Big D-feat | Sports Daily Newsletter
The Eagles fall apart in a loss to the Cowboys.
How did the Eagles collapse Sunday in Arlington, Texas? Let us count the ways …
They coughed up a 21-point lead to the Dallas Cowboys. Their running game vanished. They fumbled the ball away twice in the fourth quarter. Dak Prescott passed for 354 yards against their defense. And they had 14 penalties, which tied the largest total in a single game since Nick Sirianni began coaching them.
So it was Cowboys 24, Eagles 21, thanks to Brandon Aubrey’s 42-yard field goal as time expired. A four-game Eagles winning streak ended with a thud.
This one’s on Sirianni, Jeff McLane writes in his grades on the game. The coach’s conservatism finally cost the Eagles, who were sloppy with all those penalties. That’s on the coaching.
Tom Brady praised Jalen Hurts in Fox’s coverage of the game, but Hurts and the offense went nowhere in the second half.
“I’m in a little funk right now,” Saquon Barkley said at his locker stall after he totaled just 22 rushing yards on 10 carries.
“All it is is a lack of focus,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said of the Birds’ sorry effort. “First, look internally, because that’s the only way we can move forward.”
Focus? Marcus Hayes wonders how the team could not do that when it could have virtually wrapped up the NFC East title with six weeks to go.
Now the Eagles will need to turn things around quickly with the 8-3 Chicago Bears heading to Lincoln Financial Field for a game on Black Friday.
More coverage from Sunday’s game can be found here.
— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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New York City FC bounced the Union out of the MLS playoffs with a 1-0 victory Sunday night at Subaru Park. Matt Freese, a former backup goalkeeper for the Union from Wayne, did in his old team, making four saves. The Union earned the Supporters’ Shield as the team with the best record in MLS, but they were shut out at home for just the second time this season.
NYCFC advances to face Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami squad in the Eastern Conference final on Friday.
On a brisk Sunday among 17,000 contestants, Melikhaya Frans of South Africa captured the 32nd annual Philadelphia Marathon title in 2 hours, 13 minutes, 57.74 seconds. A former Boston College runner, Anna Oeser of Brookfield, Conn., won the women’s title.
The good news for the Sixers: Jared McCain had his best game of the season Sunday against the Miami Heat, finishing with 15 points. The bad news: Their big men could not contain 7-footer Kel’el Ware and 6-foot-9 Bam Adebayo in a 127-117 loss at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The home team played without former MVP Joel Embiid for the seventh straight game, and rookie VJ Edgecombe sat out, too. Injuries continue to hamper the Sixers, who sank to 9-7.
At the 20-game mark this season, the Flyers are 11-6-3 and sit in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Three of their four lines scored Saturday in a 6-3 rout of the New Jersey Devils. On defense, the pairing of Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae held the Devils scoreless when they were on the ice.
In goal, Dan Vladař has emerged as the team’s clear No. 1, sporting a 2.42 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. Jackie Spiegel has seven takeaways from an impressive win.
Sports snapshot
Postseason matchup: Villanova will host Harvard on Saturday at noon in the first round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Penn State positives: Support is growing for interim coach Terry Smith to keep the job after a blowout victory.
Bowl hopes fading: Temple has slipped under .500 after a 37-13 loss to Tulane.
Big ’Nova win: The Wildcats move a step closer to the Big 5 final with an 88-58 women’s basketball victory over Temple.
Phillies eyeing Japan: They’ve been shut out from signing a Japanese player to a major league deal, but it’s not for a lack of trying.
On this date
Nov. 24, 1960: Wilt Chamberlain pulled down an NBA-record 55 rebounds for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 132-129 loss to the Boston Celtics.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff McLane, Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Marcus Hayes, Gabriela Carroll, Owen Hewitt, Keith Pompey, Jackie Spiegel, Scott Lauber, Katie Lewis, Greg Finberg, Dylan Johnson, and Colin Schofield.
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.
Happy Monday as we head into a holiday week. Bella will bring you the newsletter on Tuesday. Thanks for reading. — Jim