Brandon Graham’s best Eagles moments, on and off the field, from the strip-sack to his great unblocking party
Graham announced his retirement on Tuesday, capping off a 15-year career with the Eagles.
Brandon Graham, the longest-tenured athlete in Philadelphia, officially announced his retirement after 15 seasons on Tuesday.
He announced before the start of the season that 2024 was his “farewell tour,” but even after going out with a win in Super Bowl LIX, fans still held out hope that Graham might come back for another year, a testament to how loved he is in the city and the Eagles’ organization. But it wasn’t always that way.
It’s time to take a walk down memory lane and relive some of Graham’s best games and funniest off-field moments throughout his time with the Birds …
The strip sack
No list of Graham’s best moments could be complete without perhaps the most iconic moment in franchise history — Graham’s strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII. The sack helped clinch the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win, and cemented Graham as an all-time franchise legend.
Just watch it again now. You know you want to.
“It’s definitely a life-changer, man,” Graham said of the play before Super Bowl LVII. “It changed my life.”
Three sacks vs. Jets in 2019
One of Graham’s best individual performances came against the Jets on Oct. 6, 2019, sacking quarterback Luke Falk a career-high three times in a 31-6 win.
Strip sack vs. Giants, 2020
Graham once again sealed a game for the Birds with a strip sack, this time on Oct. 22, 2020 against Daniel Jones and the Giants. It’s not quite the Super Bowl, but it’s still a great play, and after the game, Graham shouted out fellow Birds legend Brian Dawkins for the sack.
“Thank you, B-Dawk,” Graham said. “Because I was thinking of you [on that play]. Instead of just going for the sack, I went for the ball. It changed the whole game with that.”
Trash talk
Graham’s mic’d up segments are easily the best on the Birds — he loves to trash talk. Just take this clip of Graham trash-talking Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence, and future-teammate Saquon Barkley. Or this one, of Graham running out of breath because of all the trash he was talking.
But sometimes Graham’s trash talk got his teammates into trouble.
“He says a lot of nice things,” Jordan Mailata explained to Emerson, Graham’s daughter. “Sometimes, he says a lot of nice things to the wrong person, like the person he’s not going up against, but the person I’m going up against, and he’s a really good player. Sometimes, I don’t want your dad to say nice things to him because he’s not playing against him, and he might make him not so nice.”
Playing in Super Bowl LIX
Graham planned for his 2024 season to be his last, so when he tore his triceps in October against the Rams, fans and teammates were devastated that he would be going out on an injury. But as the Eagles continued to advance in the postseason, the possibility of Graham making a late-season return increased. Ultimately, Graham did make it back to play in Super Bowl LIX, the final game of his NFL career — and re-tore his triceps in the win.
His return inspired the defense and capped off his NFL career with a second championship.
Breaking the Eagles’ games played record
In 2023, Graham set the team’s games played record. He finished his Eagles career with 206 games played, thirteen more than Jason Kelce, who is in second with 193. David Akers and Fletcher Cox are tied for third with 188 games played.
“I’m happy that they stayed with me, it doesn’t happen often,” Graham told WIP ahead of setting the record. “Much respect to Howie [Roseman] and the guys that came before me. I’m so very grateful and very appreciative. Man, I’m smiling because I didn’t see it coming, but I’m happy it’s here.”
Being voted to his first Pro Bowl
Graham was voted to his first and only Pro Bowl in 2020. Then-defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said “there were some tears shed” by the coaches after seeing Graham finally earn that recognition, but I’m not sure if anyone was more excited than Graham’s daughter, Emerson.
That time he unblocked everyone on Twitter
Early in his career, Graham struggled to live up to the mantle of a first-round pick, causing many in the Eagles fan base to label him a bust and lament not selecting Seahawks safety Earl Thomas instead, especially in the wake of the team losing Dawkins.
To block out some of the outside noise, Graham literally blocked a number of Eagles fans on Twitter.
But as Graham continued to improve and the fan base started to fall in love with him, PhillyVoice beat writer Jimmy Kempski brokered a bet with Graham that if the Eagles won the Super Bowl, he’d unblock everyone. The Birds won Super Bowl LII, and Graham unblocked everyone.
That time Fletcher Cox needed to calm him down
Graham’s passionate personality is a big reason why he endeared himself to Philadelphia and the Eagles fan base, but he can occasionally overdo it. See this clip against the 49ers, where Graham gets so caught up in trash talking that Fletcher Cox had to step in and remind him about the game.
Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination
Graham is just as great of a person off the field as he is a football player, as shown by his 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination, his second nomination for the NFL’s award honoring community service. Graham started his own fund, the Graham Fund, to support charitable causes in his hometown, Detroit, and also volunteers his time to fundraising efforts for the Eagles Autism Foundation and other local nonprofits.