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  • Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald lead Pro Football Hall of Fame modern era finalists

    Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald lead Pro Football Hall of Fame modern era finalists

    Quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald headlined a group of four modern era finalists in their first year of eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

    Tight end Jason Witten and running back Frank Gore were the two other first-year eligible players who were also announced Tuesday among the 15 finalists.

    Willie Anderson, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri were guaranteed spots after advancing to the final seven in voting for the 2025 class. There are six other returning finalists with Eli Manning, Reggie Wayne, Jahri Evans, Marshall Yanda, Terrell Suggs and Darren Woodson all making it back to this stage.

    Defensive tackle Kevin Williams made it to the finalist stage for the first time in his sixth year of eligibility.

    The Eagles are going to keep driving you crazy with their passive offense. Get used to it.

    The 50-person selection committee will vote on the 15 finalists next month with the results announced Feb. 5 at “NFL Honors.” Between three and five of the finalists will be inducted in the second year of this current format.

    In addition to the modern era finalists, the selection committee will also consider seniors candidates Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood, coaching candidate Bill Belichick and contributor Robert Kraft. Between one and three of those finalists will make it into the Hall.

    Only four people got in last year for the smallest class in 20 years.

    Brees and Fitzgerald are the top new candidates this year.

    Brees is second all time to Tom Brady with 80,358 yards passing and 571 touchdown passes. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the San Diego Chargers before signing as a free agent with the Saints in 2006, where his career took off as he helped lift a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

    Brees delivered to New Orleans its first Super Bowl title following the 2009 season, when he won MVP of the game after beating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Brees made the Pro Bowl 13 times in his career, won AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2011, was an All-Pro in 2006 and was a second-team All-Pro four times.

    Fitzgerald spent his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals after being drafted third overall in 2004. His 1,432 catches and 17,492 yards receiving in 17 seasons rank second all time to Jerry Rice.

    Fitzgerald topped 1,000 yards receiving nine times — tied for the fourth most ever — and helped the Cardinals reach their only Super Bowl following the 2008 season. Fitzgerald set single-season records that postseason with 546 yards receiving and seven TD catches, including a go-ahead 64-yard score with 2:37 to play in the Super Bowl before Pittsburgh rallied for a 27-23 win over Arizona.

    Witten was one of the most prolific tight ends with his 1,228 catches and 13,046 yards ranking second best all time. Witten was a two-time All-Pro for Dallas and was a second-team All-Pro two other times.

    Gore ranks third all time with 16,000 yards rushing with nine 1,000-yard seasons and five Pro Bowl honors.

    The Eagles wouldn’t be foolish to rest their starters in Week 18. But they’d better be right.

    Kuechly’s career was brief but impactful. The first-round pick by Carolina in 2012 was an All-Pro five times, with seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

    Over his eight-year career, Kuechly led all linebackers in the NFL in tackles (1,090), takeaways (26), interceptions (18) and passes defensed (66).

    Vinatieri was one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history, making the game-winning field goals in the first two Super Bowl victories during New England’s dynasty.

    He helped launch the run with one of the game’s greatest kicks — a 45-yarder in the snow to force overtime in the “Tuck Rule” game against the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round. He made the game-winning kick in OT to win that game and then hit a 48-yarder on the final play of a 20-17 win in the Super Bowl against the Rams.

    Vinatieri is the NFL’s career leader in points (2,673) and made field goals (599) over a 24-year career with New England and Indianapolis. He also leads all players with 56 field goals and 238 points in the postseason.

    Holt was a key part of the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf,” helping the team win the Super Bowl in his rookie season in 1999 and getting back there two years later. Holt led the NFL in yards receiving in 2000 and in catches and yards in 2003 when he made his only All-Pro team.

    Holt finished his career with 920 catches for 13,382 yards and 74 TDs.

    Anderson was considered one of the top right tackles in his era after being a first-round pick by Cincinnati in 1996. He spent nearly his entire career with the Bengals and made three straight All-Pro teams from 2004-06.

    Among the candidates who didn’t advance from the 26 semifinalists were quarterback Philip Rivers, who was taken off the ballot when he came out of retirement, and offensive lineman Steve Wisniewski, who was in his final year of eligibility as a modern era candidate.

    Two finalists from last year also didn’t advance with running back Fred Taylor and receiver Steve Smith Sr. falling short.

  • Rams loss eliminates one Eagles wild-card opponent as playoffs approach

    Rams loss eliminates one Eagles wild-card opponent as playoffs approach

    The Eagles will host a playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field during the first round of the NFL playoffs, and got a clearer sense of who their opponent will be Monday night.

    The Los Angeles Rams (11-5) lost to the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) Monday night, a surprising outcome that could have a big impact on the NFC playoff picture, not to mention which team the Birds (11-5) will face in their wild-card game.

    Eagles news: Updated playoff picture; Nick Sirianni taunts Bills fans; injury report

    Here’s everything on the line and how it could impact the Eagles:

    NFC playoff picture

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    NFC West playoff scenarios

    The math is pretty easy here. The winner of Week 18’s matchup between the San Francisco 49ers (12-4) and the Seattle Seahawks (13-3) will end up deciding the NFC West champion and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

    The Rams had an outside chance at claiming the division, but they were officially eliminated from contention by the 49ers’ win Sunday night. Now the best Los Angeles can do is the No. 5 seed.

    Who will the Eagles play in the wild-card round?

    Which team the Eagles face in the first round of the playoffs will ultimately be decided by what happens in Week 18. The Rams loss Monday night eliminates the possibility the Eagles will face the Seahawks first in the postseason.

    It also makes it most likely the Eagles will face the Rams in the wild-card round.

