🦅 Hurts’ second chance | Sports Daily Newsletter

It’s our final Sports Daily before Super Bowl LIX, so let’s go out with bang and focus on the guy who nearly won the big game for the Eagles the last time around.

Yes, we are aware that Saquon Barkley is the story for the Eagles this season (and that nasty defense is a close second). But it’s not hard to remember Jalen Hurts’ performance against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, when he accounted for 374 yards and four touchdowns.

He also made a crucial fumble that was returned for a touchdown and the Eagles lost. You can bet that Hurts remembers that. From his formative years as a quarterback, he has used losses and past failures to fuel his competitive fire. “You either win or you learn,” Hurts has said famously.

He gets another chance against the Chiefs in two days. EJ Smith tells the story of Hurts, his father and high school coach Averion Sr., and the star quarterback’s ever-burning fire.

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

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The Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

The 76ers started this season harboring hopes of an NBA title. And while they’ve had a rough start, that desire hasn’t changed. The Sixers (20-30) moved on the margins at the trade deadline, dealing Caleb Martin and a second-round pick to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick. They also traded Reggie Jackson and KJ Martin in separate deals, bringing in Jared Butler, four-second round picks, and cutting costs to place them under the luxury tax threshold.

These moves were confirmation of what we already know: that the Sixers’ season really rests on the availability and ability of Joel Embiid and Paul George. Tyrese Maxey has played his part as a member of the All-Star trio. But it all rests on the shoulders of Embiid and George. That’s the only way through, David Murphy writes.

Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was around for that Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs two years ago as well, but he left the team in free agency. He returned this season on a three-year, $27 million contract and is incredibly grateful that he did. Gardner-Johnson became emotional as he celebrated the NFC championship victory with Nick Sirianni.

“It makes everything so surreal when you can leave, come back, and go back to the same spot you were just at, especially with a guy who calls you and tells you, ‘Hey, [I] believe in you,’” Gardner-Johnson said.

After a season for the ages, Saquon Barkley was named offensive player of the year by the Associated Press.

Former Eagles All-Pro cornerback Eric Allen is heading to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A.J. Brown spent plenty of time this week answering questions from reporters. As it turns out, the Eagles wide receiver longed to join the sports media as a student at Ole Miss. Matt Breen writes about Brown studying journalism in college.

The forgotten man during this Eagles run? Maybe it’s edge rusher Bryce Huff, who saw injuries ruin his first season with the Birds. Howie Roseman isn’t ready to give up on Huff just yet.

There has been a complaint circulating among some NFL fans that the Chiefs receive favorable treatment from the officials. Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira calls that idea “a myth' — and there are some numbers to back him up.

There is much more in our wall-to-wall coverage of the Eagles in the Super Bowl. You can find it here.

The Flyers’ losing streak extended to five games with a 4-3 home loss to the Washington Capitals. Alex Ovechkin moved one step closer to Wayne Gretzky’s career-goal mark, while Matvei Michkov scored twice for the Orange and Black.

Just 17 years old, Neil Pierre might be the best centerback prospect in Union history. The 6-foot-5 Pierre was promoted to the first team this week, but new manager Bradley Carnell isn’t going to rush him into action.

“We know Neil has some good attributes, and we know he’s got a lot of good physical components to his game — that gives him a natural advantage right now,” Carnell said. “ … But I don’t want to throw too much weight, I don’t want to throw too much responsibility.”

Here is our Philly fan photo for this week as part of our Friday lineup. Want to be included? Submit photos with a Philly sports theme here for the opportunity to be featured.

We asked you: What move was on your NBA trade deadline wish list for the Sixers? Among your responses:

I think is excellent advice that my fellow Philly friend Michael offered: They need to clean house, get younger and start all over. Get what you can for Paul George. Trade Embiid during the off-season (his contract prevents him during the season), get rid of the general manager and find new ownership. In summary, everything needs an overhaul. Their current players' contracts set them back from being a championship contender for at least seven years. — Everett S.

A blockbuster: the entire franchise to move elsewhere; e.g., St. Louis, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, etc. The franchise jerked around the city with its pie-in-the-sky, Chinatown be damned arena plans, costing untold amounts of money. The “franchise player” (sarcastic quotes quite intentional) misses game after game, and is, for all intents and purposes, the opposite of a team player. And those are just two examples why. … Sell the team and move it. Philadelphia would be thunderously indifferent if that happened. — John B.

Embiid. Trade him for anything. — Bill M.

Jeff McLane delves into key takeaways from Eagles’ media sessions with Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni, offers an engaging chat with Eagles radio announcer Merrill Reese, and shares intriguing stories from the Vic Fangio feature in The Inquirer. Listen here.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from EJ Smith, Jeff Neiburg, Jeff McLane, Gabriela Carroll, Matt Breen, David Murphy, Keith Pompey, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Ariel Simpson, and Mia Messina.

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 fans. I’ll see you in Monday’s newsletter, when we run down what happened in the Super Bowl. — Jim