Eagles odds and ends: Nick Sirianni says team 'won't be out' for Super Bowl banner unveiling

Fans will show up Thursday night to see the new Super Bowl banner, but the Eagles are staying focused on the new season and the Dallas Cowboys.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Eagles NFL

Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images

Nick Sirianni is keeping a short memory.

The Eagles will be unveiling a championship banner on Thursday night, but the team itself won't be out there for that. 

It's on to the new season for them, on to the Cowboys. 

"Yeah, I didn't know it was banner night," head coach Nick Sirianni told the local media at the NovaCare Complex on Tuesday. "We won't be out for that."

Up to you how much you want to buy into Sirianni's awareness (or unawareness) of Thursday night's pregame festivities at Lincoln Financial Field, but it does run consistent with the thought process that the players and the coaches have been trying to adhere to all summer. 

For them, last year was last year. It's a clean slate, everyone's starting at zero again, and from Jalen Hurts to Jordan Mailata and all throughout the roster, "title defense" and "reigning champs" are terms they've gone out of their way to avoid using. 

"I think from the outside, I think the city and everybody's been talking about it, but this building has been locked in," receiver A.J. Brown said of last season's Super Bowl run. "We put that to bed long ago. We're just ready to go. That's over with."

It's back to zero, but with a new reminder up in the rafters now of where the Eagles want to get back to, and how recently they've been there.

It can be hard to keep your eyes forward after such an incredible run, such a massive celebration, and such a short offseason. 

The 2018 Eagles arguably fell into that trap coming off the 2017 underdog run. 

The 2025 Eagles, though, are trying not to make the same mistake.

But full disclosure, the 2018 team wasn't on the field for the banner unveiling either seven years ago. They emerged from the tunnel right after. They just had a groggy first half against the Falcons, with boos from the home crowd snapping them back to reality. 

Again, the 2025 Eagles want to avoid that.

A few other odds and ends on the Birds ahead of a much-anticipated Week 1...

All that glitters is gold

When the Eagles do finally take the field on Thursday night, Saquon Barkley's Midnight Green uniform will look a touch different from the rest. 

The NFL shield on the collar of the star running back's jersey will shine in gold rather than the usual silver as part of a new initiative from the league to better recognize its individual award winners, per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg.

The 2024 league MVP (Buffalo's Josh Allen), Offensive Player of the Year (Barkley), Defensive Player of the Year (Denver's Patrick Sutrain II), Offensive Rookie of the Year (Washington's Jayden Daniels), and Defensive Rookie of the Year (the L.A. Rams' Jared Verse) will each have the gold shields on their jerseys for the duration of the upcoming season, which should make for a unique visual that highlights star players, albeit from up close – and maybe sells a few more jerseys, too. 

The NFL began putting special "PREM1ERE" patches on the jerseys of rookies playing in their first game a couple of years ago, and has also had active Walter Payton Man of the Year award winners wear patches forming the silhouette of the legendary running back on their chests prior to that. 

The gold shields will be another means of spotlighting the faces of the league, and for the Eagles, the near-generational star that produced highlight after highlight on the way to a 2,000-yard season, and above all, a title. 

A look away from the field

Staying with Barkley, Amazon announced on Wednesday that it will premiere a feature-length documentary about the Eagles star running back on Oct. 9 through Prime Video, simply titled "Saquon."

Here's the teaser trailer:

Using footage that goes back through the past five years, and with Martin Scorsese credited as an executive producer, the documentary is set to give fans a closer look into Barkley's rehab back from an ACL tear suffered in 2020, the growing rift that sent him on his way out of New York and eventually to Philadelphia, and then, the unbelievable season with the Eagles that quickly followed, all while getting a glimpse into who Barkley is away from football. 

Prime Video is also home to "Kelce," the documentary that focused on the Eagles' beloved former center that was released in 2023 and became a must-watch for Eagles fans. 

"Saquon" should easily fit into that category, too, and right alongside the Eagles' divisional matchup against the Giants that night, which also happens to be on Prime.

Brace yourself

UPDATE – FanDuel is stepping in to fund SEPTA's express trains along the Broad Street Line on Thursday night. A timely Band-Aid, but only for now.

EARLIER...

If you're heading to the game Thursday night, you're likely aware of the SEPTA situation already, but just in case: Give yourself a plan and plenty of time.

SEPTA is currently a mess, with no express lines going to and from the Sports Complex in the cards right now as the state tries to figure out the transit budget. 

It's gotten to a point where on Tuesday, Lincoln Financial Field's social media accounts issued a travel advisory stating that parking lots will open earlier and asking to keep tailgates contained so that as many parking spots as possible can be available.

The transit situation is fluid, but frustration getting to the game and leaving it on Thursday night seems inevitable right now. 

It's not a good look considering the MLB All-Star Game and the FIFA World Cup are both on their way here next summer.

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