Philadelphia Eagles

DeVonta Smith made history during Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.

The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver became the first player drafted from Alabama to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl with a 46-yard grab in the third quarter.

The score helped the Eagles build a 34-0 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl 57.

Smith hauled in four receptions for a team-high 69 yards through three quarters on Sunday.

It was an impressive game from the 26-year-old, who was limited in practice with a hamstring injury leading up to the game.

Jalen Hurts was also teammates with Smith on the Crimson Tide for two seasons, but the signal-caller finished his college career at Oklahoma before Philadelphia selected him with a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

In the following year, the Eagles drafted Smith with the No. 10 overall pick following a stellar senior season at Alabama. He became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy since 1991.

The Tide have consistently produced NFL talent, as they had the most players of any school on active rosters during Week 1 of the 2024 season (h/t SI.com's Christopher Walsh). It marked the eighth consecutive season that Alabama ranked No. 1.

Smith has remained a key piece of Philadelphia's passing offense throughout his NFL career, forming one of the league's top wide receiver duos alongside A.J. Brown.

While Smith only appeared in 13 regular-season games due to hamstring issues as well as a concussion, he still caught 68 passes for 833 yards to go along with a career-high eight touchdowns.

He wasn't tasked with a large role throughout Philadelphia's playoff run due to the team's imposing rushing attack, but he still operated as a reliable option when called upon. In three postseason starts prior to Sunday's contest, Smith caught all 12 of his targets for 121 yards.

The former Tide also had a historic performance against Kansas City in Super Bowl 59.

Saquon Barkley made history in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The Philadelphia Eagles star running back broke NFL legend Terrell Davis' record for the most rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs combined. Davis set the record in 1998 when he recorded 2,476 yards, but Barkley got to 2,478 yards in the first half of Sunday's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Barkley came into the game with 2,447 rushing yards and picked up 31 in the first half to get the record. The first-year Eagle had 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season and has been just as dominant in the postseason.

He had 119 yards in the wild-card round against the Green Bay Packers, 205 in the divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams and 118 in the NFC Championship win over the Washington Commanders, making his rushing-yard total through three postseason games 442.

Barkley, who is playing in his second postseason of his career, also scored five touchdowns in the games before the Super Bowl.

Barkley's regular-season rushing total was just 100 yards shy of matching the single-season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.

With the help of Barkley, the Eagles enjoyed a comfortable lead heading into the second half against the Chiefs. Philadelphia led Kansas City 24-0 thanks to a touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown, a score on the ground from Hurts and a pick-six from rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean.

Barkley, who joined the Eagles over the offseason after six years with the Giants, is now looking to cap off his career year with a championship.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown is continuing his sideline reading in the Super Bowl.

Brown was again seen reading Jim Murphy's "Inner Excellence" after catching a touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts in the second quarter of Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Murphy's book became a bestseller after Brown went viral for reading the self-improvement book on the sideline of the Eagles' Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers.

This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.

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Cooper DeJean is having a good birthday so far.

The Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerback made history against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday, intercepting quarterback Patrick Mahomes and taking it to the house to become the first player in NFL history to record a touchdown on their birthday.

DeJean, who turned 22 on Sunday, helped the Eagles pile onto their lead with the touchdown as it made it a 17-0 game late in the second quarter. It was the first interception and touchdown of DeJean's NFL career.

DeJean, a second-round pick out of Iowa, had an outstanding rookie year, recording 51 tackles, six passes defended and a forced fumble in the regular season. Coming into Sunday's game, he had recorded 15 tackles and three passes defended in the postseason.

While DeJean became the first player to record a birthday touchdown, his teammate is looking to accomplish the feat as well. Saquon Barkley, who has had a career year thus far, is celebrating his 28th birthday on Sunday. He can add to the outstanding season with a touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Barkley had a year to remember in his first season with Philadelphia. The former New York Giant finished the regular season with 2,005 rushing yards—just 100 away from matching the single-season rushing record—and 13 touchdowns. He can add to the tremendous season with a birthday touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Touchdown or not, it will be a birthday to remember for DeJean and Barkley if they can win their first Super Bowl.

A pair of legends in Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter texted Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts after his team beat the Washington Commanders 55-23 in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 26.

"You know who the first people to text me after the NFC championship game? The first two people that popped up? Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter," Hurts told Fox Sports' Erin Andrews in an interview that aired during the NFL on FOX Super Bowl LIX pregame show.

"And those guys have been very influential on my approach. How to manage the different things that come with the responsibility that a player like myself may have and going to work and going out there and getting it."

Those are two great legends to model oneself after.

Jordan, of course, can lay claim to being the greatest basketball player of all time. He's a six-time NBA champion, six-time NBA Finals MVP, five-time regular season MVP and 14-time NBA All-Star who also won the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Jeter is a five-time World Series champion who played his entire 20-year career with the New York Yankees. He received 396 of a possible 397 votes on the first ballot of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jeter was also a 14-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger and five-time Gold Glove winner.