    Here is a breakdown of the Eagles’ potential wild-card opponents, excluding ties:

    • No. 2 Eagles vs. No. 7 Packers: Eagles win vs. Commanders AND Bears loss to the Detroit Lions (8-8)
    • No. 3 Eagles vs. No. 6 Rams: Eagles loss or Bears win
    • No. 3 Eagles vs. No. 6 49ers: Rams win vs. Cardinals AND Seahawks win vs. 49ers

    The Falcons can ruin the NFC South’s win-and-you’re-in game

    With both teams losing Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) and Carolina Panthers (8-8) will face off in a Week 18 win-and-you’re-in game for the NFC South title.

    The winner will claim the division crown and the NFC’s No. 4 seed, which means it will host a game against the No. 5 seed.

    Unless the Falcons and Buccaneers win in Week 18, which would force a three-way tie at 8-9 atop the NFC South.

    In that unlikely case, the first tiebreaker would be head-to-head among the three teams, which the Panthers would win.

    Two AFC divisions will be decided in Week 18

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    • AFC North: The Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) and Baltimore Ravens (8-8) will meet with a playoff berth on the line. The winner becomes the AFC’s No. 4 seed and claims the conference’s final postseason spot, while the loser watches the playoffs from the couch.
    • AFC South: The Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4) will claim their first division crown since 2022 with a win against the Tennessee Titans (3-13) or a Houston Texans (11-5) loss to the Indianapolis Colts (8-8). The Texans need a win and a Jaguars loss to win the AFC South.
  • The Eagles wouldn’t be foolish to rest their starters in Week 18. But they’d better be right.

    The Eagles wouldn’t be foolish to rest their starters in Week 18. But they’d better be right.

    I really don’t know where to begin. Maybe with my Ron Burgundy voice.

    I don’t believe you.

    That means you, Nick Sirianni. And you, fellow media members. The big question from Sirianni’s news conference Monday isn’t a question at all. In fact, the Eagles coach is making an obvious error — albeit minor and forgivable — by playing along. There is simply no possible way he could be entertaining the idea of resting his starters in their regular-season finale against the Commanders in Week 18. Not with all the Eagles would stand to gain as the No. 2 seed, which would be theirs with a win over Washington and a Bears loss to the Lions.

    Why wouldn’t the Eagles go for the No. 2 seed? Nick Sirianni pointed to the Super Bowl for some insight.

    Right?

    Uh … right?

    “This is a marathon of a season,” Sirianni said Monday, one day after the Eagles eked out a 13-12 win over the Bills and then watched the Bears lose to the 49ers and thus fail to secure the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. “Yes, your seeding is not locked down yet, but you are thinking, ‘Hey, can I put ourselves in the best position seeding-wise,’ while also you’re thinking to yourself how important byes are and creating them if you don’t earn the right for the first-round bye. Those are all things you’ve got to think through and go through.

    “I think a lot of guys would say last year that that was a big deal, being able to have a built-in bye last year to set us up for what we ultimately did last year.”

    C’mon, Nick! I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt here. You’re only doing that thing where you play the dummy on TV. We both know how good at this job you are. Few coaches in the NFL have as good of an understanding of what it takes to win in this league. Nobody has a better feel for his team, for his players, for his competitive reality. You know who the Eagles are and what they need and what situations will set them up for success.

    Nick Sirianni was unsurprisingly noncommittal when asked Monday if he intended to roll out his starters for the final regular-season game or rest them.

    Surely, you would agree with this long list of things that your team doesn’t need:

    • The Eagles don’t need a wild-card matchup against the Rams. Nor the 49ers. Nor the Seahawks. But especially not the Rams.
    • They don’t need a divisional round road game against a team they’ve already lost to in a stadium where the high temperature on Monday was 24 degrees with wind speeds well into the double digits.
    • They certainly don’t need any whiff of a quarterback controversy, which means they certainly don’t need to spend next week prepping for a playoff game while answering questions about Tanner McKee. And that means they don’t need their home crowd to watch McKee shred the hapless Commanders on Sunday, one week after Jalen Hurts failed to complete a pass in the second half of their narrow win over the Bills.

    The Eagles would eliminate all of these possibilities by securing the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. So, why wouldn’t they try their darndest to do so? Why would Sirianni even think about keeping Hurts on the sidelines and sending McKee and the second-teamers out there on Sunday?

    Eagles just might muddle their way to another Super Bowl, thanks to Jalen Carter and the NFL’s best defense

    I’m assuming the argument is as follows. The Eagles do not control their own destiny with regard to the second seed. If the Bears beat the Lions next week, Chicago gets the No. 2 seed, regardless of how the Eagles fare against the Commanders. The Lions don’t have anything to play for and the Bears just came up 3 yards short of beating a 49ers team that has a 50% chance to enter the playoffs as the NFC’s top overall seed. Chances are, the Bears beat the Lions (they are 2.5-point favorites). Thus, chances are, the Eagles are locked into the third seed and will be hosting one of the three NFC West powers instead of the sputtering Packers. In which case, the Eagles would gain far more by giving their starters an extra week to rest and prepare for the playoffs than they would by winning a meaningless game.

    OK, I’ll admit. It’s a compelling argument, especially when you consider how much the Eagles seemed to gain by resting their starters in Week 18 last season.

    An even more compelling argument is the one that Sirianni wouldn’t dare say out loud. I suspect it might be the real reason he is giving serious thought to resting his starters. The reason is Sirianni himself. And his coaches. If the Eagles punt on Week 18, it will allow the coaching staff and front office to spend an extra week preparing for the playoffs. It will give Hurts and the rest of the starters the ability to participate in that scouting and game-planning process. That’s a big, big deal.

    Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts did not complete any of his seven passes in the second half against the Bills.

    It doesn’t really matter that the Eagles don’t know who they will be playing. The extra week would allow them to prepare for everybody, and those preparations can pay dividends throughout the playoffs if and when they run into those teams. In short, rest for the players is more of a bonus. The real benefit of looking past the Commanders is the preparation.

