By Larry Holder, Brooks Kubena and Zack Rosenblatt
NEW ORLEANS — Brandon Graham does his best to find comfort in these moments, surrounded by reporters, sitting in front of a mic, at Super Bowl Media Night in the Superdome.
There was once a time when Eagles fans hated him, a first-round pick who failed to perform early in his career, a bust. Now he’s in Year 15, an all-time Eagle, here for Super Bowl Week for the third time in his career. The first one was memorable for him — he clinched a win when he forced a Tom Brady fumble as the Eagles beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. His second visit was two years ago, when they fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now Graham is back again, possibly at the end of his career. He finds himself recording more videos on his phone so he doesn’t forget these moments, and so he can share with his kids when they’re older. It’s hard for Graham to imagine a world where his memories of New Orleans doesn’t include him actually playing in the game, even after his season had supposedly ended when he tore his triceps on Nov. 24.
So forgive him for the slip-up on Monday. Early in his availability, Graham was asked how he’s feeling less than a week after returning to practice.
“I’m feeling good,” he said, beaming. “I’m feeling real good. I’m excited, man, to be able to play in this game.”
A few reporters in the crowd did a double take.
One followed up: “Wait, you’re playing?”
Graham realized what he’d done — it’s not the first time this season, or in his career really, that he’s slipped up, honest to a fault, and backtracked. He meant the opportunity to play in this game. To be here, with his teammates.
“I’m excited just for this opportunity,” he said.
He added later: “I’m feeling good right now. Practice starts on Wednesday and then if we’re a go every day, then we’ll see. The first two days last week I practiced went really good. I just have to make sure I keep stacking the days.”
Graham wasn’t sure if he’d even have the opportunity to play again this season, which was supposed to be his last year — and still might be in the end. How about a Super Bowl send-off?
“When I got hurt, I was seeing (with Eagles trainers) if there was a possibility” of coming back this season, Graham said. “There was a possibility. So I worked really hard making sure I rehabbed and did everything I could and then when the opportunity came up, they knew I wanted to come back and I knew there was a chance that I could if we made it so I was making sure I was working. That opportunity came, and now they’re giving me a chance.”
Graham’s last game, when he suffered the injury — against the Rams, when he had three QB hits and a sack — was his best one of the season, as he continued his late-career transition into more of a rotational role. He might not play a lot against the Chiefs, but it sure sounds he like he will play.
“Being in my 15th year, it’s like man, wow,” Graham said. “I’m excited to be able to do that. It’s something that I won’t forget.”
‘Jake the Make’ on his down year
On Monday, Jake Elliott stood on the same field where his slump began. In Week 3, in the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints, Elliott lurched forward and struck a 60-yard attempt from atop the midfield fleur-de-lis.
The kick hung right. No good. Still, the Eagles held on for a 15-12 win. Elliott had missed an abnormally long kick. Surely, this was an anomaly, yes?
So began the strangest season in Elliott’s eight-year career in Philadelphia. Jake “the Make,” the surefire kicker that nailed all seven of his field goals in the 2017 postseason, the guy who drilled three field goals in a Super Bowl LII victory, the consistent leg who signed a four-year contract extension last offseason, was suddenly unreliable.
Such a phrase would’ve been blasphemous in 2023. The Eagles coaching staff still speaks of the slump as if it will soon end and erase any memory that it had never existed. Special teams coordinator Michael Clay has repeatedly said he isn’t worried about Elliott, that he doesn’t treat him like the sky is falling, and instead of chiding him or pressuring him or even signing another kicker for competition, instills confidence in a kicker who’s earned it.
Elliott, relaxed in his white jumpsuit, fielded question after question from reporter after reporter. He still rejects the premise that anything has been different this season, although he’d never missed more than three field goals of 50-plus yards in a given season, much less the seven he missed this season.
“I mean, to be quite honest, I’ve had a lot of tougher kicks this year,” Elliott said. “It’s a pretty black and white thing when you look at it on paper. So that’s how it shows up. But I feel good about where I am confidence-wise. I feel like I’m still striking the ball well. And it’s a one-game (at a time) season, and I’m trying to put my best foot forward this week.”
Nine Super Bowls have been decided by three points or fewer. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker forced overtime with a last-second kick a year ago, and won it against the Eagles with a 27-yarder in Super Bowl LVII. With the Chiefs only 1.5-point favorites in Super Bowl LIX, it’s possible Sunday’s game could be decided by an Elliott field goal attempt.
Elliott, who is 5-for-5 in two previous Super Bowls, acknowledged that his experience in the big game certainly helps him. It’s already a discipline of his to refresh his thinking with successes from the past.