Hurts has enjoyed a successful start to his career, starting at quarterback for the Eagles over the last four-plus years. He's a 2022 second-team All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler who's now led Philadelphia to a pair of NFC titles.

Now he's looking for his first-ever Super Bowl win. The Kansas City Chiefs stand in the way as they look for the first-ever Super Bowl three-peat, but Hurts could very well be up for the task to prevent that from happening.

Ahead of the Super Bowl matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sean McVay isn't tolerating any disrespect toward Nick Sirianni.

On Fox Sports' pregame show, the Los Angeles Rams head coach went to bat for Sirianni as he prepares for another Super Bowl appearance.

"I think he's the most disrespected coach in the league for a guy that's making his second Super Bowl appearance," McVay said. "He's made the playoffs all four years in his tenure. He's got an authentic energy that I think his players feed off of him. There's a toughness, there's a style of play that you see from these guys. It's why they're in this position to be able go win one tonight."

Sirianni has only been an NFL head coach for four seasons, but he already has a track record of success. He's led the Eagles to the playoffs every year since taking over in 2021 and is preparing for his second Super Bowl appearance on Sunday.

He took Philadelphia to the Super Bowl in 2022 but came up short against the Chiefs. He'll look to win his first championship in a revenge match. If he can join the club of active head coaches with a Super Bowl, the disrespect will likely end.

A victory in Sunday's Super Bowl would mean the first Lombardi Trophy of Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni's career.

It would also mean plenty of leverage in upcoming contract negotiations.

ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote about the situation with Sirianni on Saturday and noted he and the Eagles "will need to address" his contract status since he "will be in line for an extension" following Sunday's Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Schefter explained that Sirianni's contract runs through the 2025 season and pays him $7 million a year, which makes him one of the league's lowest-paid head coaches. The contract stands out even more leading into the upcoming offseason since "rookie head coaches have reset the coaching salary structure."

Sirianni's contract is paltry compared to the one the Chicago Bears gave Ben Johnson that will pay the first-time head coach $13 million per season.

"His future is going to be great," Eagles CO Jeffrey Lurie told reporters when discussing his team's head coach. "We never talk about contracts or whatever publicly in 30 years, so I'm not going to start now. But he's great."

It's hard to argue with the results.

Philadelphia hired Sirianni as its head coach ahead of the 2021 campaign, and he has already led the team to two Super Bowls and four playoff appearances in four years. The turnaround was also quick, as the Eagles went 4-11-1 the year before he arrived and 9-8 with a postseason appearance in his first season at the helm.

Overall, Sirianni is 48-20 in his role.

While there has been some criticism, especially after he yelled at his own team's fans earlier this season, almost every team in the NFL would love Sirianni's results the past four years.

And he has the opportunity to add the ultimate bargaining chip in negotiations with a win on Sunday.

The Philadelphia Eagles have activated defensive end Brandon Graham off injured reserve in advance of the team's Super Bowl LIX matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Graham tore his triceps in the Eagles' 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 24 and was placed on IR. He played 11 regular season games (starting one), posting 3.5 sacks, 20 tackles and seven quarterback hits.

On Jan. 30, Philadelphia announced Graham's practice window had been opened, leading to the possibility of him playing in his third Super Bowl.

The Eagles' final practice report leading up to Sunday featured Graham as a full participant. He is officially questionable for the contest, but all indications point to him being active.

The 36-year-old has played his entire 15-year career with the Eagles, amassing 76.5 sacks, 487 tackles and 153 quarterback hits. He's fulfilled his promise and then some after Philadelphia selected the ex-Michigan star with the 13th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft.

He's best known for a clutch strip-sack of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII just before the final two-minute warning en route to a 41-33 victory.

It's possible that Sunday will be Graham's final NFL game. He told reporters last July that he planned for 2024 to be his final season, though it remains to be seen if the triceps injury changes that calculus.

Either way, Graham will forever be a franchise legend, both for his incredible play and his perseverance.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has won the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year award for the first time.

Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press revealed the voting results. Barkley won 35 of 50 first-place votes to win the award with ease.

The award was announced during the annual NFL Honors event, which took place Thursday in New Orleans, home of this year's Super Bowl.

Barkley earned the honor over four fellow finalists: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Ravens running back Derrick Henry.

Barkley led the NFL in the following categories: rushing yards (2,005), rushing yards per game (125.3) and yards from scrimmage (2,283). He did all that despite sitting out the last game of the season due to rest after the Eagles locked in the NFC's No. 2 seed.

The former Penn State star ran for 5.8 yards per attempt and scored 15 total touchdowns en route to Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro honors.

The ex-New York Giant, who arrived in Philadelphia via free agency after six seasons with Big Blue, led the Eagles to a 14-3 record and the NFC East title.

Barkley was also one of five NFL MVP finalists and the only non-quarterback to earn that honor, so it's no surprise that he got the OPOY award here. It's a well-deserved accolade given his tremendous season.