    On the other hand … The benefits of the No. 2 seed are much more real this year than they are in a lot of years. The Packers are, by far, the easier matchup in the wild-card round. You’d much rather host them and then host a divisional round game and then potentially host an NFC championship game than any of the alternatives.

    As for the McKee thing … Sirianni will shrug it off. I can’t imagine it will be a consideration. But you are fooling yourself if you don’t look at it as a potential downside. If Hurts’ backup goes out there and looks like a world-beater on the eve of the playoffs, it will only ratchet up the pressure on the Eagles’ starter. To be clear, the people calling for McKee would be wildly off base. It’s a silly notion to think anybody but Hurts gives the Eagles the best chance to win a football game. But perceptions are what they are. And they can definitely bleed into a locker room.

    Eagles’ inexplicable second half offense nearly soils defensive gem vs. Josh Allen and the Bills

    Long story short, Sirianni’s decision is much tougher than it looks at first glance. The extra week of internal preparation is incredibly valuable. The Eagles can still beat the Commanders with the backups playing, while allowing the starters to focus their practice weeks on the postseason.

    I just keep coming back to one thought. Imagine if everything breaks in a certain direction. The Bears lose. The Rams end up as the sixth seed. But the Eagles’ backups lose to the Commanders and their road to the Super Bowl ends up being home vs. the Rams, then on the road at the Bears, then on the road at the Seahawks or 49ers.

    All season, Sirianni preaches that the NFL is all about handling the opponent in front of you and then letting the other stuff sort itself out. Now, more than ever, he should listen to himself.

  • The Eagles are going to keep driving you crazy with their passive offense. Get used to it.

    The Eagles are going to keep driving you crazy with their passive offense. Get used to it.

    The quieter his offense is, the louder Nick Sirianni gets. There he was Sunday night, strutting down a tunnel at Highmark Stadium in the aftermath of the Eagles’ 13-12 victory over the Bills, crowing about how all those Buffalo fans had nothing more to say, how they didn’t have so much bleep to talk anymore. He caught up to A.J. Brown and turned to look him in the eye, and Brown shot a smirk back that said, Coach, did you watch us try to move the ball after halftime?

    Did Sirianni watch it? Of course. Did he care? My guess: only so much. If you’re complaining about the Eagles’ impotent offense and unimaginative play-calling both from Sunday’s second half and from several previous games this season, if you’re waiting for Sirianni and coordinator Kevin Patullo to have some eureka moment and suddenly start dazzling everyone with their play designs and a wide-open style of offense, you’re missing the key to understanding the 2025 Eagles.

    They want to play like this. They want to rely on their defense. They want to limit every and any available possibility that their offense and special teams might commit a turnover. It took some time and some trial and some error, but they’ve settled on an approach, and this is it.

    Running back Saquon Barkley (right) embraces defensive tackle Jalen Carter after the Eagles defense stopped the Bills on a two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter Sunday.

    By they, I don’t necessarily mean Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman. They’re happy with the wins, to be sure, and they’re surely thrilled that Roseman and Vic Fangio have worked to create a defense of such quality that the Eagles can gain all of 17 yards in a single half and still hold on to beat a Super Bowl contender, which is what happened Sunday. But you can pretty much guarantee that Lurie, in particular, is looking at the money and salary-cap space that he has allocated to Brown, Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, and Cam Jurgens and asking himself, Did I really spend all that money so Jalen could hand the ball to Saquon on delayed inside handoffs in second-and-long situations?

    No, by they, I mean Sirianni. If he rented a small plane, attached to its tail a banner that read, WHEN WE DON’T TURN IT OVER WE WIN, and flew it over Lincoln Financial Field, he could not be more overt about his intentions here, about the way he wants the Eagles to play. He even put the lie to the notion that nothing revealing comes out of HBO Max’s Hard Knocks series anymore, because the cameras captured him in a team meeting earlier this month spelling out this strategy.

    Eagles’ inexplicable second half offense nearly soils defensive gem vs. Josh Allen and the Bills

    “This is what it’s about this week,” he said to an auditorium full of players. “We’ve got to be obsessed with the football. We’ve got to be obsessed with the [expletive] football. When we take care of the football, it is so hard to beat us. When we turn the football over as a defense, it is so hard to beat us. …

    “This is the most important fundamental we have. We’ve got to be so locked in to this, because as we continue on this year, this is what presses us: the ball, the ball, the ball, the ball. We win when we take care of the football. We win when we turn them over on defense.”

    During Sirianni’s five-year tenure as their head coach, the Eagles have won 42 of the 44 games in which they have committed fewer turnovers than their opponents; that record includes Sunday’s win, when Josh Allen lost a fumble while trying to fend off Jaelan Phillips and the Eagles did nothing so daring that might have cost them possession of the football. That 42-2 mark is a stark and striking statistic, one that has a talismanic quality for Sirianni. He believes in its power so deeply that he is willing to bet that the Eagles can build an early lead, then hold any opponent at bay thereafter.

    Let us raise a glass to the Tush Push. It’s dead, and the Eagles have to find an alternative.

    Two games from the last five weeks are particularly insightful in this regard. On Nov. 23, the Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 24-21, after getting out to an early 21-point lead. On Dec. 8, they moved the ball well against the Los Angeles Chargers but still lost, 22-19 in overtime, largely because Hurts threw four interceptions and lost a fumble. One could certainly conclude from those losses that the Eagles should have continued to be aggressive on offense, that it would be a mistake for them to dial back their aggressiveness. They tore up the Dallas defense for that game’s first 15½ minutes, and it took an all-time terrible performance from Hurts, maybe the worst of his career, to cost them a victory against the Chargers.

