Pat McAfee had a little fun at Jason Kelce’s expense during ESPN’s Monday Night Football halftime show, and the joke landed because Kelce made a very familiar slip.
With the Bears leading the Eagles 10-7 at halftime, Kelce broke down what Philadelphia needed to do to settle in after the break. He praised the offense, said the Eagles had moved the ball well, and talked as if he were still inside that locker room.
“It’s an incredible first half from the Bears. If I’m Philadelphia, I’m looking at it, it’s 10-7, I feel pretty good going into the half,” Kelce said on ESPN.
“We played really well offensively, we had opportunities, we shot ourselves in the foot, but we’ve moved the ball, we ran the ball well. Jalen Hurts is throwing the ball well.
I think them getting the ball coming out of the half, I’ve got a feeling they got a lot of momentum going their way.”
McAfee immediately latched onto the repeated “we.”
“A lot of ‘we’ talk from Jason for Philly,” McAfee told Van Pelt. “We are the Chicago Bears. We are very pumped with how Case Keenum’s operating this offense.”
Kelce responded with a bashful apology, and the moment quickly became the kind of harmless broadcast blooper that social media loves. Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, also chimed in with a meme in response to McAfee’s call-out.
The slip made sense, though. Kelce retired in March 2024 after 13 seasons with the Eagles, and Philadelphia is the only NFL home he’s ever known. He won his lone Super Bowl in his 2017 campaign, remains close with former teammates and coaches, and even visited Eagles training camp this past offseason to watch practices and mentor the offensive linemen.
“Got to go down there, learn a little bit of [the Eagles’ new offense under OC Sean Mannion],” Kelce said on New Heights. “...
It was cool. And then obviously [Chris] Kuper, the new offensive line coach, Coach Kup, hearing how they teach things, the different techniques and this type of system, all that stuff.
And then being able to help guys in any way I could.”
So yes, Kelce still talks like a guy who’s part of the team, because in a lot of ways he still is around it. McAfee’s jab was playful, but the mistake was just that - a mistake.
The Eagles didn’t get much help from the second half, either. They were shut out after halftime, while Bears backup quarterback Case Keenum led Chicago to a 27-7 win at home with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown off one of Ben Johnson’s play-calls. Jalen Hurts finished with 153 passing yards and no touchdowns, and his late third-quarter interception helped put the game out of reach.
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