“You like to put good moments in your mind,” Elliott said. “So every once in a while, I’ll go back and watch big kicks, kind of try to think, ‘Well, what was I feeling in that moment? How did I prepare for that moment?’ And every once in a while, I’ll press myself, having a vision forward to see what the future may look like, try to put myself in a big moment and make a big kick and try and talk that into existence.”
Behind Elliott, the clock on the scoreboard neared its expiration for the night’s session. Beneath the scoreboard, the goalpost loomed.
Kellen Moore and the Saints question
Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore knew he wouldn’t have too many conversations about the actual game on Monday. The barrage of questions instead surrounded his interest in the Saints’ head coaching vacancy.
Moore is fully aware he’s considered the top candidate for the Saints job, the lone NFL head-coaching job still open. He spoke about the process Monday night, but predictably didn’t go into many details as to whether or not he’ll become the next Saints coach.
When asked what kind of traits he feels like a head coach should possess, Moore said: “I think it’s a leadership role. You got to lead the group. You’ve got to be an expert in what you’re teaching and communicate.”
Moore said he’d still love to call offensive plays if he became a head coach and that it’s his passion.
“It’s something that has gotten me to this place and so certainly you’d hate to stop doing what you love and as you go through this journey,” Moore said.
Moore cracked a smile on several occasions throughout the series of Saints questions, especially when asked about his matchup against current Saints quarterback Derek Carr while Carr played for Fresno State and Moore lined up at quarterback for Boise State.
“Derek and I played against each other one year, my senior year, his sophomore year,” Moore said. “Yeah, we certainly have known Derek for a long time, tons of respect for him as a quarterback in this league. He’s had a tremendous career and a lot of really good things.”
Eagles WRs finding their moments to shine
The Eagles might not be playing in Super Bowl LIX if it weren’t for a particular fourth-down pass.
It was fourth-and-5 from the Washington Commanders’ 45 in the NFC Championship Game. The Eagles led 14-12 with just over two minutes before halftime. Jalen Hurts hit A.J. Brown along the sideline for a 31-yard gain, a drive that ended in a touchdown and a two-score lead the Eagles never let go.
To that point, Brown had only three catches for 24 yards in the playoffs. That’s the way it can go in Philadelphia’s 2024 offense, a system in which the Eagles ran the ball more per game than any Eagles team since 1978. Brown finished the regular season with 97 targets, 67 catches and 1,079 receiving yards — all lows for him in an Eagles uniform. Still, the Eagles expected Brown and DeVonta Smith to deliver in key moments, no matter how much discussion there is about passes coming their way less frequently than they used to.
“Those guys are wired to do that,” wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead said. “And you know, almost, you think of how many times over the years it’s been third-down-and-5 at the end of the game, or fourth-down-and-5 at the end of the game, and one of those two guys has made a huge play. And that kind of talks to their mentality that they have, and if the game’s on the line, that they know they have to make a play, they’re going to be in the mental space to do that.”
Moorehead, speaking for the first time since training camp, provided more insight into the amended roles of his top two receivers. The reason the Eagles throw less often is clear, and his name is Saquon Barkley. But when the pass attempts became less frequent, those opportunities carry more weight. Moorehead spoke about how important it was that the Eagles still maintain a rhythm for their receivers throughout a game so that they’ll be prepared when their time arrived. Moorehead said he makes it a point on the sideline to alert offensive coordinator Kellen Moore when too much time had passed since the last time Brown and Smith went without a target.
“And (Moore) will call something hopefully in the next drive to get them a touch,” Moorehead said. “So there’s a little give and take there, but when you’re winning it helps a lot too.”
How soon does Moorehead see results from Moore?
“Usually it happens pretty quickly because, you know, you don’t want guys stewing on the sideline because then they start getting anxious and when you get anxious you don’t play well,” Moorehead said. “It’s like, that’s our comfort zone, right? So, both guys have done a good job of not getting frustrated and actually being really positive and understanding that when our running game is going, we’re a really hard team to beat. So, they’ve done a good job of blocking and they’ve caused a lot of really big runs to be even bigger because of what they’ve done on the move over there. And I think they take pride in that.”
Extra Points
• Offensive lineman Landon Dickerson said he feels “good” after hurting his knee against the Commanders in the NFC Championship. Both Dickerson and center Cam Jurgens (back) are expected to play against the Chiefs.
• Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie addressed a report by the “Herald Sun” in Australia that said the Eagles and Rams would play each other in October 2026 in Melbourne. Lurie, who said “I think they talked about us playing in 2025,” said such a game would be “an impossibility because we’re at home and we’re not giving up a home game.” The Eagles are scheduled to play the Rams at home in both 2025 and 2026. It does not appear the organization is prepared to surrender a home game for an international game — as it did in the 2024 regular-season opener against the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo.
(Photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
