LeBron is a Sixer & Why the Eagles & Commanders WON'T Win the Super Bowl

LeBron James is officially a Philadelphia 76er, and the NBA landscape has changed overnight. We react to the blockbuster signing, discuss what it means for Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and the Eastern Conference, and debate whether this is LeBron's final shot at another championship.

Then we continue our "Why They Won't Win the Super Bowl" series by breaking down why the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders won't be lifting the Lombardi Trophy in 2027. Can Jalen Hurts bounce back? Is Nick Sirianni on the hot seat? Will Jayden Daniels have enough help to turn Washington around?

If you're looking for NFL predictions, NBA news, LeBron James analysis, Philadelphia Eagles discussion, Washington Commanders outlook, and Super Bowl predictions, you've come to the right place.

00:00 - Intro
00:31 - LeBron James signs with the 76ers
02:46 - Can LeBron lead Philadelphia to a championship?
06:18 - Biggest winners and losers of LeBron's decision
09:41 - Why LeBron left the Lakers
12:30 - Philadelphia Eagles: Why they won't win the Super Bowl
15:23 - Jalen Hurts concerns
20:13 - Nick Sirianni under pressure
23:27 - Offensive line regression
25:53 - Eagles season prediction
26:36 - Washington Commanders: Why they won't win the Super Bowl
27:39 - Inexperienced coaching staff
30:24 - Secondary and wide receiver concerns
34:00 - Brutal schedule
34:56 - Commanders season prediction
36:56 - Outro

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Transcript

Spencer 0:00

The Game Energy, July 27th. It is great to be with you. James and Spence are hanging out with you. We finally have news. The white smoke is coming out the chimney- and LeBron James has chosen a new team. He's- Whoa going to the Philadelphia 76ers. We're gonna break down our reaction to him signing finally, and what that means for the NBA now. And we will continue with our series over what teams will not win the Super Bowl this week. Today, we are doing the Philadelphia Eagles for James and the- Whoa Washington Commanders. But James, LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er. He signed a two year, $8 million contract with the 76ers, with that second year being a player option, but $4 million and he is, quote-unquote, "ring-chasing," James, as he is going to play with- Tyrese Maxey, V.J. Edgecombe, Jalen Brown, and Joel Embiid. James, you're a LeBron guy. You're gonna be following and taking your talents to Philly, and this is a place that you're already an Eagles fan, so this works out well for you. But- Works well how are you feeling now that LeBron is a 76er?

James 1:12

Look, before I get to my take on this, I've already pre-ordered my jersey. It's sold out on Fanatics. I've already got it. I haven't seen the black old retro Sixer jersey yet, but I'm definitely getting the red Philly jersey, Spence. You bet my words on that, man. You'll see it hopefully sometime in October. You know how these things go with Fanatics.

Spencer 1:28

Oh, yeah.

James 1:29

They... I'll never get it. I bought it in July, won't see it till October. But Spence, overall, man, I'm shocked, we talked about this weeks ago, and now we... I had mentioned I wouldn't prefer him going to Philly, even though I think that's the team he would go to because of what's built, and just because of what everyone's gonna say. And we- you know, I was joking about the Jordan fans. Now, you got folks coming out, Charles Barkley, everyone else, ring Jason, X, Y, and Z. I'm not gonna debunk everything 'cause at the end of the day, hey, man, this is this guy's last chance. This is this guy's last, what do you want to say? Decision. His last go. He's 41. I know. Give it a break. Give it a break, man. He's... imagine, a 41-year-old shocked the world, man. That's a GOAT status, man.

Spencer 2:08

If the 76ers were to win the championship this year, it wouldn't be because of a LeBron James finals MVP. Let's just be honest.

James 2:15

I didn't think it was the 76ers. I mean, we talked about LeBron going here and there. The Heat were the favorite. I thought he was going to the Cavs. And now- The 76ers who got LeBron at plus 900, as the next team, now their chances to go represent the East is at the tops with the Knicks. The adding of KCP, like this team's roster obviously looks good on paper, as most teams do. They look very good on paper. Now we just gotta get to see if these games are gonna, fall in hand, 'cause we already know one thing. Is Joel gonna be healthy? That's number one. How much are they gonna ask LeBron? Me, Spence, I'm looking at it like this. LeBron's gonna have to be Magic Johnson. He's just gonna have to average 17 points, 17 assists, nine rebounds. And everyone else is just gonna get buckets after buckets. But man, I'm excited that LeBron gets to play two, two more years. Heck, I thought he was gonna retire. We all thought he was gonna retire.

Spencer 3:08

Well, let's pump the brakes on that. It's a two-year contract. Playing two. It's a player year for that second year.