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni banters with Buffalo Bills fans after Sunday’s victory in Orchard Park, N.Y.

    But after scoring a combined 60 points against a couple of bad teams (the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders), the Eagles went right back to being conservative against a good team, the Bills. The lesson that Sirianni took from the Dallas and L.A. losses wasn’t, In one game, we took our foot off the gas pedal, and it came back to bite us. In the other, Jalen had the kind of game that he’s unlikely to have again. So we can afford to open things up. No, the lesson he took was, We opened things up, and we lost. We can’t afford to do that again.

    Can the Eagles return to the Super Bowl and win it again this way? Yes, they can. But that doesn’t mean they will, and even if they do, their journey there will be stressful and tenuous, with winter storms and giant potholes. But this is the road they’ve chosen. So stop mentioning the firepower that they have on offense, the players whose talents are being wasted. Stop arguing over whether Hurts is a winning winner who just wins or a fraud who has been propped up by the infrastructure around him. Those discussions are pointless. This is who the Eagles have been this season. This is who they are. This is who they’re going to be. They don’t have Trent Dilfer at quarterback, but they’re going to play like they do. Get used to it.

  • Sixers mailbag: Are the Sixers better on defense without Joel Embiid?

    Sixers mailbag: Are the Sixers better on defense without Joel Embiid?

    MEMPHIS — The 76ers‘ three-game losing streak is their longest since they dropped 12 straight last season from March 17 to April 7.

    How can they turn things around?

    “I think we just take a look at where we can get better and go from there,” Paul George said Sunday after a 129-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center. “That’s really all we can do is just see where we can clean up our mistakes, whether it’s offensively or defensively.

    “We’ve got room for improvement for sure, and we’ve just got to address that.”

    The first opportunity to right the ship for the Sixers (16-14) will come Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.

    Sixers takeaways: Third-quarter blues persist, costly turnovers and more in loss to the Thunder

    The Grizzlies (15-17) are coming off a loss to the struggling Washington Wizards on Sunday night. But before that, they had won 11 of 16 games.

    Will the Sixers snap their skid? Will they solve their third-quarter woes and costly turnovers?

    We’ll find out what they’ll do shortly. In the meantime, I’ll answer a few of your mailbag questions.

    Missed out on the party? No worries. Submit questions for next time by tweeting @PompeyOnSixers to X with the hashtag #PompeysMailbagFlow.

    Q: Do the Sixers play better defense when Joel Embiid doesn’t play and isn’t on the floor? — @Donny076

    A: Thanks for starting the mailbag, Donald. Based on Friday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, it’s logical to assume that is the case. However, the numbers indicate that the Sixers defense is better when the 7-foot-2 center plays. They have an average defensive rating of 114.2 in the 13 games he has played in this season, according to StatMuse. The Sixers’ rating is 115.9 in the 17 games he has missed.

    But you are probably asking this question because the Sixers have lost three straight and seven of the last 10 games in which Embiid has played. They also began the season 3-0 with him in the lineup. However, without Embiid, the Sixers are 10-7.

    Rookie VJ Edgecombe knows he can score. He still defers to the Sixers’ Big Three.

    Let’s face it, Embiid hasn’t played up to the level that has garnered him three All-Defensive honors.

    Teams no longer fear his defensive presence because he cannot move laterally as quickly as he used to, is constantly out of position, and seldom jumps. As a result, opponents are running pick-and-rolls to get him involved in defensive actions and switching on to him.

    But, again, the defensive rating comparison says they’re still better with him.

    Sixers center Joel Embiid has scored at least 31 points twice over his last four games.
    Q: Is there any possibility that they can realistically trade Embiid? — @Paulmon30725760

    A: This is a great question that constantly comes up, Paul. We are all aware that the 31-year-old is making $55.2 million this season, and his three-year, $193 million extension begins next season. That’s a lot of money to take on for a player with an extensive injury history who has been a shell of his former self this season. He’s averaging career lows in points (21.8 per game), rebounds (6.5), field-goal percentage (.443), and three-point shooting percentage (.259).

    But on the positive side, Embiid has scored at least 31 points twice over his last four games. The 2023 MVP is averaging 26.7 points and 8.2 rebounds over that stretch. So he is showing offensive improvement.

    Why are the Sixers winless with their Big Three? A lack of rhythm.

    If Embiid can improve his defense and provide 80% of what he once did, his addition to most teams makes them instant championship contenders.

    But an NBA executive would have to be really secure in his job to make that trade, because a lot could go wrong.

    Sixers power forward Trendon Watford is expected to be a solid piece off the bench once he returns from an adductor strain in his thigh.
    Q: When was the last time you thought the Sixers had a good bench? — @Thamass8

    A: While it had a few holes, I felt as if the Sixers had a good bench two seasons ago before they shipped away Marcus Morris and Patrick Beverley right before the NBA trade deadline. That said, the Sixers also have a solid bench this season. The issue has been poor health.

    Think about how loaded the Sixers’ bench would be if Trendon Watford and Dominick Barlow or Kelly Oubre Jr. joined Quentin Grimes, Jared McCain, and Andre Drummond as the four players off the bench. The only reason I’m providing the option to choose between Oubre or Barlow is that I think either player would fit in the starting lineup alongside George, Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, and Tyrese Maxey. But Barlow, a power forward, has been inserted into the lineup while Oubre is sidelined with a sprained ligament in his left knee.

    Meanwhile, Watford, who plays well in a point forward role, has also been sidelined with an adductor strain in his left thigh. When they return, the Sixers will have plenty of options. This season’s bench is actually younger and more athletic than it was two seasons ago. It just has to get healthy.

  • 🦅 Your call, Nick | Sports Daily Newsletter

    🦅 Your call, Nick | Sports Daily Newsletter

    Where do the Eagles go from here? In the case of their offense, probably nowhere. (Just kidding.)

