Eagles season kicks off against the Commanders with familiar voices in both booths

After a long offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles are finally back in action Sunday, taking on the Washington Commanders to kick off a season filled with “Super Bowl or bust”-level expectations.

“There’s no way this team should lose more than three games, four at the most,” writes Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes. “They’ve got a Pro Bowl quarterback, a superstar running back, a franchise receiver, and a genius running a defense with more talent than any defense in team history that didn’t include Reggie White.”

Calling the Birds’ season opener on Fox is a familiar figure — former Super Bowl villain turned top broadcaster Tom Brady, who is entering his third season as the network’s top NFL analyst.

To Brady’s credit, he made steady improvement in the booth last year, developing into one of the best analysts currently calling games. The future Hall of Famer worked six Birds games last season and is in line to call at least four this year, including the Eagles’ Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

“There are parts of the game where he just takes over — getting inside the mind of Tom Brady at the line of scrimmage before a play,” Fox NFL producer Richie Zyontz told Front Office Sports at the end of last season. “Anticipating, not just reacting.”

Despite his other commitments outside the booth, which include being a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Brady expects to fulfill the 10-year, $375 million deal he signed with Fox in 2024.

“I have a lot to prove to myself, to my teammates. I have a lot to prove to the executives,” Brady told the Sports Business Journal. “I want to go earn it and I don’t want anything given to me. I hope they’ll have me through the end of this contract.”

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Eagles’ season opener against the Commanders.

Sunday’s Week 1 game between the Eagles and Commanders is scheduled to start at 4:25 p.m. Philadelphia time on Fox.

Alongside Brady will be veteran play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt, a North Jersey native who grew up rooting for the Eagles in Giants country.

Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will report from the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field.

The game will stream on Fox One, the network’s subscription streaming service. It’s also available on any so-called skinny bundle that carries Fox, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.

If you live in Philadelphia or any other TV market where the game is airing, you can also stream the game on NFL+, the league’s subscription streaming service, which runs $6.99 a month.

If you’re looking to stream the game for free and you live in or around Philadelphia, your best option is to use a digital antenna, since the game will air on broadcast television on Fox 29.

Another familiar voice returning this year is Merrill Reese, who is back for his 50th season calling Eagles games on 94.1 WIP.

Reese began his long career as the team’s pre- and postgame radio host before being promoted to color analyst in 1975. He became the voice of the Eagles suddenly in December 1977 after his partner Charlie Swift died by suicide, and has remained in the booth ever since.

While Reese, 84, is by far the longest-tenured announcer in the league, he has no intention of this being his last season in the booth.

“I always kiddingly say they’re going to have to remove me with a crane,” Reese told The Inquirer’s Matt Breen in a lengthy interview. “My greatest pleasure is to sit there and broadcast an Eagles game. There’s nothing I love more. I even enjoy doing the preseason games. ... I have no intention of stopping.”

Back alongside Reese is former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick, who joined the booth in 1998. Reese has had a number of broadcast partners over the years — Jim Barniak, Bill Bergey, Stan Walters — but none had the staying power of Quick.

“I believe we’ve become like members of the family,” Reese said. “We’re like their old friends who’ve been with them for many, many years. ... They can identify with us. They feel comfortable with us.”

One big change on WIP’s Eagles broadcasts is the absence of a sideline reporter. Devan Kaney, who served as sideline reporter last season and during the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX run, was laid off by WIP in March as part of company-wide cutbacks by Audacy.

Former WIP host Howard Eskin became the station’s first Eagles sideline reporter in 2011, but abruptly left the station in December 2024 following an incident with a female staffer during a remote broadcast at a Chickie’s & Pete’s in South Philadelphia and was replaced by Kaney.

» READ MORE: Merrill Reese wants to broadcast Eagles games ‘forever.’ His wife helps him stay sharp after 50 years.

Ron Jaworski, the former Eagles quarterback known to most fans simply as “Jaws,” won’t be part of NBC Sports Philadelphia’s pre- and postgame coverage this season.

The former Eagles quarterback and longtime NFL analyst made the decision to pull back on his broadcasting duties last week after four years with the network.

“It’s been a great run!” Jaworski wrote on social media last week. “Thank you all, and Go Birds!”

Michael Barkann, who has hosted Eagles pre- and postgame since the Comcast SportsNet days, is back for his 30th NFL season. He’ll be joined by Reuben Frank and two former Birds players — offensive lineman Barrett Brooks and wide receiver Jason Avant.

Elsewhere, former Eagles star Brandon Graham will join PHLY’s postgame coverage for certain games this season, rotating with former Birds defender and Super Bowl champ Vinny Curry.

Seth Joyner is also back to offer postgame analysis on YouTube alongside longtime Birds reporter Derrick Gunn and sports talker Marc Farzetta.

WIP, 97.5 The Fanatic, and JAKIB Sports also have their own postgame shows, as do the Eagles themselves.

Staff writers Jeff McLane, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, and Ryan Novozinsky will be covering the action live on Inquirer.com.

Notes and observations about the game can be found at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t forget to subscribe to our free Sports Daily newsletter.