James 3:13

He playing two more

Spencer 3:14

years. You think he's playing two years for sure?

James 3:16

Man, I'm telling you, once, once he gets to the Eastern Conference Finals in year one, he's gonna be like, "Man, we gotta do it one more time."

Spencer 3:23

It would be really weird if he did only play a singular season for the 76ers. But the fact that it's-, the second year is a player option on that- Mm-hmm tells me that he is very much still not gonna commit to playing more than th- than just this season, 'cause what happens if, let's say the 76ers do win it all? He ain't coming back. Yeah. He's going out on top. Yeah.

James 3:46

You're right, yeah. They win this year, yeah it, you gotta ride off into Disney, ride off into- 100% hotels. Only reason why I joke about the two years thing, 'cause Spence not his first Cavs tenure. Ever since he left the Cavs the first time, so Miami, the second Cavs stint, and the Lakers, he's always won a championship in year two. So I'm like, "All right, we gonna get two years out of this Philly deal, man. He ain't gonna win year one.

Spencer 4:09

We talked about it that we didn't wanna see LeBron add another jersey to his collection. It would've made sense for him to just be at max a three jersey guy. So- Right yeah, I wouldn't see him in Miami or Cleveland. But man, from a basketball standpoint, this is gonna be fun, man. I cannot wait to see our first matchup between the Knicks and the Sixers and the Celtics, the Sixers and the Lakers, right?

James 4:35

Yep.

Spencer 4:36

There are so many storylines that are gonna come with this now. And now it's another teammate on the Sixers that has some problems or- Might have some beef with Jaylen Brown. It's another teammate that Jaylen Brown's gonna have to come to terms with because he was talking crap about LeBron James' son Bronny, saying he's not an NBA player, which that's a sentiment I myself have echoed at times in the past, but- now you are teammates with his father, so I think he's gonna have to answer that in some form or fashion. Yeah which by the way, James, any chance that Bronny does head over to Philly at some point?

James 5:11

Hey, if he does, I'm riding the whole nepo baby thing, bro. I will ride that. I was riding it a little bit in LA, and then I love having the jokes of you about Bronny cooking your Rockets a little bit for his in the playoffs, but, but-

Spencer 5:25

He hit, like, two shots.

James 5:28

Hey, he outscored your bench in one game, and those are the two shots I think it was. That was, yeah,

Spencer 5:32

that was sad.

James 5:33

That was pretty sad. But no, I, no I don't think Bronny joins. Again, I know that was last year with the whole Jaylen Brown situation with the, with talking about Bronny's not a pro. I think Bron's over that because I think he, if anyone can look over, like a certain BS situation, 'cause he had his, his bumping heads with Pat Riley in Miami, found a way to win. Bumping heads with Kyrie, even though Kyrie dipped, he found a way to win. And the situation with LA, even though through COVID, somehow finding a way to play and get through, blah, blah, blah. He'll find a way to figure it out. I'm just waiting to see, and again, like, everyone keeps saying the same usual stuff. And remind me, you said it Spence, the guy's about to be 42 in December He's ring chasing. He's freaking, they ain't enough, they ain't enough basketballs on the court for this team. You know if somebody knows how to figure it out, it'd be LeBron. But I will say, Spence, this even, I know you mentioned some of the games versus Sixers. Even the Heat, I can't wait to see the Heat versus the 76ers. Every team versus the Eastern Con. Hell, I can't wait for the Wizards to play the 76ers.

Spencer 6:31

Why not? That'll be a good one. But I wanna I wanna talk about the Heat just real quick. I think they are by far the biggest losers in all this. Like, sure, the Cavs wanted him, too. The Warriors wanted him, too. But I think both those teams I think they're gonna be okay in their own regard. I think that- Right like LeBron was kinda like a, "Hey, this could be nice, but we have our own thing going on. We have our own direction." Right. For the Heat, they just made the splash of all splashes in the off-season. They finally got the guy that was in the rumors to be traded. He finally became a Heat, Giannis. Mm-hmm. Finally happened. They won one. But then immediately they turn around and they lose another one. It's just funny. They could not have it all. We thought this might have been- Right the off-season that they coulda had it all, and it was the perfect storm. LeBron was back in free agency. It was gonna be the decision 2.0. It was gonna happen all over again. He's gonna take his talents back to South Beach to end it all. Eh, wrong. And now the Heat, I, while I still think they will be-

James 7:29

They'll be good

Spencer 7:29

they'll be good and they'll be in the conversation, but the storm swept away from them. And now all the hype is not gonna be on Giannis' new team in Miami. Now all the hype is going to be on LeBron James and Jaylen Brown joining the Sixers. So gotta feel bad, a little bit, for Pat Riley there.

