Missed opportunity | Sports Daily Newsletter

Nick Sirianni made his decision and the Eagles will live with it as they begin their playoff quest. The coach decided to rest his starters against the lousy Washington Commanders, which seemed like an OK move until the Bears coughed up a game to the Lions. Then all the Eagles needed was to find a way to beat Washington on Sunday and move up to the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

They couldn’t do it. The subs in the secondary were especially bad in a 24-17 loss to the lowly Commanders that made the Birds’ path to another Super Bowl appearance more treacherous. Barring upsets, there is no easy road for the Eagles, David Murphy writes.

The first test will be a home game against the injury-wracked San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round of the playoffs on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (Fox29). When the Birds let the No. 2 seed slip away, though, they lost the guaranteed second home playoff game that comes with it.

Sirianni defended his decision. “One thing I could guarantee them was giving them rest. I couldn’t guarantee anything else,” he said. “And us being healthy and going into the playoffs healthy is a big deal for us. And you know, that’s served us well in the past.”

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Part of the problem for the Eagles came at cornerback, where Kelee Ringo and Jakorian Bennett started on the outside with Quinyon Mitchell and Adoree’ Jackson getting a rest. Ringo and Bennett committed several penalties in coverage that even a third-string quarterback like Josh Johnson could cash in on. Jeff McLane has his grades on the game, and the cornerbacks are far from the head of the class.

One bright spot for the Eagles: DeVonta Smith surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in receiving before he was quickly pulled from the action. CBS marked the milestone in its television coverage of the game.

The 49ers will come to the Linc as a depleted group, especially on defense. The Eagles respect them nonetheless. “It’s a big game,” linebacker Zack Baun said. “It’s the postseason. It’s the playoffs, and this team definitely turns it on in the playoffs.”

More coverage from Sunday’s game and the aftermath can be found here.

Nick Nurse and the Sixers survived the injury purgatory that was last season and now the team is looking as if it might be for real after Saturday’s 130-119 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The 19-14 Sixers are five games over .500 for the first time this season, perhaps providing a glimpse of what this team can become. Paul George, for one, is a believer.

“It’s safe to say everybody in this locker room is starting to enjoy the game,” George says. “We’re starting to enjoy being out on that floor, playing on both ends. And I think we’re just jelling. It’s translating. Everything that we’ve been trying to connect with is translating on the court.”

Dave Dombrowski has famously challenged Bryce Harper to become “elite” again, but it would help Harper’s cause if the Phillies protected him better in the batting order.

Two-thirds of the way through the offseason, it’s fair to wonder whether Dombrowski has provided Rob Thomson with better lineup alternatives than he had last season. With five weeks until spring training, let’s look at the options for protecting Harper.

The Flyers traded defenseman Egor Zamula to the Penguins on New Year’s Eve, and as of Sunday, he had not reported to Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate. The Penguins have suspended the former Flyer.

Rookie Denver Barkey scored his first NHL goal Saturday as the Flyers beat the Oilers, 5-2, in Edmonton.

Jan. 5, 1991: Washington bounced Buddy Ryan’s Eagles from the playoffs with a 20-6 victory in a wild-card game at Veterans Stadium. Ryan famously benched quarterback Randall Cunningham during the game for Jim McMahon, then went back to his starter after three McMahon incompletions. The Eagles fired Ryan three days later.

There is a faction among Eagles fans and NFL cognoscenti that hoped Tanner McKee would provide a quarterback controversy on which they could feed during the cold winter months. They hoped McKee, a sixth-round pick in 2023, might sufficiently shine in a meaningless game against a moribund team so that he might be considered a viable threat to Jalen Hurts, a two-time Pro Bowl player and the reigning Super Bowl MVP.

That didn’t happen. That was never going to happen.

Still, McKee looked good enough to win a game or two, maybe even in the playoffs. This, for the Eagles, is excellent news: They have a competent backup quarterback on whom they have expended almost no draft or salary-cap capital. More from Marcus Hayes.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff McLane, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Marcus Hayes, David Murphy, Scott Lauber, Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, Gabriela Carroll, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Devin Jackson, Ryan Mack, and Dylan Johnson.

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 Sports Daily as we get the new year underway. I’ll see you in Tuesday’s newsletter. — Jim