The Eagles will host the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship game Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, where there will be a familiar voice in the booth.
Seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady will call his first NFC championship game for Fox, part of the lucrative 10-year, $375 million deal he signed with the network after retiring. Joining him in the booth will be play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt, who grew up an Eagles fan in Giants country in North Jersey.
» READ MORE: Eagles-Commanders: Live updates
Brady has called three Eagles games this season, including the Birds’ wild-card win against the Green Bay Packers. The future Hall of Famer had no prior play-calling experience before being tossed into Fox’s No. 1 NFL booth, but unlike Tony Romo at CBS, Brady got mixed reviews out of the gate before settling more into his role as the season progressed. He was sharp calling last week’s divisional-round game between the Commanders and Lions, noticing before everyone else Detroit had 12 players on the field during a pivotal fourth-quarter play.
“He’s at his best when he’s analyzing a play and using the telestrator to show viewers what happened in a play,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, adding, “It still feels like he’s holding back and not going 100%.”
If the Eagles win, it won’t be the last they hear from Brady. Both he and Burkhardt are on tap to call Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans Feb. 9 on Fox. There’s been a lot of speculation Brady could leave Fox after the game to focus more on his role as a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, though he suggested recently he’ll at least be back next season.
“I’ve had the best time at Fox,” Brady said on FS1′s The Herd with Colin Cowherd last week. “I’ve got nine years left on my deal, and maybe longer, you never know. If Fox wants me, and I want to go, we’ll keep going.”
If Brady isn’t your cup of tea, Eagles fans also can tune to 94.1 WIP to hear Merrill Reese and Mike Quick call the game. The radio broadcast often is synced with Fox’s broadcast, but with so many different streaming devices and platforms, it’s pretty easy to just pause and sync the broadcasts yourself (just make sure to switch your phone to airplane mode and stay off social media to avoid spoilers because of the delay).
Reese, who has been the voice of the Birds since 1977, is the longest-tenured announcer in the NFL and will be calling his ninth NFC championship game. This is the 27th season he’s been paired with Quick, a five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who played nine seasons for the Eagles. A new voice on the broadcast is WIP host Devan Kaney, who took over sideline reporting duties following Howard Eskin’s abrupt exit from the station in December.
Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream today’s Eagles-Commanders NFC championship game:
Commanders (No. 6) at Eagles (No. 2)
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When: Sunday, Jan. 26
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Where: Lincoln Financial Field
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Time: 3 p.m. Eastern
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TV: Fox (Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi)
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Radio: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick, Devan Kaney)
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Streaming: Fox Sports app (requires authentication), fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream (all require a subscription)
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Mobile: NFL+ (requires subscription)
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Referee: Shawn Hochuli
What game airs after Eagles-Commanders?
Following the NFC title game, the Buffalo Bills will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game. Kickoff from Kansas City is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS, with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo on the call.
While the Chiefs are trying to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls, the Bills are trying to get back to the big game for the first time since 1993. Josh Allen has led the Bills to the playoffs for six straight seasons, but three of those ended with heartbreaking losses to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Three years ago, the Bills couldn’t hold onto a lead against the Chiefs with just 13 seconds remaining. Last year, the Bills were in a position to tie the Chiefs late before kicker Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal.
“Wide right. The two most dreaded words in Buffalo have surfaced again,” Nantz said during the broadcast.
Of course, if the Chiefs and Eagles both win, it will be a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, which Kansas City narrowly won in part due to a controversial fourth-quarter penalty on former Eagles cornerback James Bradberry.
Watching the game on YouTube TV? Here’s how to decrease the broadcast delay.
All NFL games are broadcast on a short delay, but if you’re a YouTube TV subscriber you’ve probably noticed there are times where games streaming on the platform feel really behind.
Fortunately, there’s a simple fix, as long as you’re streaming on a TV and not on mobile or through an internet browser.
When you have the game open, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the three dots to reach the settings. Select the “Broadcast Delay” option and change it to “decreased.”
So why is YouTube TV’s default delay so long? It’s an attempt to prevent buffering or image issues during live events, when users put the most strain on streaming platforms.
Media coverage
Inquirer staff writers Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, Olivia Reiner, and Jeff Neiburg will be covering the action live Sunday. Smith and Reiner will discuss the Eagles-Commanders game prior to kickoff live at 1:30 p.m. Eastern. Notes and observations about the game will be at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t forget to subscribe to our free Sports Daily newsletter.
On NBC Sports Philadelphia, coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. with Birds Huddle: Game Day, hosted by Barrett Brooks and Taryn Hatcher. Eagles Pregame Live airs at 1:30 p.m., hosted by Michael Barkann alongside Brooks, Reuben Frank, and former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski.
On the NFL Network, pregame coverage begins at 9 a.m. with NFL GameDay Morning, hosted by Rich Eisen alongside analysts Michael Irvin, Kurt Warner, and Steve Mariucci. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport will provide live updates throughout the afternoon.
ESPN will air Postseason NFL Countdown at noon, featuring Mike Greenberg, Tedy Bruschi, Rex Ryan, Alex Smith, and former Eagles center Jason Kelce, who will join the show from the Linc.
Coverage begins on Fox at 1 p.m. with Fox NFL Sunday, which will feature Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, Jay Glazer, Rob Gronkowski, Charissa Thompson, Charles Woodson, and Julian Edelman live from Philly.
CBS begins its coverage at 6 p.m. with The NFL Today, hosted by James Brown and featuring Bill Cowher, J.J. Watt, and Matt Ryan.