James 7:47

Yeah. For me, yeah, you gotta feel bad 'cause you coulda been just maybe one step better in this. Like, again, I don't think him going to Miami would've been, I'm not gonna say the best fit, because I do believe in this league you do need shooting, and I don't think this team is the best shooting team if he was on the Heat. It's a different story with the 76. I think the biggest loser is the Warriors just because if you look at their off-season and free agency moves, they did absolutely nothing. And they thought they were gonna go all in with LeBron. Hell, they were gonna pay him more than what the 76ers did. And LeBron still decided to go to Philly, and all you did was sign Draymond Green to 28 million

Spencer 8:25

Yeah I think, I just think the Warriors seem to be going in a direction where they wanna start emphasizing the youth movement, which is a shame because I do think Steph Curry's got some more years left. But I don't think that the Warriors are in contend now mode. I think they are going to wait for whatever happens with Jimmy Butler's recovery and- Yep and then that's whatever they get is what they get.

James 8:46

Look, you know what? You said the Heat were losers, but guess what? I'm just gonna go off on a whim. The Heat will find a way to trade for Steph Curry. That's what they're gonna do. I feel it in my bones, man. They find a way to get Steph Curry to Miami, him and Giannis, yo, two polar opposites. How? I, yo- What

Spencer 9:01

are they gonna give up to do it?

James 9:03

I don't know. They gonna trade somebody. They

Spencer 9:04

gave it all away for Giannis, gutted their team for him.

James 9:08

Yo, they'll just have to take some notes from the Dodgers owner and they'll figure it out. Hey, what do we need to do this in the long

Spencer 9:14

run? That's why LeBron really in all seriousness would've been such a good move for them, 'cause questions about fit aside, when it comes to assets and getting a talent like LeBron, bang for your buck, there wasn't many options that were gonna be as awesome as getting LeBron James on a two-year, $8 million contract. Yeah. That's... even at 41, I think that's gotta be one of the best contract values in the entire NBA.

James 9:39

Now, I love the deal because you know how I... There were years with LA, I was like, "LeBron, you don't need to be making 50 mil a year when you have so many business ventures." I've watching, hearing some clips and, what are your thoughts on Obviously we know why he took this deal with the 76ers and X, Y, and Z, but why couldn't he do that in LA to maybe have a 76ers team-esque in LA instead of being cap strapped with either him and AD, him and Luka, and so the question turns around, like, why didn't LeBron do it in LA?

Spencer 10:13

I think for me, it I don't think he has any beef with JJ Redick. I have to believe that, one, it just, he saw that they were going to move in a direction around Luka and that he was part of the past and that they wanted to change the makeup of that team. Mm. And LeBron being there was just kinda in the way. But also underneath that, I've never been a Rob Pelinka guy, so I'm just gonna chalk this up to him and Rob Pelinka not having the best relationship. I think it's possible that throughout their tenure there together, that they didn't always get along, that they didn't always see eye to eye. I, there's- Right nothing been ever reported about that heavily, but- Right just the vibes I get from how they both move and how Rob Pelinka and his tenure has been extremely overrated and over-hyped. The fact that he is a championship executive is just a travesty to the term. Because, uh, I'm not saying bubble championship to discredit that, I'm not one of those people. But I wanna somehow discredit Rob Pelinka because the only reason he was able to put together a championship roster was because LeBron James was there attracting all the talent. So- Right whenever you have a guy there that is... Sure, he's found talent like Austin Reaves, but other than Austin Reaves, everything good that has happened for the Lakers has just been something that fell directly into their lap. Right. LeBron James, Luka Dončić, right? These aren't things that they're scouting and making things happen to do. These are things that are happening because you are the Lakers. Anyone could have done that job. I could have sold LeBron James on the Lakers, and I could have said yes to Nico Harrison trading me Luka Dončić- for a bag of chips. I could have done those things. Rob Pelinka's not impressive for the job he's done, and maybe LeBron got tired of it.

James 11:58

You know what I'll say this. You mention that, and maybe I agree with you there. Now I'm starting to think man, LeBron had past issues with Dan Gilbert in Cleveland, sometimes with Pat Riley in Miami, then back to Cleveland, and now with Rob Pelinka. Hey, hopefully, I know it's just two years, or maybe it's just one year and walk off in the sunset. Hey, man, maybe him and Bob Myers have an understanding and maybe he'll enjoy his two-year tenure there. Imagine if Daryl Morey was still on that squad.

Spencer 12:24

Oh he'd be driving it into the dirt. He can't build a winner.

