Refuse to lose | Sports Daily Newsletter
These Eagles find a way to win no matter what.
For the second game in a row, the Eagles got outplayed by an AFC opponent.
Didn’t matter.
Nick Sirianni’s Birds have shown that they can play lousy football for large stretches of games and still come away with a victory. Now they are 10-1, still the best record in the NFL, after a 37-34 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Jalen Hurts finished the first half with four completions for 33 yards and an interception, with a 7.0 passer rating. Again, didn’t matter. Hurts rattled off three touchdown passes in the second half, then rallied the Birds to set up a tying, 59-yard field goal by Jake Elliott late in the fourth quarter. Then Hurts won it in OT with a 12-yard run.
This team seems to find a way to win no matter what. “Game in and game out, we’ve been challenged in a number of different ways,” Hurts said. “But we always find a way. And that’s something that you can’t really take for granted.”
— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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The Eagles played without possible Hall of Fame offensive tackle Lane Johnson. Likely Hall of Fame defensive tackle Fletcher Cox left at halftime. Still, the Birds overcame two 10-point deficits in the second half and displayed the heart of a champion to win, Marcus Hayes writes.
“What animal has the biggest heart in the world?” asked Darius Slay. “The blue whale? We got a blue whale heart, then.”
Who gets the only A for the game in Jeff McLane’s grades for the Eagles? How about the special teams?
Defensive end Brandon Graham set a new franchise high with 189 career games played.
Next: The Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. (Fox29).
The Union’s quest to win the MLS Cup will have to wait another year after the team bowed out — in controversial fashion — on Saturday night in the quarterfinals.
While the 2023 campaign will be viewed as another missed opportunity, could it be the end of an era? Jonathan Tannenwald looks at the future for the Union and why Saturday’s loss might lead to some major changes.
In 21 games, the Flyers have scored just seven power-play goals.
But the team’s 29th-ranked power play (10%) is nothing new around these parts. In fact, the Flyers have finished with the league’s worst power play in each of the last two seasons. What’s going wrong for the Orange and Black with the man advantage? Jackie Spiegel looks at the numbers and assesses the good, bad, and ugly.
Next: The Flyers are back on home ice Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m., ESPN+/Hulu).
The 76ers have maintained high expectations in recent years with hopes of capitalizing on Joel Embiid’s prime years. But how realistic are those expectations? The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey takes a look at what the evidence suggests is a fair barometer for this year’s team. And, of course, on a team with Embiid, this all comes with the caveat of what this team can achieve when 100% healthy.
Next: The Sixers will face the Los Angeles Lakers at 7 p.m. Monday at the Wells Fargo Center (NBCSP).
Worth a look
Coaching milestone: Fran Dunphy gained his 600th win as La Salle topped Coppin State.
Leading the Cats: Lucy Olsen scored 21 points as Villanova prevailed at Wake Forest.
Hawks prevail: St. Joseph’s downed Sacred Heart behind 16 points from Cameron Brown.
Quakers win: Sam Brown, son of Brett, tallied 16 points in Penn’s victory over Monmouth.
College football: Ohio State slipped from second to 10th in the AP poll. Penn State is ranked 10th.
On this date
Nov. 27, 1949: Steve Van Buren rushed for 205 yards on 27 carries as the Eagles beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 34-17.
The Kenny Gainwell incident revived a conversation in sports that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon: is social media good for professional athletes? Is it worth it? What are the rewards and traps?
Inquirer Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane posed these questions to the Eagles’ locker room, with over a dozen players sharing personal stories about social media use, and how it’s affected them and their mental health. Listen here.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Olivia Reiner, Jeff McLane, Mike Sielski, Marcus Hayes, Josh Tolentino, EJ Smith, Keith Pompey, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jeff Neiburg, Mia Messina, Matthew Frank, and Kerith Gabriel.
That’s all for today, folks. I’ll be back at it for Tuesday’s newsletter, after LeBron pays a visit to South Philly. — Jim
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