Karma for the Birds? | Sports Daily Newsletter

It wasn’t enough that the Eagles are the best at the Brotherly Shove.

It wasn’t enough to simply beat the Kansas City Chiefs on their home turf in a Super Bowl rematch, never mind also take down the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills in the span of four weeks.

It wasn’t enough.

But now, having dropped three straight, including Monday’s loss to a Drew Lock-led Seattle Seahawks squad, their swagger has caught up to them. They’ve gotten their comeuppance, Mike Sielski writes.

They’re still playoff-bound. They still could win the division, and there’s even still a path to a first-round bye.

But maybe, Sielski writes, it’s time for the Eagles to sit here and take the barbs flung their way.

— Maria McIlwain, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓ With the playoffs looming, how far do you think the Eagles will go? Why? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

The Eagles defensive coaching ranks were in turmoil leading up to the Seahawks game, and then James Bradberry & Co. surrendered a game-winning touchdown drive with Matt Patricia calling the plays.

But the struggles of Jalen Hurts and the offense are just as important for the Eagles to fix. The two interceptions were costly, but the Eagles weren’t executing well enough to put away the Seahawks even before that.

Something has to be done about an offense in which the play calling has become predictable. EJ Smith continues to write that it needs to evolve under Nick Sirianni. And as Jeff McLane writes after Sean Desai’s demotion, “there’s an argument to be made, after the Eagles offense failed to score more than 19 points for the third straight week, that he repositioned the wrong set of chairs.”

Still, look at the bright side!

Next: The Eagles host the New York Giants on Christmas Day (4:30 p.m., Fox29).

The NBA is a star-driven league. All 30 teams are top-heavy in talent and production, and the 76ers’ roster construction is no different.

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey serve as that engine for the Sixers. While their place in the franchise is understood, there also needs to be some balance on offense. That much was obvious in the Sixers’ loss to the Bulls on Monday. As coach Nick Nurse said, there isn’t “around-the-horn” help.

Next: The Sixers host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday (7 p.m., NBA TV, NBCSP).

Ryan Poehling is buzzing.

And on Tuesday night he was finally rewarded with a pair of goals. Each of his goals tied things up against the New Jersey Devils before Owen Tippett scored in overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 victory.

The last time Poehling had a two-goal game was with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2022 — and it was against the Flyers.

Next: The Flyers are back in action on Thursday against the Nashville Predators at the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., NBCSP).

It sounds like an easy recipe. But it’s not.

Size, strength, athleticism, intelligence, among other ingredients. Mix that together and let it sit for about 17 years. Then, hopefully, you’ll have a Division I-caliber offensive lineman like John Paul II’s Kevin Heywood, who’s expected to sign with Wisconsin today.

This Martin Luther King senior is a relative newcomer to football but is going Division I nonetheless. Aaron Carter has the story of Demitrius Jones, whose “surreal” journey culminates in signing with Cornell.

Visit inquirer.com for live coverage from national signing day. But before you do, here are the biggest local storylines to follow.

Lessons learned: Patience is the name of the game for Villanova juniors Jordan Longino and Nnanna Njoku.

Taking flight: Another Temple linebacker has declared for the NFL draft.

Run it back: The Union signed Drexel grad Chris Donovan to an extension.

We asked you: Who is the Eagles’ leader in career rushing yardage?

Answer: A: LeSean McCoy. The running back amassed 6,792 rushing yards in 90 games from 2009 to 2014.

We asked you: Can the Eagles turn it around? How? Among your responses

How does a team with their record lose to a team who wasn’t even at .500 until they beat us? The Birds are not playing well and each loss is worse. I’m not known as an optimist and I feel their season is done. They will make the playoffs because of their record and be done in the first round. It’s been sad to watch them decline. — Kathy T.

Anyone who thought the Eagles were a genuine 10 and 1 team either was deceiving themselves or wasn’t watching. I predicted early on in the season that the defense was weak and would be exploited by a good passing game. And that certainly has happened, in a repeat of last year’s Super Bowl. It’s not the offense, that’s fine, but the defensive secondary and linebackers are being beaten regularly. — Barry J.

I don’t think so, but do hope the Eagles can turn it around. That was a disaster in Seattle. If Jalen is not feeling 100%, why is he playing? That was not one of his better games. Seattle is a subpar team playing with a backup QB who shocked us at the end with a game-winning perfect pass against a team with two defensive coaches who were not prepared for it. But enough of last night. Yes, they are now tied with the Cowboys and with their easy schedule they can still win their division. The Cowboys have to go to Miami now and will most likely lose there. But after winning their division, I would at this point be very pessimistic regarding their chances to repeat as NFC champs. — Everett S.

The Eagles cannot turn it around. With nearly the same personnel as last year, the defense is totally porous. Only [C.J.] Gardner-Johnson is missing from last year’s good (not great) defense. So why are they so bad this year? Coaching has got to be the reason, and you cannot fix that at this point in the season. I have never seen as much proof of the value of coaching. Sean Desai was overmatched, and in over his head. Inexperienced in putting together a complete defense, it was suggested that the Eagles defensive players were confused and disorganized. It looked like that on the field in most games. The offensive coordinator, [Brian] Johnson, looked like he was learning as he went, but Desai didn’t look like he was learning anything. The 2023 Eagles are Super Bowl-contending talent with lack of coaching acumen. — John W.

Yes, but the only way is to get back to scoring 20 points a game. They need to get more creative on offense because the D can’t be fixed this late in the season. Somebody has to help Brian Johnson out. Maybe a certain unemployed man whose first name is Frank???? — Harv S.

Adapt or Die: Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson has been a bit of a lightning rod among fans this season. As his first year in the gig begins to wind down, how is Johnson really doing? Does he deserve to be the target of so much criticism? What do Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni, and other football experts think? Listen here.

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We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Mike Sielski, David Murphy, Gina Mizell, Jackie Spiegel, Isabella DiAmore, Aaron Carter, Jeff Neiburg, Kerith Gabriel, and Gustav Elvin.

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 today! I’ll be back tomorrow, hopefully with happier news. — Maria