were the Zombie Sixers, up 26 at home with 16 minutes left.

At least they covered.

The game had 1980’s WWF vibes. It was like watching a jobber beat the daylights out of Hulk Hogan or Randy Savage for five minutes only to have the superstar “rally’ and whale on the hapless bum for a minute before getting the 1-2-3 count.

It felt entirely inevitable.

Literally the saddest part of the whole spectacle was Sam Cassell comforting Tyrese Maxey after the game ended. Maxey had 34 points. He played a great game.

For that matter, the Sixers who ran along with Maxey last night played pretty well too. Guershon Yabusele had another “some team will overpay me next season” game with 21 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 18. The guys who played for the Sixers fought like hell.

In a separate story, the game checks for Joel Embiid and Paul George are reported to have cleared as of this writing.

Our last send described how the Flyers lost 8-0 aggregate to the Devils and Islanders late last week. Those two divisional losses put the Flyers even further adrift from a potential playoff spot.

The Flyers’ campaign to this point was remarkably persistent and determined given their obvious talent deficit against good teams. Over the weekend, the Flyers finally waved the white flag on the 2024-2025 season.

Our colleague Anthony SanFilippo laid out the details at length here.

The short version? The Flyers got out from under Farabee’s contract, avoided dealing with Frost’s restricted free agency this summer and picked up draft picks. You should not buy these jerseys, because the players the Flyers got back are not long for here.

We cannot prove intent, but this trade being announced right before the Flyers headed to Colorado and Utah was very convenient. Best to let this news steep while the club is on the road.

The transitional Flyers played one of the least visually compelling games of this era Sunday. You’d think a team shut out twice in a row would bleed through their eyeballs to at least score a goal. You’d think that, but you’d be wrong.

The thing about The Process for the Sixers was at least they scored points every game. Dozens and dozens. The Flyers made franchise history being blanked three times in a row.

If the Flyers are going to go hours without scoring, with two-plus months left in the season, you tell us why we need to keep watching.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On February 3, 1976, the Spectrum hosted the NBA All-Star Game. Philadelphia hosted the NBA, MLB, and NHL All-Star Games in ‘76 as part of the city’s starring role in the nation’s bicentennial celebration.

📊 Poll

Results from Friday:

🔗 Links

• 🐟️ The Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis trade is so fishy you’d think Vince McMahon was NBA commissioner.

• 🏈 Allegations against Ravens kicker Justin Tucker continue to add up.

• 🇯🇵 Shohei Ohtani might return to the Dodgers’ rotation this season.

• 🦉 Temple men’s basketball is 10-0 at home.

• 🦘 Jason Day went full Sunday golf round relaxation mode.

📺 Coming Up

No games for the locals tonight.

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

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