The Philadelphia Eagles have a chance at history this postseason. Veteran defensive end Brandon Graham reminded his teammates and Philadelphia sports fans of that fact with a letter before the team’s NFC wild card game.
The Eagles official X account posted Graham’s letter about five hours before the team was set to host the San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s time, Philly. This is what we’ve been waiting for,” Graham wrote. “Two and a half months ago, I made the decision to come out of retirement. I had gone out on top. Celebrating my second Super Bowl on Broad Street. I lived the fairytale ending.
“But, when I had the chance to come back, I thought to myself, why pass on an opportunity at history? When my career is finally over, no one will care about how it ended.
“What gets you remembered in this city are championships, and we have a shot at another one this year. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t be here. I would have gone off into the sunset if I felt last year was our final chance.
“But it wasn’t.”
The Eagles will begin their title defense Sunday afternoon against the 49ers. Kickoff is set for 4:30 pm ET on FOX.
Brandon Graham Came Back to Win Another Championship
As Graham explained, he initially retired following the team’s dominating Super Bowl victory against the Kansas City Chiefs last year. Graham only played 13 defensive snaps and had just one combined in that contest. But that was an impressive feat because Graham had missed the previous nine games due to injury.
After 2024, Graham retired with 76.5 sacks, 23 forced fumbles and 11 pass defenses in 206 games. He also won two Super Bowls while playing 15 years only for the Eagles.
But the defensive end made clear again Sunday that with a chance to get a third ring, Graham couldn’t pass up an opportunity to return.
Graham made his 2025 debut in Week 10. The veteran registered his first sack of the campaign in a rout against the Las Vegas Raiders on December 14.
In nine games, Graham finished 2025 with three sacks, eight combined tackles and three quarterback hits.
Sunday’s contest versus the 49ers will be Graham’s 13th career playoff game. The Eagles have posted a 7-5 record in the defensive end’s previous postseason contests.
Philadelphia Eagles Begin Title Defense vs. San Francisco 49ers
An Eagles-49ers playoff matchup seems more fitting for late January. Philadelphia and San Francisco have represented the NFC in four of the past six Super Bowls, including each of the last three.
In January 2023, the Eagles hosted the 49ers in the NFC championship game.
But the two foes will meet this weekend because the 49ers failed to win the NFC West. The Eagles also couldn’t secure the No. 2 seed last weekend.
Interestingly, the two teams have met just once since then, and that matchup was two years ago. The 49ers knocked off the Eagles 42-19 on December 3, 2023.
Graham has registered eight combined tackles, including three tackles for loss and three sacks in six career regular season games against the 49ers.
San Francisco leads the all-time series versus Philadelphia 21-15-1.
If the Eagles win Sunday, they will have to visit the Chicago Bears in the NFC divisional round next weekend. The Bears erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night.
Brandon Graham Puts Eagles, Philly Fans on Notice Hours Before 49ers Playoff Game