James 12:30

No.

Spencer 12:31

All righty, James, let's keep it going with our Why They Won't Win the Super Bowl series, and today we're gonna start with- Whoa a very special one for you, James. Before we jump into it, we are going to talk about your Philadelphia Eagles today. Oh, damn. And since it's your-- we're-- it's the first of our teams that we're going to go through this series on James, before we get into it and we start the actual segment, how confident are you feeling with the Eagles going into the season?

James 12:57

Look-

Spencer 12:57

Just in general. In general- Don't talk about specifics, just how are you feeling confidence-wise?

James 13:01

On a scale of one to 10, i'm feeling like an eight. An eight? I like... Yeah, feeling like an eight. Still, we still top, top to bottom we still have a decent roster. Okay. One of the best, maybe top 10 at least to say. Okay. We'll go-- I'm being conservative. As they say, maybe sometimes subtraction is an addition. We lose A.J. Brown, maybe there's no drama in this offensive locker room. I

Spencer 13:20

just feel like the vibes I've seen from some Eagles fans have not been the best this off season.

James 13:25

Because now the two biggest concerns, well, really it's gonna come down to three things, and it seems like the past five years two things have been the same, one thing has been different. Sirianni, Jalen Hurts have been the same, but offensive coordinators have been different.

Spencer 13:38

Mm.

James 13:38

And again, we have been scrutinizing everyone who's been a one year off OC. We've seen that happen with Brian Johnson, we've seen that with Kevin Patula. Those guys, one year and done, and now we have another one year, first year OC play caller. And, now people are looking at the, the side of, "Okay if something goes wrong this year, are we firing Sirianni? Are we getting rid of Jalen?"

Spencer 14:01

Something perhaps we'll have to change. But let's get into it, James. The Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the most successful NFL franchises of the past decade, but they will not win the Super Bowl in 2027. Last year, in 2025, they started off hot. Coming off of a Super Bowl victory, they started 8-2, looked like one of the most elite teams in the entire conference, and then they faltered down the stretch, including a three-game losing streak at the end of the season. They barely win the NFC East, but are upset in round one by the 49ers at The Linc. So they had to make some big off-season changes. They fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, hired Sean Mannion as the new offensive coordinator, the fifth straight year that the Eagles will have a new OC going into the season. They also traded A.J. Brown to the Patriots. It was a long time coming, a lot of off-the-field issues, A.J. Brown stirring up things in the media, always being a distraction. The saga is over. He is a New England Patriot. The Eagles also locked down defensive lineman Jordan Davis to a massive contract extension. They signed Tariq Woolen from the Seattle Seahawks, and they also drafted Mekhi Lemon, wide receiver out of USC, in a surprise draft pick to replace A.J. Brown. So James, the first reason the Philadelphia Eagles will not win the Super Bowl in 2027, Jalen Hurts has another down year. James?

James 15:34

Yeah, look, y- you mentioned it. Now look we're never gonna compare stat-wise what Jalen Hurts is towards Pat Mahomes or Joe Burrow. He's not throwing for 40 TDs every year. Since 2022, since he's, got A.J. Brown, 22 TDs, 23 TDs, 18 TDs, 25 TDs. He is in the middle of the pack. We know what the Eagles do. They play to their strengths, and that is being a Don't give the ball away, play game manager. And we talked about this in the Carolina series where Panthers Bryce Young to be a g- game changer, not a game manager. And I do believe Jalen Hurts is a game changer because we've seen it in the Super Bowls, we've seen it in some of the top games you have. But then again, we go through droughts where it's like, all right, Jalen you play, you played like crap. Feels like you don't wanna throw the ball down, down the middle or even down the field. And it just s- seems like his mindset has became more like this team is too conservative now. If they're not explosive on the run, Jalen doesn't wanna experience the more aggressive passing game. Now, do I believe Jalen Hurts can throw the ball? Hell yeah, man. You know how many times he's thrown the ball over 20 yards, TDs, blah, blah. He leads the league in that. I think that's stat, I forget the number. But at the end of it, Jalen's gotta also You know, be in mind that he has to step up because now everyone's looking at you, everyone's looking at Nick Sirianni. And again, we always talk about who's going first, and it's usually the head coach. But even if the head coach leaves, now that's pointing at you now, Jalen. And again, I'm never gonna bash Jalen. He has done things I have n- I am so happy for this team, and it's hard for me to say my team's not gonna win Super- 'Cause damn it, we believe we're gonna win this year.

Spencer 17:16

I believe it. Ah, no. No, we don't. Okay. No, we

James 17:18

don't. No, we don't. Sorry.

Spencer 17:18

No, we don't.

