Photo: Mark J. Terrill/AP

LOS ANGELES — I knew it as soon as I saw Carson Wentz walking to the tunnel. The Eagles had just scored a touchdown to take the lead. The Coliseum, which had to be about 40 percent Eagles fans, was rocking. But from Row 93 I spotted it. Wentz was walking to the tunnel with a towel over his head.


If it were an injury he could’ve come back from quickly, he would’ve been jogging. Not long after he was ominously ruled out with a left knee injury.

The Eagles would win the Roman Gabriel/Ron Jaworski Bowl, 43-35, after Nick Foles led the Eagles to a pair of field goals and the defense scored a touchdown on a failed lateral-down-the-field play with no time left.


Eagles fans were pretty happy at first. But walking out of the stadium, the news spread quickly. “Adam Schefter says it’s a torn ACL,” a man behind me said. (Schefter hadn’t reported that.) A reply came quickly: “Shit. That dude is always right.” (Schefter later reported Wentz will have an MRI back in Philadelphia today to determine if it is indeed an ACL tear.)



I spent all season constructing ways the Eagles’ dream year would crush Philly fans in the end. I came up with a few plausible scenarios, I thought. Maybe the Eagles would lose to Sam Bradford in the playoffs. Maybe they’d lose to Andy Reid in the Super Bowl. Maybe they’d lose to a returning Aaron Rogers and a 6-seed Packers team. Maybe they’d lose to the fucking Cowboys.

I hadn’t considered a Carson Wentz season-ending injury. Perhaps my brain had subconsciously blocked out the most painful scenario. Like every Eagles fan, I was pretty bummed postgame despite the exciting win. I kept notes on the things I overheard from Eagles fans while leaving the stadium. A sampling follows.