Silver linings | Sports Daily Newsletter

We’ve all heard of the stages of grief, right? Each Eagles loss has seemingly brought about a new one to the forefront.

Whether it was the shock and denial of those back-to-back losses to the Niners and Cowboys or the depression after Sunday’s dud against the Cardinals, this fan base is going through it, especially lately.

Luckily, the Giants are on deck, and a matchup with these divisional rivals should usher in Stage 6: hope.

So in the spirit of hope (a New Hope, anyone?), Mike Sielski offers three solutions the Eagles could use to turn things around ahead of the playoffs.

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

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With the Eagles having lost four of their last five games and given up the driver’s seat in the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys after a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the coaching staff is facing questions.

Nick Sirianni was asked on WIP-FM if he’s worried about his future in Philly and whether it won’t last much longer if the Eagles don’t play better. He replied that he doesn’t think about those things.

Later in the day, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson explained why the Eagles seemingly went conservative with play calls late in the game that enraged fans. De facto defensive coordinator Matt Patricia praised Jonathan Gannon’s approach and explained why Haason Reddick was seen in pass coverage when the pass rush hadn’t been effective.

Next: The Eagles close out the regular season with a road contest against the Giants on Sunday (4:25 p.m., CBS3).

In the NBA, injuries are a fact of life, and Joel Embiid has dealt with that fact plenty in his eight seasons. Whether it was the foot surgeries that completely wiped out his first two seasons or the myriad sprains, bumps, and bruises he has dealt with over the years, he has missed time. And that’s going to continue, this season to the tune of seven games missed out of 33 total.

So the Sixers will need to learn to win without him at times, at least until the playoffs, Keith Pompey writes.

But when they do have him — as in his return to the floor Tuesday night against the Bulls — the fans inside the Wells Fargo Center were treated to yet another MVP-level performance of 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in a complete team domination of Chi-town.

Oh, he also dished out 10 assists for his second triple-double on the season. 🤯

Next: The Sixers are off until Friday when they host the Knicks (7:30 p.m., ESPN).

The Phillies committed $172 million to bring back Aaron Nola in November … and have been quiet ever since.

But don’t mistake inactivity for inaction. Scott Lauber relights the hot stove three days into the new year with a look at what might come next for the Phillies.

With the Flyers having lost four of five entering Tuesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, John Tortorella decided to shuffle the deck.

Joel Farabee was promoted to the top line with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny, while left-wingers Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster flip-flopped spots.

“I don’t think so,” center Morgan Frost said when asked if the shuffling signals concern. “Last year, we were switching it almost every game it seemed. … Sometimes you just need to switch it up. Everyone’s pretty much played together for the most part at some point. I think that speaks to our team, we have a lot of depth where we can switch around like that and hopefully, it gets us going.”

Spoiler alert: It didn’t as the Flyers lost their third in a row following a loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday to close out their West Coast road trip.

Next: The Flyers return home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP).

It’s been quite the season for St. Joseph’s so far. A historic win over Villanova, a Big 5 championship, and that pesky loss to Texas A&M-Commerce.

So how big of an issue will that loss be? Do the Hawks have to win the A-10 Tournament to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament? Jeff Neiburg spoke with bracketologist and St. Joe’s grad Joe Lunardi to get his take on the team’s chances.

Next: The Hawks open A-10 play with a road game against Rhode Island tonight (7 p.m., ESPN+).

A heavy blow: Penn will be without its standout point guard for the foreseeable future.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Mike Sielski, Gabriela Carroll, EJ Smith, Gina Mizell, Keith Pompey, Scott Lauber, Jackie Spiegel, and Jeff Neiburg.

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