James 17:19

All right. Reel it back, reel it back.

Spencer 17:20

Now, it's for me, the Jalen Hurts, you mentioned his prowess with the deep ball, and I don't think anyone can deny that. When you watch Jalen Hurts, when you pull the numbers, the eye test, the stats, they back it up. The problem with this though, James, is that Jalen Hurts has al- And it's something I've pointed out a lot, is something, it's just so weird to me that Jalen Hurts cannot throw the ball over the middle. He struggles with this a lot. We saw it a ton last year, and remnants of it in the years past, but he makes up for it with his legs. My fear is that every single year we've seen a slow downturn with the amount that he is running. We know he's gonna tush push and he's gonna get a bunch of touchdowns, but when we look at what he's actually doing scrambling, it's going down year by year. Mm-hmm. And another year older, I, it's just hard to see him turning the clock back and running more like he used to. And so when that happens, you have to be able to make those throws more consistently than we saw last year, or- Correct you're gonna get the same results that you saw in the po- in the postseason last year where, sure, I know A.J. Brown was dropping some passes, but it was not a strong overall showing from Jalen Hurts against the 49ers.

James 18:32

Oh yeah, no it was horrible. And you mentioned it about the running. I'm not gonna lie, I miss the year that Jalen Hurts was running all around the field. And of course, that was the year we went to Super Bowl LVII, and it was just like, once he got the contract, you mentioned it, since he's got the contract, he went from 163 attempts to 157. Okay, not much. But then he goes from 157 to 150, then he goes from 150 to 105 last year. Mm-hmm. He drops in yards by 200 yards from last year, and of course, tush push TDs, whatever. But when you go from 14 TDs to 8 TDs, again, we can say offen- and we'll get to it later, we can say offensive line was this, Saquon wasn't explosive, Kevin Patula, OC, blah, blah, blah. But even when we had Brian Johnson two years ago as the first time play caller before Kellen M- Moore, Jalen Hurts statistically played pretty well. And even though it looked rough It's just for me, like I said, it's hard for me to dog walk Jalen Hurts because he doesn't play bad enough for me to be upset. He doesn't throw four interception games all the time. I know against the Chargers last year it was just like, I've never seen him play like this before. So now it's like, okay. But in all honesty, I do believe Jalen Hurts is always somewhat now injured and he can't find a way to protect himself now, which again, if he limits himself running the ball, and like you mentioned, he's gotta start throwing that ball. I do believe he does hold onto the ball as well too long. Again, because you look at the stats, you look at his completion percentage, 66, 65, 68, 64. So he's... It's not drastic. So it's either he's pretty consistent in what he does. He sticks to his process. And has it worked for him his, basically you could say his whole career, even in college? Yeah. He's played at the highest heights, but is he enough? And I hate to even say that because we've seen him outplay Pat Mahomes in two Super Bowls, and I believe he should be a two-time Super Bowl MVP. But we're here to one- And the Eagles won't win the Super Bowl 'cause Jalen, he won't take enough risks this year.

Spencer 20:29

Yep. Another down year from Jalen Hurts could spell a recipe for disaster. Reason two, Nick Sirianni, a coach that has his fair share of bad vibes follow him throughout his tenure with the Eagles. They finally catch up to him this year, and he gets exposed as someone who, as someone once told me, a coach who has won because of his personnel, not made them actually better himself.

James 20:56

Yeah, gosh. Spence, I remember telling you if the Browns would've beaten the Eagles, after we go two and two the year we won the Super Bowl, I thought Nick Sirianni would've got fired. Because before, when it was like year one, again, it seems like when it comes to new c- head coaches, we always want something new, and Nick Sirianni was that rough rider, go-getter guy, and we were just slowly trending. So I was like, "Okay, he kinda fits the system." But y- when you have a roster that's top to bottom the best, top 10 at least since 2022, since Super Bowl LVII and now, and yes, you got two Super Bowl appearances, you got one Super Bowl win out of this, I believe the roster head to toe has been let- letting Nick Sirianni get a pass for things. Because you look at his track record. Super Bowl LVII, you're up so many points, you don't make any adjustments. I know that could be blamed on offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators, but again, if you're the head coach, you're the guy who runs this team, you gotta make those adjustments as well in the Super Bowl. When it comes to Kevin Patula, why you probably didn't fire him because he's your best friend, or he's your friend and whatever reason, and this Italian thing- everyone starts looking at you like, "Okay, now we've seen you not pull the trigger on your friends or pull the trigger to help your team," and everyone else is kinda catching up on y- catching up, basically saving your ass. Now it's time to really see if you can really lead these guys. And it doesn't look good when I see on my notifications, "Nick Sirianni uses ChatGPT to motivate the players." Ah, God dang.

