Eagles

Riq Woolen Says He Didn’t Hear the Play Call Before Eagles Were Torched for a 41-Yard Touchdown

By Matt Schultz

Published: Oct 2nd, 2026 · 1:32 PM EDT

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The Bears handed the Eagles a 27-7 beatdown on Monday night, and as the week chugs along and we all try to figure out what the hell happened at Soldier Field, some interesting tidbits have been coming to light. Here’s one that I’ve been thinking about a lot: Riq Woolen claims to have not heard the defensive play call before the Birds were burned by Kalif Raymond for a 41-yard touchdown:

Here's the all-22 angle of Kalif Raymond's 41-yard touchdown against the #Eagles.

As @FDuffyNFL pointed out on the show last night, everyone in the secondary is playing man except Riq Woolen. Costly mental mistake that broke the game open for the Bears. pic.twitter.com/L76u8l1YGf

— EJ Smith (@EJSmith94) September 29, 2026

#Eagles CB Riq Woolen took accountability for the busted 41-yard TD vs. the Bears. Said he didn’t hear the call, thought they were in zone, and should have been in man on WR Kalil Raymond.

— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 30, 2026

The hell? How do you not hear the play call? Isn’t that one of the main parts of a football player’s job? Hearing the play call has nothing to do with athletic ability or football IQ or anything. It just has to do with paying attention. Everyone has the ability to pay attention. It’s easy. I could do this. A child could do this. An elderly person could do this. Some animals could probably even do this. A dog. Dogs listen pretty well. Hearing stuff is easy. Just focus on the thing you’re trying to hear. So why didn’t Woolen hear it?

Unfortunately, this sort of thing seems like it’s just part of Woolen’s bag. He’s huge, fast, and athletic as hell, but mental lapses like this added up while he was in Seattle, which surely played a part in him being available last offseason and being unable to find a better contract than the one-year, $15 million prove-it deal the Eagles signed him to. The internet is littered with Seahawks fans voicing their frustration with the guy for exactly this reason, and telling Eagles fans they tried to warn them:

Riq Woolen has had an incredible resurgence this season, but that was a horrific two-play sequence. He was flagged for taunting after breaking up a third-down pass. The penalty gave the Rams 15 yards and a fresh set of downs. Then Woolen was beat for a touchdown on the next play.

— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) January 26, 2026

I think we know why Riq Woolen was available. He makes too many mental mistakes and gets confused about what the coverages are. After a while, he becomes a liability. All that physical talent aint worth the mistakes.

— Al Fisher (@al_smuv) September 30, 2026

eagles fans getting the full riq woolen experience 😭😭😭😭😭

— 🪼 (@CookemE_) September 29, 2026

riq woolen fr a jack ass sometimes

this generations antonio cromartie

rams capitalize on the seahawks mental lapse

— JP²⁶ (@_JP26_) January 26, 2026

As a Hawks fan, I will continue to say – told ya so. His focus is a major concern and gave up many long TDs caused by his lack of focus.

— ChelHawks (@therealnjfan) October 1, 2026

This same exact problem with him while playing as a Seahawks, sometimes his lack of attention would give up big plays and they were heart breaking like that TD pass to 49ers bkup TE Tonges

— Rajesh Patil (@RajeshP74187015) October 1, 2026

Philadelphia Eagles welcome to Riq Woolen dumb penalty world 💀

— B (@bankruptbrando) September 29, 2026

Not sure there’s anything Vic Fangio can even do about this sort of thing. When you sign a talented but flawed guy like Woolen, you know stuff like this is bound to happen. Here’s to hoping it happens as infrequently as possible.