Brady, Bucs send Birds packing | Sports Daily Newsletter

If the whole point of making it to the playoffs is to act like you’ve been there before, the contrasts between the Eagles and the Buccaneers in their Sunday clash were stark.

The Bucs, calm and efficient, were focused on disrupting the Eagles’ impressive running game, forcing young quarterback Jalen Hurts to beat them with his arm, which he struggled to do. Veteran Tom Brady did what he has done so well for so long, get zippy passes to open players.

Tampa Bay’s overall performance was less overwhelming than it was inexorable, especially since the Eagles couldn’t get anything going on their behalf until the second half. In the end, the defeat was so comprehensive that Eagles fans were left struggling to remember the good times of a season turnaround and race to make the playoffs.

Even if you think the Eagles were terrible, check out our Philly sports flashback at the end of today’s newsletter — and recall a time when for Philadelphia, Terrible was good.

— Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport

Sure, Jalen Reagor had the most obvious in-game gaffe, but who was ultimately most responsible for the playoff loss? Quarterback Jalen Hurts? Coach Nick Sirianni? Owner Jeffrey Lurie? Share your thoughts: sports.daily@inquirer.com

The season wasn’t a failure. But Sunday was, as the Eagles made it to the playoffs only to trail 31-0 to the Buccaneers and get exposed.

There’s not nearly enough talent on the roster. That we knew from the preseason predictions that this team wouldn’t make it this far. Then when the Eagles did get to the playoffs, they still kept having to use a struggling Jalen Reagor as the punt returner. Reagor had a critical muff, and that cost the Eagles any serious chance of a second-half comeback. A failed draft pick came back to bite them.

Hurts didn’t play well either in his first playoff start, throwing two interceptions and various passes that revealed his limitations. And the running attack that had carried the Eagles this season didn’t get going, as the Buccaneers blew up their RPOs.

Good luck beating Brady with mistake after mistake, and now the Eagles are going fishing.

With players in and out of the lineup because of COVID-19 and injuries, the G League has never been more important for the Sixers. And the Delaware Blue Coats have delivered this year, going 14-1 during the first chunk of the season and winning the G League Winter Showcase even as the NBA consistently stole players from their roster.

Several players from the G League have played a critical stopgap role for the Sixers, including Charlie Brown Jr. and Myles Powell, who have latched on for the remainder of the season with two-way deals. The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell tells the full story of the Blue Coats’ successful season.

Next: The Sixers travel to Washington to play the Wizards today at 2 p.m. as part of the NBA’s MLK Day slate.

The Flyers have lost seven straight and one of the biggest reasons has been the team’s inability to sustain momentum.

In back-to-back losses to the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers, the Flyers failed to capitalize on momentum, and in fact, surrendered it right away. After rallying from 2-0 down to tie the score in Boston, the Flyers immediately committed a penalty following Joel Farabee’s tying goal. The Bruins subsequently scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Against the Rangers, the Flyers took the lead via Cam York’s score with less than 10 minutes left to play. That lead lasted only 37 seconds, though, as Filip Chytil immediately tied the score.

If the Flyers are to end their losing run, they will need to do a better job of keeping momentum.

Next: The Flyers will make their first trip to the new UBS Arena at 7:30 tonight to take on the New York Islanders NBCSP).

Bond of brothers: Kevin Hayes had an emotional return to Boston, where he and his late brother grew up.

Down, then win out: The Sixers, road-weary and depleted, still won against a tough opponent.

Keep on rolling: Villanova was in fine form in a 40-point rout of Butler.

Jan. 17, 1986: Philadelphia’s Tim Witherspoon, “Terrible,” won a majority decision over Tony Tubbs at the Omni in Atlanta to capture the WBA heavyweight title.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Josh Tolentino, EJ Smith, Jeff McLane, David Murphy, Marcus Hayes, Gina Mizell, Olivia Reiner, Giana Han, Jeff Neiburg, and David Gambacorta.