Spencer 22:24

I like that Nick Sirianni has finally discovered ChatGPT. That's been one of my favorite things from this off-season is everyone making fun of him for ChatGPT.

James 22:32

Yo, so like you see that and you're like, Is it..." And a, a lot of people are gonna overlook it, overthink it, and maybe the wins friggin' overshadow it, when you see something like that now I think the players are just waiting to have a new voice in the locker room. And previous years and something that, has not been talked a lot, the year Kevin Patullo became OC, everyone thought that would've been Duce Staley, the former Eagles running back who was, the running backs coach, offense assistant. They thought he was gonna be the OC, and once he didn't get, once he didn't get that position, I feel like that's what's the downfall with Nick Sirianni is that he's lost the locker room. I'm okay with him being a fiery guy and going at his players, 'cause I'm okay with, don't let your players walk over you. That's just like me. My kids not gonna walk over me. I run this house. So Nick Sirianni, run this house man, 'cause if we start losing God dang it. 'Cause I don't really wanna talk about we gonna win the Super Bowl.

Spencer 23:24

Yeah, you are struggling with this one tonight. The final reason is the offensive line for the Eagles regresses significantly. A lot of injuries that they've dealt with over the past few years, names coming in and out, guys retiring, guys being injured, guys getting drafted, right? The offensive line we saw last year is not gonna cut it. They need to s- take steps forward. But James, I see a lot of old guys on this roster, and old guys don't tend to get better. They tend to get worse.

James 23:51

Yeah. Hey, I'm with you on this. You think about the year that we won Super Bowl LIX. Only difference was last year, no Mekhi Becton, and then we drastically dropped. Again, you mentioned it, Lane Johnson's hurt. Almost every other game he has to sit out. And no matter what the stats say about him, he's only allowed 10 sacks in 12 years. Hall of Fame resume, we get that, but still, your best ability is your availability, and Lane Johnson's been a problem. You look at Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson, who were both great in the Super Bowl, but it seems like every year they've been with us they've been also injury-prone, and last year they were both horrible in the pass and in the run game. I- it didn't matter which play. They were just trading off who was worse. And so you think about it, when the offensive line gets hurt, this is almost like dog years, bro. They just get older and older. It's not like wide receivers. They get hurt, okay, they come back next year. Linemen who get so much pressure on them, it... I don't even know how Jason Kelce and them guys lasted so long. Again, the Eagles tried to makes, steps in the right place, with offensive lineman like Markelle Bell from Georgia, but still- There's no answer for Lane Johnson. Yeah, you can replace him with Fred Johnson, but again, just because his last name Johnson don't mean he's gonna perform like Lane. And last year, again, these guys just were... Even Jordan Mailata, who was butthurt that he wasn't a first team All-Pro two years ago, and guess what? It looks like it got to him, 'cause he didn't play that well. And this offensive line has to be healthy. For a group of guys that were ranked in the top five last year, top two two years ago as an offensive line, you got a standard to, and you lose Jeff Stoutland, your old O-line, head coach guy. Again, kinda going back to that Sirianni thing where it's like, all right, you're letting go of guys who thought were, like, Philadelphia staples. There's something going on in this locker room that, is not being mentioned. So you lose him, and now you have an older offensive line. I wanna see how this goes Again, the offensive line is gonna regress and the that's why I thought you was like, "Oh, win the Super Bowl." Dang it, this is tough, Spence. This is tough. Well- I can't do it

Spencer 25:55

predictions for the Eagles in 2026, James, I'm gonna go first. Thank you you're not gonna like it, but I got the Eagles going 10 and seven, barely making the playoffs as a six or a seven seed, but losing in round one when they have to go on the road in January.

James 26:11

I have you, you say 10 and seven. I actually had 11 and six, and I was going to not win the division. They'll be the five seed, and they will, in my mind, they will beat the NFC South team but lose to either one of the NFC West teams in the divisional.

