Time for tough love | Sports Daily Newsletter

We all strive to be nice people — or at least I like to think we do — but what’s that old saying? Nice guys finish last?

There’s an argument to be made that’s unfolding in real time here in Philly, as both the Eagles and Flyers flounder early in their seasons. The Flyers set a franchise record with their seventh straight loss to start the season. The Eagles are under .500 for the first time half a decade and can’t seem to remember there are two halves to a football game. Both teams have coaches with a similar style that may not be right for the teams they currently oversee.

“It’s fair to say that [Nick] Sirianni and [Rick] Tocchet are players’ coaches,” writes Mike Sielski in his latest column. ”All the cliches about modern team-building apply to them at their best: They get guys to buy in. They create a healthy culture or change a bad one to a good one. They are authentic."

But sometimes that’s not what’s needed, Sielski argues. Sometimes, players need a wake-up call. Especially when your general manager says you’ve “been too casual” and questions your “compete level.” Sometimes, they need the fundamentals drilled home. Especially when your rookie wide receiver doesn’t know to go down in bounds. Sometimes, they need both.

With 10 straight losses between the Eagles and Flyers, maybe both wouldn’t hurt in this case.

— Matt Mullin, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

❓When will the Flyers get their first win? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

After 24 hours — and a trans-Atlantic flight — to reconsider, Sirianni maintained that his decision on the Eagles’ final kickoff Sunday cost his team the game. What he wouldn’t concede, however, was that his clock management in the lead up to Jake Elliott’s go-ahead field goal with eight seconds left was flawed. Not everyone agrees.

As for the offense’s struggles in recent weeks, the Eagles coach didn’t offer the strongest endorsement of first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion on Monday.

“I think right now offensively we all have to be better,” Sirianni said. “We’re not worried about gauging where this person is, where that person is. We’re worried about growth. … Obviously, it hasn’t been good enough.”

Now the Eagles turn their attention to the Carolina Panthers, who are coming off a bye and have gotten some impressive play from quarterback Bryce Young. Despite a three-game losing streak, the Eagles are early 1.5-point favorites ahead of their Week 6 game at the Linc. Sirianni said he’s hopeful the team gets Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith back from their hamstring injuries, but wouldn’t go into specifics. In the case of Barkley, the Eagles could really use him. It was reported Monday that Will Shipley will miss several weeks with a foot injury.

The Flyers hit a new organizational low when they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. The loss was their seventh straight to open the season, one worse than the 1999-2000 and 2008-09 teams that were able to turn their seasons around and make the playoffs. They’re still far from the worst start in NHL history — or among Philly’s professional sports franchises — but they’re quickly running out of time to flip the script.

Worse, it doesn’t even sound like the team knows where to begin.

“It’s basic hockey right now,” captain Sean Couturier said. “One-on-one hockey, we’re dumb, honestly. We’re not winning enough battles. We’re making the wrong reads. I don’t know. We’re slow. We’re playing slow. … We’re not winning races. We’re just making it harder on ourselves.”

Something needs to change, and based on the “Fire Tocchet” chants that rained down on Sunday, the fans have an idea of where to start.

Next: The Flyers will look to snap their skid tonight when they host the Seattle Kraken (7 p.m., NBCSP).

It may be called a friendly, but don’t tell that to the Spanish or U.S. women’s national soccer teams. With the 2027 World Cup on the horizon, the USWNT’s 2-0 loss to defending champion Spain Saturday in Washington had the feel of a match with real stakes. And there’s no doubt that both sides want to win tonight’s second leg at Subaru Park (7 p.m.).

“There are no such things as friendly matches for these two teams. We both come to games to win,” Spain manager Sonia Bermúdez said.

If the first match was any indiction, the second should bring some fireworks to Chester.

The big takeaway from Sunday’s loss in London will be Sirianni’s poor decision-making late in the game against the Jaguars. Sirianni admitted himself that it’s the reason they lost. But it’s also worth noting that the injury-riddled Eagles were in the position to win the game in the first place, thanks in large part to a great game from the defense, especially Jalen Carter and Zack Baun.

“This is excellent news for the Eagles going forward. If they can be this effective against one of the league’s better offenses, they needn’t worry as much when the potent Panthers visit Sunday, or when the Cowboys arrive eight days later,” Marcus Hayes wrote in his latest column.

Here’s more from Marcus on the improvement in Vic Fangio’s defense, the state of the Eagles offensive line, and the dumpster fire that is the NFC Least.

22 … That’s the number of rushing yards by the entire Eagles offense in their loss to Jaguars — not for a drive or a quarter or even a half, but for the whole game. With Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby out — and with Will Shipley knocked out of the game after five carries — and an offensive line in disarray, the Eagles finished with their lowest rushing total in a game since they ran for seven yards against the Cowboys in Week 2 of the 2015 season. With 22 yards on 18 carries, the Eagles averaged 1.2 yards per carry.

On Oct. 13, 1993, the Phillies clinched the National League pennant for just the fifth time in the team’s first 110 seasons, and the first time since 1983. The Braves took a 2-1 lead in the National League Championship Series thanks to wins by future Hall of Fame pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. But then the Phillies beat the third member of Atlanta’s big three and another future HOFer, John Smoltz, in Game 4; they won in extra innings in Game 5 thanks to a Lenny Dykstra home run in the 10th inning; and then returned home to beat Maddux in Game 6 and clinch a World Series berth.

Curt Schilling was the NLCS MVP, and Mitch Williams, who picked up the win in Game 5 and had two saves in the series, recorded the final out by striking out Bill Pecota. We don’t have to talk about what happened next.

But we can mention that 15 years later, to the day, Matt Stairs ripped one “into the night, deep into right” on the way to the Phillies winning their first NLCS since.

Question: The Eagles’ loss to the Jaguars was their third straight. Including their current skid, how many times have they lost three games in a row (including the playoffs) since Sirianni took over in 2021?

Answer: D. Despite all of the winning the Eagles have done under Sirianni — and it’s been a lot — they have had five three-game losing streaks since 2021. One each in 2021, 2025, and 2026, and twice in 2023, with the second one including their season-ending playoff loss to the Buccaneers.

We asked: Should Nick Sirianni be on the hot seat?

“Nick should not be on the hot seat. Actually, he should be fired … two consecutive losses as a result of his inept decision-making vs. Rams and Jags. Time to cut ties.” — William B.

“Sirianni being on the hot seat is ridiculous. His winning percentage since becoming the Eagles coach is outstanding and making the playoffs every year and the Super Bowl twice including winning one is phenomenal. And he might be on the hot seat? Absolutely ridiculous.” — Bob A.

“Sirianni is a high school coach at best. He contributes very little to a non-creative offense and zero on the defensive side of the ball. … The best head coaches have high IQ’s. Sirianni is not one of them.” — Jack D.

“Sirianni has been a tremendous success in his young career so far. Nick did take the blame for this loss but should not lose his job over it, no matter the outcome of this season.” — Michael L.

“It is always hard to know, did Nick take them to two Super Bowls or did the players take him? The remainder of the season will answer the question as to whether or not Nick should stay or go.” — Everett S.

“[He] certainly should be held accountable for the lost. … The receivers, who dropped passes throughout the game, should be held accountable as well.” — Tom G.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Mike Sielski, Rob Tornoe, Matt Mullin, Ariel Simpson, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Jackie Spiegel, Conor Smith, Jonathan Tannenwald, and Marcus Hayes.

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 from me today. Kerith will be back in your inboxes on Wednesday morning. Have a great week! — Matt