    The question is whether they’ll rest their starters this Sunday or play them in a bid to improve their seeding for the playoffs. Granted, they’ll need the Bears to lose a second straight game as well, but the No. 2 seed in the NFC could earn the Eagles a home game against the banged-up Packers in the wild-card round.

    A key player could get hurt against Washington in the regular-season finale, though, and it has happened to the Eagles before. Decisions, decisions …

    Nick Sirianni is not letting on what he’ll do. “It’s not a decision I have to make today or even tomorrow,” the Eagles coach said Monday.

    “We’ve done it both ways. We’ve had opportunities to rest; we’ve had opportunities to continue to get a better seed and played. You go through your process, but every season is a little bit different, every team is a little bit different. We’ll end up doing what we think is best for the team.”

    Given the advantage the No. 2 spot provides, it’s fair to wonder why the Eagles wouldn’t go for it, Jeff Neiburg writes.

    There is that risk of injury, though. Olivia Reiner reminds us about the 2023 season finale, when A.J. Brown injured his knee, which sidelined him for the wild-card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the next week. Maybe, though, the Birds can still beat the woeful Commanders using some of their starters.

    At any rate, the offense still has some problems to sort through after it disappeared in the second half against the Bills. Jeff McLane writes that the issues with the offense’s inconsistency won’t be resolved until the offseason.

    Mike Sielski’s take: This is the way the Eagles want to play. They want to rely on their defense and make the offense as conservative as possible to avoid turnovers.

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

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    ❓Should the Eagles play their starters on Sunday or rest them for the playoffs? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

    Maxey’s star shining bright

    Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey was second in the Eastern Conference and fourth overall in the initial fan voting for the NBA All-Star Game.

    Tyrese Maxey has carried the 76ers this season and it looks like he’ll be rewarded for it. The All-Pro candidate is a shoo-in for the All-Star Game as well, but not even he expected to be so highly regarded in the NBA’s initial returns of fan voting, where he received 1,072,449 votes and rated second in the Eastern Conference right behind two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

    “For me personally, I think my talent level has been shown in the NBA,” he said. “I think it’s growing. But for me, it’s winning games. That’s what shows like a big gap, a big difference, and a big talent level: impact on your team. When you have that type of impact, when you can help your team win games, that’s what I want to be known for.”

    Homecoming

    Flyers coach Rick Tocchet is back in Vancouver, wher he coached last season.

    Rick Tocchet’s decision to turn down a lucrative contract extension with the Canucks last spring and instead sign with the Flyers didn’t exactly go over well in Vancouver.

    But Tocchet says that he has no regrets and that he’s happy in Philadelphia and thankful for his time north of the border. So what will his return to Vancouver look like on Tuesday night? Tocchet’s not too concerned about the fan reaction or potential boos and says no matter what, he’ll still be “rooting for” several of the Canucks to succeed when he’s not coaching against them. Here’s more from Jackie Spiegel.

    Returning to Happy Valley

    D’Anton Lynn in 2023, when he served as UCLA’s defensive coordinator.

    Penn State is bringing back a former Nittany Lions letterman to run its defense. The Lions are closing in on hiring D’Anton Lynn as their defensive coordinator, according to several media reports. A defensive back at Penn State from 2008-11, Lynn was defensive coordinator at Southern Cal for the last two seasons.

    David Murphy’s take

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni during Sunday’s game against the Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y.

    There is simply no possible way Nick Sirianni could be entertaining the idea of resting his starters in the regular-season finale against the Commanders in Week 18. Not with all the Eagles would stand to gain as the No. 2 seed, which would be theirs with a win over Washington and a Bears loss to the Lions.

    Right?

    All season, Sirianni preaches that the NFL is all about handling the opponent in front of you and then letting the other stuff sort itself out. Now, more than ever, he should listen to himself.

    Sports snapshot

    Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter has words with Buffalo’s Reggie Gilliam after the Bills scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter Sunday.

    🧠 Trivia time

    Who was the MVP of Super Bowl XV when the Oakland Raiders beat the Eagles in 1981? First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

    A) Jim Plunkett

    B) Lester Hayes

    C) Rod Martin

    D) Cliff Branch

    Who said it?

    Coach Nick Sirianni saw the Eagles offense go cold in the second half against the Bills.

    The Eagles offense managed 17 yards in the final two quarters against the Bills, but somehow the defense held on for the victory. Think you know which player took responsibility for the offense’s struggles? Check your answer here.

    What you’re saying about the Eagles

    We asked: Can the Eagles defense continue to make up for the offense’s shortcomings? Among your responses:

    I doubt it! Offense is absolutely offensive in week 17 of the season. It would take divine intervention to make them relevant. Too bad because the defense is ready. — Bill B.

    Yes, it can, but the offense will need some better play calling. Second half: run, run, pass. Wow! What a complicated series for the Bills to defend! — Joel G.

    The defense will continue to play good, but the offense needs to do their part as well. Jalen Hurts needs to be more reliable as a passer and runner. He needs and the entire offense needs more consistency if they are going anywhere in the playoffs. — Tom G.

    Yes, the D will continue to make up for the O because they will have to, unless our coaching staff decides to use more than the five offensive plays we seem to rotate. Had the Bills chose to kick a FG while inside the 5-yd line earlier, we could have lost on an extra point try at the end of the game. … Are we waiting to use Hurts’ legs only for the playoffs? Is he secretly injured? — Joe S.

    Jalyx Hunt of the Eagles celebrates his sack of Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the fourth quarter Sunday.

    … This is a quarterback driven league. Jalen Hurts will need to step up and command the offense if the Eagles hope to repeat. … One glimmer of hope: Lane Johnson’s return. He is a difference maker for the offensive line. — Bob C.

