Eagles-Titans: Drew Brees to call first Birds game for Fox

The Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) are on the road this week to take on the Tennessee Titans (0-1), and a Hall of Fame quarterback is joining them in Nashville.

Drew Brees, the Super Bowl XLIV MVP who who spent 20 seasons in the NFL, will be in the booth to call the game on Fox alongside play-by-play partner Adam Amin. Kristina Pink will report from the sidelines of Nissan Stadium.

Similar to his playing career, Brees has been forced to overcome adversity as a broadcaster. He was hired by NBC in 2020 and appeared to be on track to replace Cris Collinsworth on Sunday Night Football, but a widely-criticized performance in his first NFL broadcast — a 2021 wild-card game — led to his departure from the network.

“When Drew shows up in the booth, who wouldn’t want to listen to him?” Fox Sports’ president and executive producer Brad Zager told Sports Business Journal before the start of the season. “You saw with Tom [Brady] that he had 18 weeks of reps with an ‘A’ crew his first year, and you saw that improvement. Drew never really had that on the NFL level. He does that playoff game, and everybody has their opinions.”

Fox turned to Brees last season to replace former Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was fired following a late-night fight in October where he allegedly attacked and stabbed a delivery driver. Brees has now called nine game in the network’s No. 3 booth alongside Amin, who has been impressed by the Hall of Famer’s deep understanding of the game and the gravitas he brings to the booth.

It was certainly on display last week when the pair called the Chicago Bears 59-37 drubbing of the Carolina Panthers. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams credited advice Brees offered during a production meeting before the game with helping him focus on sticking with his reads and not overlooking open targets in search of a big play.

“We want want to encourage him to use his voice and and take [viewers] another layer deeper,” Amin said. “And I think he’s starting to improve as a presenter. He still has to learn some of the timing and rhythm, but a lot of that just comes with doing the job. And the rest of it, the presentation, is going to come with timing and confidence.”

In a way, Brees is fortunate to have been paired with Amin, who is in his seventh season with Fox and has a track record working with recently-retired players. That includes Sanchez on the football side and Adam Wainwright and A.J. Pierzynski on MLB games. Despite working with former All-Stars and MVPS, Amin has found most of his on-air partners to be coachable, and Brees has been no exception.

“Most people don’t get a lot of coaching or guidance when they first step into the booth,” Amin said. “I have a process. I know what the feel of the broadcast looks and feels like and what the timing and rhythm of it is. And I go, ‘Man, here’s the timing and rhythm that I work off of. Let’s start there.’”

“It’s funny to listen to him use television terminology,” Amin added. “Like, ‘Hey, let’s talk about this graphic’ or ‘Hey, what does the viz do?’ It’s like learning a new playbook for him.”

As for Sunday’s game, one thing Amin will be watching is how the Eagles offensive line deals with Titans star Jeffery Simmons, who appeared to take a shot at Jalen Hurts earlier this week.

“Simmons did not get a whole lot done against Landon Dickerson the last time they met in 2022,” Amin said. “Obviously, Dickerson is hurt, so who gets the assignment on Simmons?”

According to the Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, all indications point to the assignment falling to Drew Kendall in what would be his first career start.

“The All-Pro lines up at multiple spots inside, but it’s likely Titans coach Robert Saleh will concentrate his efforts vs. Kendall,” McLane wrote.

Sunday’s Week 2 game between the Eagles and Titans is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Philadelphia time on Fox.

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.

The game can also be heard on 94.1 WIP, with Merrill Reese — in his 50th season as the voice of the Eagles — calling the game alongside former Birds receiver Mike Quick.

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.

Sunday’s matchup is just the fourth time the Eagles have traveled to Nashville to face the Titans since the franchised moved to Nissan Stadium in 1999.

Overall, the Eagles are 8-5 against the Titans, but they haven’t had much success down in the Music City, losing all three games they’ve played there. The most recent was an overtime loss to the Titans in 2018, when Carson Wentz was quarterback and Nelson Agholor — who recently joined NFL Media as an analyst — was still dropping passes.

The last time the two teams played was in Week 12 of the 2022 season, with the Birds dominating the Titans in a 35-10 win in something of a revenge game for former Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.

» READ MORE: Going to the Eagles-Titans game? Here’s what to know about Nashville, from Birds tailgates to celebrating Dolly Parton.