🦅 An ugly outing | Sports Daily Newsletter

It felt like we were trapped in a spiral. The Eagles offense couldn’t generate a spark and the defense couldn’t make a stop Monday night.

Both sides of the ball had sluggish performances that resulted in a 27-7 loss to Chicago and third-string quarterback Case Keenum. Just as they did in their Week 13 victory on Black Friday last year, the Bears outplayed the Eagles.

The Eagles coughed up the ball three times, Jalen Hurts was evaluated for a concussion but returned, and penalties on both sides of the ball were a setback throughout the game.

All the while, the 38-year-old Keenum threw for 247 yards and accounted for three total touchdowns. The Eagles were poor across the board, but Nick Sirianni should shoulder the blame, writes Jeff McLane.

So, how about those Phillies? A 2 p.m. start time isn’t ideal, but playoff baseball is officially back today. The Sixers also held their media day on Monday, where LeBron James donned the uniform for the first time.

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

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❓What was the biggest downfall in the Eagles’ loss to the Bears? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Jesús Luzardo will start Game 1 of a best-of-three wild-card series against the Braves. The Phillies initially planned to have Zack Wheeler start, but they needed him Sunday in a must-win regular-season finale.

Now, the Phillies have to get creative — and they’ve been in a similar pitching conundrum before. In 2023, the Phillies opened with Ranger Suárez in Atlanta. The move paid off. They’re hoping the same happens with Luzardo.

In other news, Luis Arraez continues to get positive updates on his sprained left ankle, but he will not be included on the wild-card roster.

👀 Seeing: Nick Sirianni offered some choice words after a late hit on Jalen Hurts. Here’s what you missed from the broadcast.

📺 Watching: Former Villanova guard Jalen Brunson making his first appearance as host of NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

🐱 Learning: Villanova’s mascot, Will D. Cat, signed an NIL deal with a popular cat food brand.

👕 Wearing: The Sixers announced their six-uniform rotation — and yes, the Iverson-era black jerseys are back.

LeBron James, one of the NBA’s all-time greats and a mainstream international celebrity, spoke publicly for the first time since he chose the Sixers in a stunning free-agency move in July.

And while he acknowledged that the outside noise surrounding the Sixers has doubled now that he’s here, James reemphasized that his goal — in perhaps his last destination in a storied NBA career — is to reach the NBA mountaintop.

Check out more from our Sixers media day coverage, including how Jaylen Brown is adjusting to his new team and Joel Embiid wanting to play “as much as possible” this season.

Porter Martone came out like gangbusters with the Flyers. After wrapping up a dominant freshman season at Michigan State, the sixth overall pick in the 2025 draft kept the Orange and Black’s playoff dreams alive.

Now his teammates are excited to see what Martone can bring in his first full pro season. The 19-year-old has the potential to be the franchise’s next box-office star.

The cost of hiring youth sports officials has increased, while the number of officials participating has declined. In New Jersey, increasingly complex labor laws have created an unforeseen issue: the worker classification of officials in amateur sports.

The change of officiating classification could be slow and gradual. However, classifying officials as independent contractors or employees could lead to higher costs and fewer refs.

Zack Wheeler helped avert the greatest collapse in Philadelphia sports history, and carried the rest of the franchise-record $330 million payroll with him. After three straight years of dead bats in the playoffs, can they do this postseason what they did Sunday? We don’t know about the hitters. We do know about Wheeler, writes columnist Marcus Hayes.

We asked: How far do you think the Phillies can go in the playoffs? Among your responses:

Despite almost being eliminated from NL playoff contention, the Phillies still have plenty of talent in that nearly $292 million roster to make a deep post-season run. The Phillies have both the talent in pitching an offense to compete with any MLB team. They’ll have to start by overcoming a big obstacle — an estimated 36.7% chance of beating an Atlanta Braves team that holds a 9–4 advantage over the Phillies of 9–4 this year. If they don’t — we’ll welcome in October with an Eagles winning record and the start of Sixers Training Camp this week. — Michael L.

I’m a lifelong Phillies fan who still supports them to the end even though I’m retired and living in South Carolina. Although the team has the ability to get on a heater and go as far as the end, I’m afraid this time it’s going to stop in Atlanta. The starters can throw several strong innings and the hitters can deliver a few runs but this bullpen has proven there is no lead they are incapable of giving up. I hope I’m wrong but I see teams just waiting to feast once the starters are gassed and taking the fightin Phils down early. — John P.

How far the Phils go will depend on their hitting and bullpen. Starters need to go out least 6 innings, giving up 2 or less runs, bats need to get hot and the bullpen needs to do a job they haven’t been doing most of the season. — Tom G.

Phillies are definitely going to win the whole thing. Or lose two straight to Atlanta. — Dan B.

Well it depends on them. They certainly can beat the Braves, even though the Braves have Chris Sales, and they can beat the Dodgers if their pitching and hitting and fielding is in. The Brewers not so much. Go Phillies!!!!! — Bill M.

Squirrels things can and do happen in sports. A foot slips, a bad bounce a missed tag. On paper the Phils will lose. As long as they do not surrender the game to the bullpen they have a good chance to get past the Braves and even the Dodgers. — Nick S.

Right now not concerned with how far the Phillies can go, but concentrating on the herculean task of winning two out of three in Atlanta where the Phils were 1-4 this season and 4-9 overall against the division champ Braves who finished 6 games ahead of our guys. — Everett S.

They are a flawed team with many weak spots but I’ve been around long enough to know that if you catch a tiger by the tail anything can happen. That being said I doubt they will get past Atlanta as they are far too inconsistent. The bats and the bullpen will eventually let them down. Potential is a very nebulous term that is thrown around when evaluating this group. They are paid well to produce but the actual results show a different story. Other than a few starting pitchers , one member of the bullpen and a home run striker very few ere playing anywhere near their original potential. — Bill B.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Olivia Reiner, Marcus Hayes, Jeff McLane, Jackie Spiegel, Scott Lauber, Lochlahn March, Gina Mizell, Chris Hine, Gabriella Carroll, Isabella DiAmore, Mike Livingston, Maria McIlwain, and Conor Smith.

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.

That’s it for me this week, have a wonderful Tuesday. Maria will be in your inbox tomorrow. — Bella