    The defense can win games as they have shown us yesterday. … However, they will be playing tough opponents in the playoffs and these games will be physical games. They will need some breathing room so the offense must contribute. Unfortunately, the tale of two halves vs. Bills and others does not bode well for us. — Vince O.

    … The defense is bound to have another bad game as they did with the Chicago game. Sooner or later management is going to get disgusted with the offensive coordinator and it’ll be goodbye. See you later. Let’s just win the wild card game and see where it takes us. — Ronald R.

    This defense will have to carry the team. … On the offensive side they are far down in almost all stats, so it will for sure be up to the defense to take them back to the SB. — Everett S.

    We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Jeff McLane, Jackie Spiegel, Keith Pompey, Mike Sielski, David Murphy, Devin Jackson, and Ariel Simpson.

    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.

    We’re glad you’re reading Sports Daily, and thanks to our readers who respond to our questions. I’ll see you in Wednesday’s newsletter. — Jim

  • What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 18 vs. the Commanders

    What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 18 vs. the Commanders

    Another week, another ugly win for the Eagles.

    Thanks to Vic Fangio’s defense, the Eagles outlasted Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, 13-12, on Sunday. While the Eagles offense posted just 17 yards on 17 plays in the second half, their defense made just enough stops to seal the victory.

    Despite all of the ugliness that has characterized the Eagles’ season, particularly for the offense, the NFC’s No. 2 seed is still in play. The Eagles are familiar with that path, having begun last season’s playoffs as the No. 2 seed on their quest to the Super Bowl.

    Eagles favored over Commanders in Week 18; Super Bowl odds take a dip despite win

    The Chicago Bears are the only team in their way. An Eagles win at home over the 4-12 Washington Commanders in the regular-season finale on Sunday and a Bears loss to the Detroit Lions in Chicago would make Philadelphia the No. 2 seed. That improved seeding would lock in a wild-card matchup against the reeling, Micah Parsons-less Green Bay Packers.

    Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles heading into Week 18:

    Play his starters on Sunday or rest them for the playoffs? There are risks and rewards with either decision for Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.

    To rest or not to rest?

    Hamlet didn’t know what he was talking about. The real question, at least to Nick Sirianni this week, is: to rest or not to rest the Eagles’ starters?

    Sirianni will be tasked with deciding whether the starters should play against the Commanders on Sunday in an effort to improve their chances at the No. 2 seed. There are risks and rewards associated with either decision.

    If all of the starters play, the Eagles likely have their best chance at a win vs. lowly Washington. But Sirianni has been burned by playing his starters in the season finale. In the last regular-season game of the 2023 season against the New York Giants, A.J. Brown injured his knee, which sidelined him for the wild-card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week.

    Jalen Hurts also hurt a finger on his throwing hand against the Giants, although he ended up playing against Tampa Bay.

    Even Skip Bayless thinks Eagles are headed back to Super Bowl after ‘impressive’ win. Here’s what they’re saying.

    Technically, the starters had something to play for in Week 18. The Eagles could have had a shot at the No. 1 seed with a win, but they were also at the mercy of the Dallas Cowboys, who were playing simultaneously against the Commanders. Dallas ultimately won and clinched the division.

    Could Sirianni take the same approach with his starters this time around? The Eagles likely have a better shot at beating the Commanders with Hurts, Brown, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert than they do with Tanner McKee, Will Shipley, Jahan Dotson, Darius Cooper, and Grant Calcaterra.

    But would they still have a decent shot with the backups? It’s possible. After all, the Commanders were down numerous key players in their Christmas Day loss to the Cowboys last week, including quarterback Marcus Mariota (the de facto starter with Jayden Daniels shut down) and left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Center Tyler Biadasz left the game with knee and ankle injuries.

    Perhaps there is a middle ground in which some of the Eagles starters play and others sit. Sirianni offered a window into his thinking Sunday night after the starters beat the Bills when he discussed the importance of coming out of the game healthy.

    “I thought it was really important that we played in this particular game,” Sirianni said. “Fortunately, we got through this, I think. I haven’t talked to the doctors yet, but fortunately we got through this. … I know there will be some bumps and bruises, but we’ve got through what we needed to get through and you feel really good.”

    Jalen Carter and the Eagles defense were dominant again on Sunday against the Bills.

    The age-old question

    Seventeen games and 17 “what we know” exercises later, we still don’t know if this style of victory from the Eagles — a dominant defensive performance and just enough firepower on offense — will be sustainable in the playoffs.

    It might seem unlikely any other year. As noted ahead of the Week 12 loss to the Cowboys, only one Super Bowl champion offense in the last seven seasons registered a negative expected points added (EPA) per play during the regular season — the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs (-.04). EPA measures how much one play improves or hurts a team’s chances of scoring.

    The Eagles are sitting at an EPA of -.02 this season (tied for 11th in the NFL) after their third-worst showing of the year against the Bills (-.21).

    But is there enough parity in the NFL this season that the Eagles could still win this way in the postseason?

    Eagles’ inexplicable second half offense nearly soils defensive gem vs. Josh Allen and the Bills

    Maybe. Every team in the league has its flaws, as evidenced by the fluctuation of the NFC playoff seeding over the last couple of weeks. The Eagles’ path to a repeat is made easier by the Kansas City Chiefs no longer being the perennial powerhouses they once were, too.

    The Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning offense was also flawed, but not this flawed, especially in the running game. Even if the 2025 Eagles can win this way, Sirianni made it clear that it’s not the way he necessarily wants to win. The Eagles beat the Bills, but Sirianni emphasized that he wasn’t satisfied with the offensive showing and pushed back on the notion that he was playing not to lose in the second half.

    “We weren’t in a mode of saying, ‘Hey, [a] 13-0 [lead] is enough,’” Sirianni said after the game. “Not against this quarterback. Not against this offense. So I don’t think our mindset was ever that.”