Spencer 26:26

But y'all let us know in the comments, what will the Eagles do in 2026? Can Jalen Hurts bounce back? Is Nick Sirianni gonna prove himself, and what's gonna happen with that offensive line? Y'all let us know down below in the comments. Next team up is the Washington Commanders. The Washington Commanders were one of the most disappointing teams in 2025, and it's not gonna get better in 2026 as they will not be able to win the Super Bowl in 2027. Last year, coming off of an NFC championship appearance, the Commanders had a lot of expectations and a lot of high hopes- Mm but they ended up being one of the most disappointing teams in terms of their expectations as they go five and 12, due in part largely because Jayden Daniels was injured for most of the season. So they made some pretty big changes in the off-season, primarily signing Odafe Oweh, the edge rusher from the Chargers, to a massive four-year, $100 million contract. They also extend offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, and in the top 10 of the draft, they draft Sonny Styles out of Ohio State, one of the best linebacker prospects that we have seen in a very long time. But James, reason number one that the Commanders will not win the Super Bowl- In 2027 is that they have a lot of inexperience when it comes to their play callers. Dan Quinn is a seasoned head coach in the NFL, but he hired David Blough and Deronte Jones to be his OC and DC respectively, and these guys are both first time NFL play callers and are going to be called upon to carry a lot of responsibilities for this Commander's team. Kliff Kingsbury is gone, and I felt like that was a mistake in the off-season for them to let him go. Right. I felt like that was an offense that when Jayden Daniels was healthy for a full season, we saw what him and Kliff Kingsbury were capable of. Mm-hmm. Last year, I'm not gonna put all the blame on him for not succeeding with Marcus Mariota and Josh Johnson. That's really not fair.

James 28:32

That's not fair.

Spencer 28:33

So that being said, David Blough being the solution, the... All I know about David Blough was he was a s- third-string scrub quarterback back in the day, and not really, not even that long ago for the Lions. I'm not sure that equates to being a successful NFL play caller, James.

James 28:50

Hey, man. Don't be talking like Ryan Clark over here, man. Yo, out here is the, "He, he didn't play well, that means he can't coach well." I'm not gonna dip in that pool 'cause I have that same situation in Philly. But Spence, I'm with you. Experience, again it's a big thing, and in this NFL you gotta go for... You gotta go with the risk. You gotta see who's that next voice, who's that next, whoever is your assistants and OCs. You mentioned inexperience on, the, the OC and the DC, and this DC is the one that you're gonna be looking at the most because last year's defense was just atrocious. They were, like, bottom seven in every defensive category. Yes, were they one of the oldest defenses by age? Okay, yeah. But again- How great can you get, as a, a one-year DC? I'm thinking of guys like... I'm trying to think of even Aaron Glenn when he was in Detroit. He wasn't the best, DC at his first year. Now, yes, he grew with the team, and the team ended up being great, and then he got into being the Jets head coach. So it's, for a team that's gonna be, like, r- bottom of the pack in defense in most categories, can he, can he get this, can the DC get this team maybe outside the top 20 and maybe 19, 18 best defense? I would say that's a victory being after the 32nd. So again, that's who I'm gonna analyze more, 'cause you look at the defensive side. If you were the worst last year, and again, you look at teams like Dallas, as much as I hate to speak of Dallas, anyone who's got CeeDee, George Pickens, and Dak, they're throwing for a lot of yards. Heck, you remember the Christmas special on Netflix.

Spencer 30:21

Oh,

James 30:21

yeah. Dak could do whatever the f- he wanted. And you got teams like the Eagles who may not be the most heavy pack on the passing game, but they're gonna run Tanks Bigsby, and they're gonna run Saquon. And then you look at the Giants, who I do believe they'll be a little bit better, maybe not with Cam Scatabooh, but having Malik Nabers back with for Jaxson Dart. Man just in, within your division, you have to find a way to be better

Spencer 30:43

Yeah, absolutely. And then the next reason why, reason number two why the Commanders will not succeed is they are very unproven in their secondary and at wide receiver. Starting on the defensive side of things, their secondary last year was atrocious. Worst secondary in the league as they allowed a league high 384.3 passing yards per game. One of the worst in recent NFL memory, and it didn't get any better in the off-season it felt like. They let Marshon Lattimore walk. He was constantly injured, constantly blowing coverages. So they sign Amik Robertson over from the Lions, but him, Mike St. Rochelle, and Quan Martin, this is a team that the personnel that they are putting out there in the secondary is still cause for concern. I don't see much of a turnaround anticipated for these guys unless Torontay Jones, who again, first year in, as a DC, can really work a miracle and turn these guys into contributors. Dan Quinn has historically had really good, tough nose defenses. Mm-hmm. But he's on the hot seat, and if this defense doesn't perform, especially in the secondary, he's gonna get fired. And then you look at the other side of the ball at wide receiver, Deebo Samuel last year was a very disappointing acquisition, and he is currently a free agent. And then we don't really think Brandon Aiyuk is going to be a Commander anymore, do we? Seems like- Nah it was a foregone conclusion, but now it is very unlikely to happen. His playing days are done. Yeah. So you look at what the Commanders are dealing with- At wide receiver, there's been rumors they might sign Stefon Diggs, and if they do, maybe that changes this point here. But as it stands right now, there is no playmakers on this Washington Commanders offense that you like outside of Terry McLaurin.

