The Eagles recap is in progress and will be done on Monday morning. Spoiler: they stunk up the joint in The Meadowlands.

But first, a shout out to the Philadelphia Union, who on Sunday night beat Nashville in a penalty shootout to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

Here’s the last spot kick, as seen from the press box:

Andre Blake was immense in the shootout. That save on MVP candidate Hany Mukhtar set the tone for Jack Elliott to step up and blast home his penalty. The Union never looked back, and are now headed to their first conference final since joining Major League Soccer in 2010.

Regardless of what happens from here, the 2021 Union season sees them win two playoff games and advance to the final four of the playoffs and the CONCACAF Champion’s League. That’s an amazing accomplishment for a team that is not a sexy and heavy-spending MLS club. A club that sold two of its best players to Europe after winning the 2020 Supporter’s Shield. This iteration of the U plays a grind-it-out team game, and while they don’t have much quality going forward, the defensive spine of Blake, Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, and Brujo Martinez is gritty as hell. They really do embody the corny “blue collar Philly tough” attitude. They don’t give up anything cheap or easy and they really play an organized defensive style. They’re normal guys, too. No super models. No fancy cars. No drama queen bullshit. Just a bunch of dawgs who love to play the game.

They’ll get the winner of Tuesday’s New England/NYC game. Both teams are a bitch, but the Union would get home field if New York wins. That’s who fans should be pulling for. You want to avoid having to go up to Gillette to play on the crap turf. You want that Subaru Park crowd behind you.

Anyway, congrats to Jim Curtin and Ernst Tanner and all of the folks down there in Chester. Hell of an accomplishment this season, and it’s not over yet.