    The Eagles’ Braden Mann is tied for third in the NFL with 69 punts.

    Mann of the year

    It’s a miracle that Braden Mann’s leg is still attached to his body at this point in the season. When you punt for the New York Jets for three years, though, you’re probably used to a hefty workload.

    Mann, the Eagles’ 28-year-old punter, is tied for third in the league with 69 punts. He’s been an unsung hero when the offense sputters. Mann is one of just six punters averaging more than 50 yards per punt (he ranks fifth in the league at 50.4).

    The Eagles will need every edge they can get heading into the playoffs, including continued contributions from Mann. He’s hitting his stride heading into the postseason. Even in the wet conditions, Mann had one of his best showings of the year against the Bills.

    Eagles just might muddle their way to another Super Bowl, thanks to Jalen Carter and the NFL’s best defense

    He averaged 55.4 yards per punt on Sunday (388 yards on seven punts), his third-best rate of the year. Mann had a pair of punts for over 60 yards (65 and 62) and he pinned the Bills inside their own 20 twice (the 17-yard line and the 10). Even while their special-teams unit attempted to block his punts, Mann didn’t flinch.

    “They were coming after us to try and block a lot of them and our interior did a really good job,” Mann said after the game. “So I’m always super comfortable in there, which is not something that needs to be overlooked. And then I trust the gunners on the outside. They do such a good job on our coverage team. So I can just punt freely, and I think that helps.”

    From the Bills to Bill

    The Commanders are full steam ahead on the Hot Mess Express, but they have one emerging offensive weapon not named Terry McLaurin who could provide a challenge to the Eagles defense.

    Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt, the 24-year-old rookie running back, is coming off his second career 100-yard rushing performance against the Cowboys. Granted, the majority of that total came on a 72-yard house call that helped the Commanders chip away at Dallas’ 14-point lead at the time.

    Still, he had 11 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns on Thursday, an uptick in volume over his eight carries for 25 yards and a score two weeks ago against the Eagles. Croskey-Merritt earned more touches in the absence of Chris Rodriguez, who was inactive with an illness.

    How the Eagles’ ‘sturdy’ defense weathered the storm in Buffalo to squeak by the Bills

    The Commanders have nothing to lose, so perhaps they will look to get their rookie more involved in the season finale.

    The Eagles defense will be up for any kind of challenge on the ground. Even in the absence of Nakobe Dean, the Eagles limited Bills running James Cook, the league’s leader in rushing yards, to just 74 yards on 20 carries (3.7 yards per carry, his fourth-lowest clip of the season).

  • The Day After: Can the Eagles sustain this formula for another deep playoff run?

    The Day After: Can the Eagles sustain this formula for another deep playoff run?

    With only one game to go in the regular season and the playoffs looming, there’s little reason to think the Eagles’ offense will or is capable of changing its stripes. The defense, on the other hand, continues to prove its dominance (as it did again in Buffalo), regardless of which players it has available, or the opponent it faces. This combination, while imperfect, has still positioned the Eagles for a top-three postseason seed. But will the formula be enough for the franchise to duplicate last winter’s Super Bowl run this year? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner weigh in.

    00:00 Acceptance; this is what the Eagles are

    02:14 What the heck happened to the offense in the second half?

    09:35 How should the Eagles approach their offense moving forward?

    14:10 A defense capable of carrying a team

    19:20 To rest or not; the tradeoffs

    unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the season, including day-after-game reactions.

  • ‘I still root for those guys’: Rick Tocchet has no regrets ahead of his return to Vancouver

    ‘I still root for those guys’: Rick Tocchet has no regrets ahead of his return to Vancouver

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia ― The terms “abandoned” and “quit” have been thrown about in the Pacific Northwest when it comes to Rick Tocchet’s departure from the Vancouver Canucks.

    After 2½ seasons, Tocchet’s contract expired, and he opted to move on, linking up with the Flyers two weeks later in May. Now, months later, the bench boss, who won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2024 while at the helm in Vancouver, returns for the first time.

    How does he think fans will react?

    “I don’t know, honestly, don’t know. It is what it is. I’ll have my business mode anyway,” Tocchet said, standing in an empty locker room near his team’s room — and down the hall from his old stomping ground — while donning a black long-sleeve shirt with Philadelphia Flyers emboldened on it.

    Flyers takeaways: The good, the bad, and the ugly from a 4-1 loss to the Kraken

    “Trust me, I played 18 years in the league, I’ve been booed a lot of places. It’s all right.”

    The Flyers coach has bigger things on his mind these days anyway. Despite coming off a 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday, he has the team he once starred for playing well. Entering Monday night’s action, the Orange and Black have a 19-11-7 record and are sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division, just four points behind the leaders, the Carolina Hurricanes.

    On Tuesday (10 p.m., NBCSP), the Flyers will face a Canucks team they beat handily a week ago, 5-2. Vancouver will also be playing a back-to-back after facing the Kraken in Seattle on Monday night. Tocchet wants his team to keep a foot on the gas and make the hometown team play an uncomfortable game.

    He does acknowledge it was a little weird seeing the Canucks — the players, like Brock Boeser, Thatcher Demko, and Conor Garland, and the coaches, especially head coach Adam Foote, whom Tocchet hired as his assistant coach with Vancouver despite not having NHL experience — last week from the home bench in Philly.

    Rick Tocchet still has strong relationships with several members of the Canucks, including new head coach Adam Foote (left) and winger Conor Garland.

    It’ll be even weirder at Rogers Arena.

    “I loved it,” he said of his time in British Columbia. “Obviously, we had a really good year the year before. Then last year, even though there were a lot of issues and injuries, I thought we were only a couple of points out of a playoff spot.

    “I thought the core guys there hung together, and I really appreciated that, and respect those guys. … Those guys, really, I still root for those guys.”

