Buckle up | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Eagles’ schedule doesn’t get any easier this week.

After defeating the Rams in a glorious come-from-behind victory — thanks to Jordan Davis’ blocked field goal and ensuing scoop-and-score — the Birds will travel to Tampa Bay to face one of the other five undefeated teams in the NFL, the Buccaneers, on Sunday.

Are the Bucs the Achilles heel for the Eagles? It seems to be that way over the last four seasons, as the Birds lost four of their five matchups in the Nick Sirianni era. In their last two encounters, which include a playoff loss in 2023, Tampa Bay handed the Eagles losses.

Maybe this time around will be different. The Eagles’ winning streak stands at 17 games, and they’ve won 19 of 20 games since the 2024 Week 5 bye. It’s hard to say that they could lose again to the Bucs, especially after they rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit in Week 3.

However, not everything was perfect about their playmaking against the Rams. The offense sputtered early, and there seemed to be a disagreement between receiver A.J. Brown and Kevin Patullo over the first-year offensive coordinator’s play calling.

Patullo explained what went down and downplayed his interaction with an animated Jalen Hurts on the sideline, which was caught by television cameras. In the end, the Eagles are 3-0 and Patullo made the adjustments to get the job done. He said the Birds have “won three different ways” in three games.

Let’s see if there will be fourth way on Sunday.

— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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In 1974, Linda Mitchell noticed an orange and black bumper sticker with the catchphrase, “Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent” plastered onto just about every car in and around Philadelphia. The slogan became synonymous with the longtime Flyers goalie and key member of the Broad Street Bullies, who died at the age of 80 on Sunday. Years later, Mitchell learned it was her late husband, Bob, who coined it.

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced that the Joint Competition Committee voted to implement the automated ball-strike challenge system in the major leagues during the 2026 season.

What do the Phillies think of this addition?

“I love it, and I loved it in spring training,” said manager Rob Thomson. But players Otto Kemp and Walker Buehler, who both played this season in triple A, where the ABS system has been tested since 2019, aren’t big fans.

“I think it’s inaccurate,” Buehler said

The Phillies let a quality start from Cristopher Sánchez go awry in a 6-5 loss to the Marlins in 11 innings. Sánchez threw seven scoreless innings, but Miami rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the eighth and ninth innings.

On Tuesday, new Flyers coach Rick Tocchet revealed that he prefers right-handed and left-handed defensive pairings. So let’s break down how the lineup could shake out: Lefty Travis Sanheim can play both sides, while Cam York, Nick Seeler, and Jamie Drysdale already have their stalls set up in the main room. Egor Zamula is another lefty expected to be in the lineup, which means there’s one spot open. Helge Grans, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-handed defenseman, could fill that role. However, he’ll need to be more physical on the ice to have a chance.

La Salle College High’s Brett Gordon has been following Gavin Sidwar’s rise through the school’s record books for years, long before he was hired as the school’s coach. Now the quarterback, who’s bound for Missouri next fall, is just 48 yards and six touchdowns shy of setting two school records. The current benchmarks — 6,837 yards, 84 touchdowns — were set nearly 30 years ago by Gordon, who was the team’s starting quarterback in the mid-1990s.

You may think that baseball’s newly announced Automated Balls and Strikes challenge system sounds like a no-brainer. What harm can come from allowing batters, pitchers, and catchers a couple of chances a game to appeal for a near-instantaneous ruling on a borderline (or not so borderline) pitch?

The thing about new technology is that the skeptics and critics are rarely proven right in the long run.

Zack Wheeler won a Gold Glove in 2023. Who was the last Phillies pitcher to win a Gold Glove before him?

C) Steve Carlton in 1981 — Steven A. was first with the correct answer.

We asked: Who is the Phillies’ MVP this season? Among your responses:

2025 Phillies MVP Kyle Schwarber for sure with Turner as runner-up. Kyle leads the team in games played, runs, home runs, RBI’s, BB, OBP, SLG, and OPS. And an inspirational leader off the field as well. — Everett S.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Alex Coffey, David Murphy, Lochlahn March, Ariel Simpson, Jackie Spiegel, Katie Lewis, and Greg Finberg.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading. As always, have a wonderful Wednesday. Kerith will be in your inbox with Thursday’s newsletter. — Bella