🦅 Birds on the brain | Sports Daily Newsletter

Eagles fans have plenty on their minds this week, and we’re not just talking about last-minute Christmas shopping. There is playoff seeding to consider, along with the question of whether the Eagles should rest their starters with two games left. There’s an Arctic matchup with the 11-4 Bills approaching on Sunday. And there is a kicker who keeps hooking his field goal attempts.

Here’s what we know: The Eagles have roughly a 10% chance of moving up to the No. 2 seed in the NFC, according to FTN Fantasy’s playoff projections. At some point, Nick Sirianni will choose to rest key players before the playoffs, but Lane Johnson (foot) and Jalen Carter (shoulders) reportedly could be available on Sunday. So Sirianni has some choices to make before the matchup in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Regarding the Bills, they’re still in a fight to win the AFC East with the 12-3 New England Patriots, although Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen is nursing a foot injury that might limit his ability to scramble. The Birds will be focused on shutting down James Cook, the league’s rushing leader with 1,532 yards.

And what about that kicker who has lost his way? Sirianni gave Jake Elliott another vote of confidence, but Sports Daily’s readers have plenty to say about Elliott later in this newsletter.

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

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❓Who’s a better QB? Josh Allen or Super Bowl winner Jalen Hurts? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Dave Dombrowski spent time Monday praising the Phillies’ new bullpen acquisition, Brad Keller, which you would expect the team’s president of baseball operations to do. “We love Keller. We think he’s one of the best in the business, the way he stepped up last year as a reliever with the Cubs,” Dombrowski said. “So we really like the way the bullpen now shapes up.”

Beyond the hype there is this: After Keller transitioned to the bullpen, his fastball velocity increased from an average of 93.7 mph in 2024 to 97.1 mph last year. That heat should fit in nicely alongside Jhoan Duran.

The Flyers ended a two-game losing streak by beating the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 in their final home game of 2025. Four goals in the third period was the difference.

Before the game, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet sounded off about persistent questions regarding Matvei Michkov: “Enough is enough.”

It will be more than just a Big East opener for coach Kevin Willard tonight when Villanova (9-2) plays Seton Hall (11-1) in Newark, N.J. Willard spent 12 seasons coaching the Pirates, so this game will be a trip back home.

“It’s obviously a league game, so it’s not like I’m going to be crying at halfcourt,” Willard says. “But it’s definitely a place that I hold very dearly and will always be the love of my life to be honest with you.”

Bryce Lindsay will take an average of 16.7 points into the game as Villanova’s leading scorer. The guard lost his mother to cancer when he was a senior in high school and faced more adversity after that before he landed with the Wildcats.

The Sixers had the night off Monday, but guard Quentin Grimes was at Xfinity Mobile Arena anyway. He was watching his half brother, Tyler Myers, play for the Canucks against the Flyers. Grimes and Myers are the only pair of brothers to ever play in the NBA and NHL. Gabriela Carroll has the story of their Christmastime reunion.

Which Oakland Raider deflected the pass that Pittsburgh’s Franco Harris hauled in for the Immaculate Reception on Dec. 23, 1972? First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

A) Jack Tatum

B) George Atkinson

C) Otis Sistrunk

D) Jimmy Warren

We asked: Should the Eagles be looking for a new kicker? Among your responses:

Not the first time Jake Elliot has had major issues. Stick with him the rest of the year, but bring in someone new next year. — Daniel B.

Jake seems puzzled over his most recent struggles. A lot of times these things don’t work them selves out. I suggest a new kicker to finish things out and he is Justin Tucker. Very reliable and a hard worker. Give him a chance and watch the good results. Thank you Jake for all your efforts over the years. — Kerry B.

I think that next spring they should bring in a second kicker option. Unlike Nick Sirianni, I am loyal not to the one who brought me to my first dance but to the one who is best able to dance next Sunday. — Milton T.

Kicking is so heavily emotional/mental that it takes very little to compromise confidence, but a great deal to restore it. Given that he’s missed six of his last 11 field goal attempts (plus one conversion), Elliott’s confidence probably has more cracks than the windshield of a car following a gravel truck. ... Jake Elliott’s future with the Eagles is hanging by a very tenuous thread, as I see it. And it won’t take much to snap it. — John B.

Let’s see how Jake does in the postseason. He has had slumps before and always come through in the postseason. — Bill M.

Jake had these problems last year which were abnormal. He got back on track for the playoffs and the Super Bowl. He has been a great kicker for us and I do expect him to get it turned around and be accurate again. The only kickers out there are the ones who have been dumped by other teams for having the same problems. Stay the course! — Vince O.

No. — Jeffrey H.

Like most Eagle fans I have really been a fan of Jake’s for these past years, but his inability to score when needed is really hurting the team. I would hate to see him go, but it may be necessary. — Everett S.

We never should have let the greatest kicker of all time get away. The Chargers picked him up a few years ago for NOTHING! I knew “Dicker the Kicker” was something special when he was with the Eagles for a short time. Yes, we should be scouting the world for a replacement kicker because going into the playoffs with who we have is unacceptable. — Ronald R.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Lochlahn March, Jackie Spiegel, Gabriela Carroll, Ariel Simpson, Marcus Hayes, Isabella DiAmore, Brooke Schultz, 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.

Thank you for reading. On Wednesday, Bella will bring you the final Sports Daily of the week before a Christmas break. Happy holidays! — Jim