    Vancouver wasn’t Tocchet’s first stop on the coaching carousel, but he certainly learned a lot that he carried back to Philly.

    “A wealth of experience of different things, the highs and lows, situational stuff. You learn different things … and then trying to just build a winning culture,” explained Tocchet, who said he had a good relationship working with the general manager Patrik Allvin, president Jim Rutherford, and owner Francesco Aquilini, too.

    The Flyers are in Rick Tocchet’s ‘blood.’ Now he’s tasked with returning the once-proud organization to prominence.

    After taking over midway through the 2022-23 season, Tocchet led the Canucks to Game 7 of the second round in 2024, falling to the Edmonton Oilers, who have made the Stanley Cup Final the last two years. That run represented the first time Vancouver made the postseason since the 2020 bubble.

    He is now working on building a winning culture with a Flyers team that has not made the postseason since that same summer.

    “We’re lucky to have him,” forward Sean Couturier said. “He’s got tons of experience as an ex-player and a coach, so he can relate in different situations.

    “We have a young team, though, so I think he’s given us older guys a voice to kind of lead,” the captain added. “But I think we’re all in this together. We’re all buying into what the style of play he wants us to play. It’s been working so far. So it’s been fun.”

    Breakaways

    It looks like Sam Ersson will start in goal for the Flyers on Tuesday night, as he took the majority of the reps Monday in the starter’s net during practice. If that is the case, it all but assures that Dan Vladař will start on New Year’s Eve against his old club, the Calgary Flames.

  • Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey among leaders in All-Star fan voting; two key players participate in practice

    Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey among leaders in All-Star fan voting; two key players participate in practice

    MEMPHIS — For the 76ers, Monday was a day of receiving great news.

    Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford participated in practice at FedEx Forum as part of their reintegration into team activities. While the Sixers were on the court, the league announced that Tyrese Maxey was second in the Eastern Conference and fourth overall in the initial fan voting returns for the NBA All-Star Game.

    “I appreciate it,” Maxey said of the fans’ recognition. “Hopefully, it kind of shows us how we started out the season, winning some games. I don’t know what seed we are at right now, but trending in the right direction. We are in a little skid now. But at the beginning of the season, we did a good job of winning games. I think that’s a testimony to that.”

    Rookie VJ Edgecombe knows he can score. He still defers to the Sixers’ Big Three.

    The East’s sixth-place Sixers (16-14) head into Tuesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a season-high three-game losing streak. After starting the season 4-0, they have gone 12-14. But the one constant has been Maxey, the league’s third-leading scorer at 30.7 points per game.

    “For me personally, I think my talent level has been shown in the NBA,” he said. “I think it’s growing. But for me, it’s winning games. That’s what shows like a big gap, a big difference, and a big talent level: impact on your team. When you have that type of impact, when you can help your team win games, that’s what I want to be known for.”

    Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Dončić is the league’s top vote-getter with 1,249,518 votes, while Milwaukee Bucks forward and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the East at 1,192,296. Maxey has 1,072,449 votes.

    Fans account for 50% of the vote to determine the 10 starters for the All-Star Game, which will be played on Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. A media panel and NBA players will each account for 25% of the vote. This season, All-Stars are being selected regardless of position.

    Under a new format, two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players (the World team) will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games.

    “It would be cool,” Maxey said of being voted an All-Star starter. “I watched Joel [Embiid] start in an All-Star Game before. It was actually really cool to be out there and watch him. So if I’m blessed with the opportunity, I definitely won’t take it for granted.

    Joel Embiid (left) was an All-Star starter for Team LeBron in 2023.

    “You never know how many opportunities you get like that. Hopefully, I get to watch VJ [Edgecombe] and probably Jared [McCain] on Friday [Feb. 13 in the Rising Stars competition]. So we’ll see.”

    Embiid, who’s 17th in the voting (102,017), is the only other Sixer among the top 20 vote-getters in the East.

    The second voting update will be on Jan. 6. Fan voting concludes at 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 14.

    Oubre (sprained left knee ligament) and Watford (strained left thigh muscle) will remain sidelined when the Sixers face the Grizzlies, while Embiid (sprained right ankle) is listed as questionable. But Oubre and Watford made their most significant strides in their return-to-play program on Monday.

    After practice, both players stayed to participate in individual workouts. Oubre even did wind sprints on the court.

    The 6-foot-7 swingman has been sidelined since suffering his knee sprain against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 14. Watford, a 6-9 point forward, has been out since suffering his injury against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 25.

    “Right now, I consider myself day to day,” Watford said when asked if he expects to return at some point during the final three games of the Sixers’ five-game road trip.

    Why are the Sixers winless with their Big Three? A lack of rhythm.

    After facing the Grizzlies (15-17), the Sixers will play the Dallas Mavericks on New Year’s Day at American Airlines Center before concluding the trip on Saturday against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

    “I was able to get some halfcourt in,” Watford said Monday. “The next step is getting some full-court in and seeing how I respond from there. But I feel good, but now, it’s on the team to clear these last two checkpoints.”

    If he does some full-court workouts on Tuesday and/or Wednesday, there’s a chance Watford could return as early as Thursday against the Mavs.

    Watford was one of the team’s top free-agent additions this summer. He provides frontcourt depth, and the Sixers also signed him to take over some of the ballhandling duties. The Alabama native, who is in his fifth season in the NBA, showed he’s more than capable while collecting 20 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists for his first career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 8. He averaged 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 14 games with four starts.

    “Luckily, I was able to play a good amount … before I did get hurt,” he said. “I was able to get a good rhythm with the team and play with the guys. But it’s unfortunate. But it could always be worse, and I could be sitting up there for the rest of the season.

    “So thank God I’m not, and I get to get back out there with the guys and get back to helping the team.”