After a short-lived Red October, Philadelphia fans turn their hopes from the Phillies to the Eagles.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Mesa
By: Ryan Wolff
With summer fading and Locust Walk growing colder, this year’s so-called Red October was brief. The Los Angeles Dodgers convincingly beat back the Philadelphia Phillies three games to one in the National League Division Series. Thanks to a Teoscar Hernández come-from-behind home run in Game 1, the Dodgers seized control of the series from the start and never looked back.
For the Phillies, it was a disappointing end to an otherwise promising season. In heartbreaking fashion, the Phillies’ season ended on a boneheaded error by pitcher Orion Kerkering in the bottom of the eleventh inning of Game 4 in LA. The young Kerkering committed a season-ending error—with two outs and the bases loaded, he threw a comeback ground ball over catcher J.T. Realmuto’s head, allowing the Dodgers to advance to the National League Championship Series.
Over the past few years, many Penn students—especially upperclassmen—have been fortunate to watch Philadelphia sports teams make deep playoff runs. The Phillies won the National League Pennant in 2022 (falling to the perennially-power Astros in the World Series), lost to the Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the 2023 NLCS, and were beaten by the Mets three games to one in last year’s NLDS.
This year’s disappointing finish may signal the beginning of the team’s decline. Star designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, who hit 56 home runs this season, is now a free agent—there may no longer be regular “Schwarbombs” in Citizens Bank Park. Team ace Zack Wheeler, 35 and dogged by venous thoracic outlet syndrome, may not pitch in typical all-star form next season. Furthermore, Wheeler has indicated that he plans to retire the season after next.
At the same time that the Phillies’ championship window may be closing, the Mets, generously bankrolled by 1978 Wharton graduate Steve Cohen, could rebound next year. Although the Mets missed the playoffs after an incredible summer collapse, they will retain core players such as Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. With Cohen’s billions, the Mets have deep pockets if they choose to retain first baseman Pete Alonso.
Still possessing stars Bryce Harper, Cristopher Sánchez, and Trea Turner, the Phillies indeed have a foundation consisting of talent, but first-place finishes in the NL East—as the team has accomplished the past two seasons—are in peril as demonstrated by this year’s relatively short Red October period.
While the Phillies season has ended, Week 9 of the NFL season is around the corner, and Lincoln Financial Field could not be more alive. The Eagles currently sport a 6-2 record, matched only in the NFC by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This pristine record notwithstanding, even passionate Eagles fans can admit that their team has not had the stable success of last year’s legendary, Super Bowl-winning season.
That year, the Eagles went 14-3 during the regular season and scored a total of 463 points while allowing only 303, good for seventh and second in the league, respectively. Through week 8 this year, the team has a more balanced 208 points scored to 185 allowed. This season’s statistics are good for ninth and eighteenth in the league, highlighting a weaker offense and defense relative to last year’s standards.
The team furthermore faces personnel issues regarding star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown did not play in last week’s win over the New York Giants and has averaged a career-low 56.4 yards per game, but it is his off-the-field actions that have made news.
About a week ago, the wide receiver posted a photo on Instagram captioned “Using me but not using me,” raising questions about the high-powered offense’s cohesiveness. Coming just weeks after he apologized for venting following a game during week 4, the post highlights lingering instability from one of the Eagles’ top offensive weapons, which fueled the (unlikely) possibility that the birds would trade their star wideout before the November 4th deadline. (They did not).
Indicating that the team is proceeding in the right direction is its two-game win streak, its lack of intra-divisional competition (no other NFC east teams have a winning record) and a momentum-building win last week over the New York Giants that showed a strong run game. Running back Saquon Barkley, currently in his sophomore season with the Eagles, took an initial step backward. He only averaged 53 rushing yards over his first seven games—a paltry total for a player who averaged 125 yards per game in the 2024-5 season.
Last season’s success will be hard to top—the Eagles have never won back-to-back Super Bowls. Yet Barkley’s 150-yard and a touchdown performance in his most recent game could spark the momentum the Eagles’ run-based offense needs.
Ryan Wolff is a Senior in the College studying Health and Societies and History from New York, NY. Ryan is also the Sports Editor for The Pennsylvania Post. His email is rywolff@sas.upenn.edu.
