Unretirement chatter, famous fans, and more from the Eagles-Chargers ‘Monday Night Football’ broadcast

Jalen Hurts threw four interceptions. The Eagles lost their third straight game, this one 22-19 in overtime to the Los Angeles Chargers. Even the joy and whimsy of the Monsters Inc. broadcast, and the Easter bunny couldn’t bring back the Birds’ winning ways.

It was an eventful game and an eventful Monday Night Football broadcast. Here’s everything you missed:

When old friend Jason Kelce and the Monday Night Countdown team are in town, a few Eagles always make a stop by the desk. On Monday, ESPN caught A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith making a visit.

“Makes me realize I forgot to do chest and arms today,” ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt said jokingly after seeing Brown.

Adam Schefter also broke the news that Philip Rivers is eyeing an NFL return with the Indianapolis Colts on the show, and the panel’s reaction was priceless.

Brandon Graham unretired earlier this season to help the Birds at edge rusher. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman called for Kelce to return to the Eagles lineup to whip the struggling, injured offensive line back into shape.

Aikman said he bets the Birds have already tried to recruit Kelce.

“I would be surprised if they haven’t already this year, even last year,” Aikman said. “I think I’d be knocking on his door every week to try to get him to come back. He can still do it.”

My close personal friend Philly sports Santa earned some flack last week for leaving the loss against the Chicago Bears early. But Rick Reilly is a real one and a frequent traveler, and he made the trip to suburban Los Angeles to cheer on the Birds against the Chargers.

The broadcast caught him during the national anthem.

There was so much kelly green in the stands at SoFi Stadium that it even popped up on the Monsters Inc. broadcast. Aikman and Buck knew it was going to be a heavy road crowd before they even got in the parking lot.

So no one was surprised when the Birds crowd was so loud that it forced a Chargers false start in their own stadium.

“There were a lot of them. As we were driving in, you could see them,” Aikman, the color analyst, said. “They travel well.”

“They let you know they’re here, in the hotel,” play-by-play man Buck said.

“They’re a loud bunch, not just in the stadium,” Aikman said. “We’ve got a couple in the booth with us tonight.”

» READ MORE: Forget 2023. The Eagles are in bigger trouble now after their loss to the Chargers. | Mike Sielski

The Eagles are doing things on the football field that haven’t been done before. How many quarterbacks can say they’ve thrown an interception and lost a fumble on the same play?

Unfortunately for Jalen Hurts, it’s lonely in that club.

Eagles fans in the crowd could only curse the team.

The Eagles offense has been so bad that even the Tush Push is suffering. The Birds had converted on just 66.7% of attempts this season entering Monday’s game, down from 81% in 2024.

“Even the Tush Push isn’t as good as it once was,” Aikman said as the Eagles geared up to attempt one late in the first half. They ultimately handed the ball off to Saquon Barkley instead for no gain.

» READ MORE: Grading the Eagles loss to the Los Angeles Chargers

All this after an offseason of trying to ban the play. Enough already.

“I know the average fan is tired of hearing about the Tush Push,” Buck said.

“And the average broadcaster!” Aikman added.

Kelce said at halftime that the Birds should have just run two Tush Pushes on that first-and-goal situation instead of … whatever it was they were doing.

After Justin Herbert’s interception, and with 10 seconds to go in the first half, Hurts probably didn’t expect to get another snap. Jake Elliott initially went out to kick, but Nick Sirianni changed his mind and put Hurts and the offense out there to try and get closer.

Only Hurts couldn’t find his helmet. The first helmet the equipment staff brought out for him wasn’t the right one, and Barkley even tried to give Hurts his own helmet just to get him on the field.

“Take mine! Take mine!” Barkley shouted.

Before Monday’s game, Sirianni wanted the Eagles to play with “confidence and joy.” The Birds even brought a giant inflatable Easter bunny to bring lightness back to the locker room.

But after a six-point, three-turnover first half, did the Eagles achieve that goal? Sirianni said yes.