The Eagles may hail from all over the country, but they’re Philadelphians on the football field. And, this year, they’re going all the way. Pennsylvania will be cheering on its Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9th, where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans. Across the Keystone state, players like Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts are household names, revered superstars and sports idols of fans young and old. And we want to know: what do they like to eat? We dug into the Eagles’ favorite foods, and found a bevy of unique and mouthwatering bites ranging carb-loading delights to mom’s home cooking.
Saquon Barkley Eats for Longevity
It will come as no surprise that PSU alum, elite athlete and the Eagles’ juggernaut star Barkley eats for his health. This means grains, proteins, plant based nutrition and a simple but tasty breakfast every day. In an interview with Essence, Barkley said, “Really if you break it down to the core of everyone, it’s ‘What can I do to stay on this planet and have a life that has a lot of memories?’ And it starts with eating. It starts with your diet and nutrition.” Barkley also has an affinity for chocolate covered pretzels, a sweet treat made by Flipz, with whom he’s teaming up with for a Super Bowl ad.
Saquon Barkley with Flipz snacks
Jalen Hurts Really Loves Crawfish
Texas-born Hurts joined the Eagles in 2020 and has lead the team to tremendous success as QB. Though he’s now a Philadelphian, Hurts’ favorite food is tied to his Southern roots: crawfish. Hurts learned how to cook crawfish from his father and grandfather and has a very high standard for a proper crawfish boil. He’s even been known to ponder a career as a professional crawfish cooker and has gotten the Eagles practice facility cafeteria to serve his beloved crustaceans.
DeVonta Smith has a “Wawa Addiction”
While DeVonta Smith hails from Louisiana and names crawfish étouffée as his favorite food (he should team up with Hurts in the kitchen), he has also confessed suffering from a Wawa addiction. What could be more Philly than that? In particular, Smith has regularly ordered the honey turkey hoagie and sometimes treats himself to a milkshake, too.
Lane Johnson Eats Like a Sumo Wrestler
You don’t want to see Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson barreling towards you. At 6’6″ and 325 pounds, he’s a formidable guy who has to consume formidable quantities of food to maintain his heft and prowess. One of his staple dishes has been the “monster mash,” inspired by the diets of sumo wrestlers, who need to continuously eat large portions. The monster mash is essentially a rice bowl with lean meat like bison, scrambled eggs, bone broth and red peppers, and its moistness allows for easy consumption. Johnson’s also highly fond of meat and potatoes, particularly chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes, so his personal chef will make healthier versions of them few times a week.
Jalen Carter Loves Hamburger Helper
Florida native and disruptive defensive tackle Jalen Carter has a strong bond with his mother, Tonique Brown, and has called her Hamburger Helper his favorite meal. When presented with the dish, Carter quickly makes it disappear. He said, “My mom cooks Hamburger Helper and I love it. I could eat that every day… She calls me to come eat and when I got the plate it’s gone in a minute.” That’s a solid endorsement.
Nolan Smith is a Whiz in the Kitchen
Eagle’s linebacker Nolan Smith Jr. played for the University of Georgia before his NFL draft. While there, he honed his expansive culinary skill set, watching Gordon Ramsay almost daily. In a 2022 interview, Smith said, “I can prepare anything.” That includes venison, risotto, turkey and, his favorite, seafood. He professed his love for king grab legs… “the big ones with the thorns” and said he could eat them every day.
Darius Slay Jr. Does Carb-Loading Right
When asked what he eats before a game, captain and cornerback Darius Slay Jr. aka “Slay” says he adjusts his pre-game carbo-centric meals according to the time of day, but they all sound scrumptious. “Depending on what time the game is, if it’s in the morning game, the last thing I’m going to eat is my grits and eggs. If it’s an evening game or a night game, I got the pasta on deck with the Alfredo with the pesto mixed together. Yes. With the garlic bread. It’s going crazy.” Sounds downright delicious to us.
Jordan Mailata Eats Superstitiously
Australian Jordan Mailata is another offensive tackle of intimidating stature. He’s 6’8″ tall, weighs 365 pounds and wears a size 18 cleat. Coming from Australia, Mailata had to adjust his expectations, particularly around the quintessential American hamburger, which comes with far simpler toppings than back home. He says that canned beets on burgers are “the best” and he still orders eggs as a topping whenever possible, though he’s had less luck getting pineapple piled on. Mailata also thinks the Australian snacks are tough to beat, risking blasphemy by saying, “Tastykakes are good, but they’re not going to beat a Lamington.”
On “The Dave Chang Show” podcast, Mailata shared that he has a calming pregame routine that involves a heavy dose of superstitious behaviors, like arriving three hours early to games and always sitting three rows back on the left hand side when traveling on a bus or plane. He has two must-have meals before every game. The night before, Mailata consumes an enormous bowl of bowtie pasta with shrimp, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and blush sauce as well as a 20 ounce steak, three pieces of garlic bread and a Sprite to wash it down. The day of, he enjoys an eight egg omelette with spinach, mushroom, cheese (and avocado when he’s feeling fancy), plus four regular size pancakes (or eight dollar sized ones) and a glass of orange juice.
Mailata says he once deviated from his superstitious meals with a ramen bowl, and “gave up a sack the next day.” Lesson learned.
AJ Brown Has Strong Opinions on Fruit
Like most pro athletes, wide receiver AJ Brown eats clean and healthy with a highly disciplined diet nearly void of vices (for Brown, those temptations are chips and cake). That leaves grains, proteins and fresh produce, a subject on which Brown has some strong feelings. On social media platform X in 2023, Brown shared his hot takes on a variety of fruits. While he sings the praise of mangoes and grapefruits, he calls other fruits mediocre. Speaking ill of strawberries and pineapples are bold moves, and the statements stirred up quite a lot of responses. His “rant” ends with a joking order to “Now go grocery shopping and stop eating fast food.” We admire the foodie passion and would welcome guest writing by Brown anytime!
Mekhi Becton Makes a Mean Marry Me Chicken
Virginia-born Mekhi Becton aka “Big Ticket” is a towering 6’7″ guard who inherited a love for cooking from his mother, Semone Becton. She’s a chef with a culinary degree, and Becton has followed in her footsteps. He picks up skills through cooking shows and says his favorite meals to make are risotto and Marry Me Chicken. The latter is a rich and savory dish of chicken breast, parmesan, cream, sun dried tomatoes and pepper flakes. Yes, please!
However they choose to fuel up and chow down, we’re wishing all of the Eagles a fantastic Super Bowl game. Go Birds!
- Feature photo of Saquon Barkley: Flipz
- Food and Wawa photos: Bigstock
