PHILADELPHIA — In early June, Ally Love started receiving messages from Philadelphia-area Peloton riders.

“You’re a coach now,” one said.

“If the Eagles win this year, Ally gets a ring,” said another.

The Peloton instructor wasn’t sure what they meant, until a member forwarded her an interview of Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis.

In the video, Davis talked about how he “fell in love with Peloton.” A reporter asked who his favorite instructor was. He mentioned Love by name.

Consider it her Inner Excellence moment. Love has been with Peloton for nine years, but had never been publicly acknowledged by an NFL player before.

That is, until June 4, when Davis dropped her name during OTAs. Since then, she has been hearing from Eagles fans. A lot of Eagles fans.

“A lot of ‘Go Birds,’ ” she said. “They were like, ‘She’s the unofficial person that’s moving the season, people don’t know that.’ Just funny comments.”

Love appreciated the gesture. It has been an abnormal time for her. She went on maternity leave in July, delivered her first son in August, and has been back on the bike only once in the past few months (for a Taylor Swift-themed ride).

Hearing about Davis lifted her spirits.

“It just made me feel like the things that I do matter,” she said. “I know that they matter, but they matter on many different levels. So, that made me feel good.”

In Davis’ mind, it was the least he could do. He says Peloton has changed him as a player. He’s lost weight — over 20 pounds — and built endurance.

It has helped lead to the best season of his young career.

“As a [defensive] lineman, all of our stuff kind of relies on the foot drive,” Davis said. “So when I’m cycling, I kind of think about that: just up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down.

“And when it comes to practice and games, I can feel, literally, that my legs are cycling. And the power that comes from that.”

‘That’s my guy’

Davis began riding last fall. He bought a bike, moved it to his basement, and set out to do three supplemental workouts a week, even if it was just 15 or 20 minutes a day.

The defensive tackle hadn’t been consistent with his conditioning in the past and hoped Peloton would change that. It did, in large part because of Love’s approach.

He liked her music choices (even the Taylor Swift rides). But most of all, Davis liked her energy. Love was positive and uplifting, giving her audience words of encouragement and a round of applause at the end of every ride.

“I just kept coming back,” Davis said. “She’s always cheerio, always happy. I’m like, this is the vibe I like.”

He was most impressed with her toughness. Love continued teaching her classes throughout her pregnancy. She stopped working about two months before she delivered her son.

“When she was doing those classes while she was pregnant, I was like, ‘Bro, I can’t, I can’t,’ ” Davis said. “That was amazing. She’s awesome. When I saw that, and she’s still grinding it out, I’m like ‘Bro, that’s amazing.’ ”

The results came quickly. During the playoffs, Davis didn’t feel as fatigued. After finishing the regular season with one sack in 17 games, he had two in the playoffs (one of which came against Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl in February).

He kept cycling during the offseason and the regular season this year and is now on track to shatter his career highs in solo tackles and quarterback hits in 2025.

Davis has already broken his career high for sacks, with three through eight games. (His previous mark was 2.5, in 2023, in 17.)

“Even in practice, it was just feeling like I have that extra burst,” Davis said. “I remember there was a point of the season [last year] where I would just churn my legs, and it just seemed like I wasn’t pushing against nothing.

“Like the offensive line was trying to block me, and I would just keep cycling my legs, almost. And it was kind of just that power. I could feel it.”

There is no play that encapsulates the difference in his physique more than Davis’ blocked field goal return for a touchdown against the Rams on Sept. 21.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Davis clocked in at 18.59 mph — a speed that he wouldn’t have been able to hit without Love and her Peloton rides, he said.

Love, who was raised as a Dolphins fan in Miami (but now roots for multiple teams) was watching the Eagles game at home in New York with her husband, Andrew Haynes. She was floored by what she saw.

“We watch football every weekend,” she said. “But I’m more keen to look out for him specifically, because that’s my guy. That’s my guy. That’s my brother, right there.

“It was a great play — obvi. I was being a little cheeky. Like, now I train football players. Now, I’m a part of the Philadelphia Eagles.”

Love and Haynes tried to look up Davis’ Peloton username on the leaderboard, but weren’t sure they found the right account. (“Jordan Davis is a common name,” she said.) The instructor hasn’t reached out to the defensive tackle yet, because she doesn’t want to make it about herself, and come across as “creepy.”

But she is proud of him and will continue to follow his career. Davis already has his sights set on his next goal.

“I’m getting to the point where I’m trying to graduate to a real bike, in the summer,” he said. “So I can kind of ride around and actually see stuff. It’s one thing to just see your wall; it’s another thing to go out on a ride. Get some real inclines, some real hills … stuff like that.”

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