James 32:30

Yeah. No, you mentioned it, Terry McLaurin is gonna be the number one guy. And even though last year he only played 10 games, he's out due to injury, you mentioned it. Deebo Samuels was their leading receiver. He's a free agent. Zach Ertz was their third leading receiver. He's not even on a team. He's just, he's recovering from an ACL tear. And then you got guys like Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey, and yeah, I think you get Antonio Williams, and it's just like there's so much uncertainty on this team. And again, for a guy you want as your franchise, we talk about it, Spence, you're you got, when you got a franchise quarterback, you gotta give him playmakers. I believe McLaurin will be just fine, but again, is, would you consider Terry, Scary Terry, a top five receiver?

Spencer 33:13

Not top five. I think he's probably- Would

James 33:15

you

Spencer 33:15

On the edge of top 10. I think he's top 15. Top 15. I

James 33:18

think he's top 15. Okay, so there you go. Great. So you got a top 15 receiver, and then it's after that you have basically you know how you have watched Sunday Night Football and the, the players' names will be listed, and they'll say your PFF score is one out of so many receivers? So after Scary Terry, every receiver's yeah, this guy ranks 320th out of 320 receivers. That's who you got at number two, 'cause you have nobody else. Zan.

Spencer 33:44

Yeah their number two next year is probably gonna be the corpse of Zach Ertz once again.

James 33:51

You look at the depth chart, too, it's just like, you know this team's cooked, man, when you got Treylon Burks.

Spencer 33:57

Yep. And then final, the final reason for the Commanders, It is gonna be a very tough schedule for the Commanders this season, James. Rattle off their first eight games for me.

James 34:08

Whoa, man. Hey, Commanders fans, hey, just book it for next year. Just get ready for a top five pick, 'cause when you start off your first nine weeks at Philly, at Dallas, your first home game, Super Bowl champs back in town, Colts in England. Hey, whatever happens happens in there, whatever. Then you got another divisional game, Giants. Then you go Monday Night Football at San Fran. Then you get a bye week, relaxation, right? Your next week, boom, Sunday Night Football against the Eagles, and then wrapping up week nine at, or not at, at home versus the Los Angeles Rams. Whoa, man, first nine weeks. Spence, I could even be fun and be like, "Hey, this could go really through the first 11 weeks," 'cause you go at Giants on Prime, and then you play the Bengals Monday Night Football. So that's the first 11 weeks. So the first 10 games, Spence, you have this team going three and seven?

Spencer 34:59

I think I hear three wins tops there, and if you're then three and seven if you're the Commanders you're phoning it in. You're putting Jayden Daniels on ice. Dan Quinn is probably fired already, and you're looking ahead to 2027, and you're hopefully picking very high so you could add someone like Jeremiah Smith to that arsenal, and I think if the Commanders ended up with Jeremiah Smith, this season would've been a smashing success for them. Right. However, they will not win the Super Bowl this year, so- No my prediction for them, James, I, I'm gonna have them slightly worse than last year. I'm gonna have them 4 and 13.

James 35:36

Wow. Oh

Spencer 35:37

my goodness. I'm gonna have them picking in the top five of the draft next year.

James 35:42

I have this team picking outside the top five. I'm gonna go six or seven But I think they go five and 12, if not best case is six and 11, but I do agree with you. Once they start the season off three and seven, I think they'll wrap it up. They'll get a little life playing the Cardinals and Titans back to back weeks, but then after that, yeah, book it. They're, yeah, they'll call it off. They get to play the nastiest defense in the league, the Texans. Then you play the Falcons, who they, they're always scrappy for a win. The Vikings, they might be playing JJ, they might be playing Kyler. That might be a, a win for the Vikings. Then you got the Jags and the Cowboys. The Cowboys are always gonna need a win in the NFC. If you wanna win this division, the Cowboys are gonna play week 18, so good luck Commanders, you are not winning the Super Bowl.

Spencer 36:28

Y'all let us know in the comments, what do you expect from the Commanders in 2026? Who will emerge in the secondary and the wide receiving corps for them? Can they defy the expectations with their unproven play callers on offense and defense? And can they actually over-perform and get back to that form that they had when they made the NFC championship a couple years ago? Y'all let us know in the comments.

James 36:50

Mm.

Spencer 36:50

All righty, James, that was a jam-packed episode. Whew this episode, but we will be back later this week with the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants, and why they will not win the Super Bowl as we continue to preview every single NFL team as we head towards the beginning of the season. So for James, I am Spencer. This has been Big Game Energy. We'll see y'all next time.