BOSTON — Thomas Batties II and Tey Barbour each scored 17 points Monday as Harvard held off Penn, 64-63, in an Ivy League game at Lavietes Pavilion.
Barbour made a driving layup with 13 seconds left to extend Harvard’s lead to 64-59 and the Crimson held off a comeback by the Quakers.
Ethan Roberts led the way for the Quakers (9-8, 2-2 Ivy) with 27 points and two steals. AJ Levine added 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. TJ Power also had 12 points. Penn saw a two-game winning streak come to an end.
Batties also contributed six rebounds and three blocks for the Crimson (10-8, 3-1). Barbour shot 6 for 11, including 3 for 8 from beyond the arc. Robert Hinton shot 5 for 13 to finish with 11 points.
Next up for Penn is a home game against Yale on Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPNU).
LAS VEGAS ― The Flyers’ chips are down right now, but do they have a wild card up their sleeve?
Bobby Brink is hopeful to return Monday night when the Flyers take on the Vegas Golden Knights (8 p.m., NBCSP+). The Flyers activated Brink from injured reserve about an hour before puck drop.
“Bobby’s got a good shot to get in,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said during his pregame availability. “He had a good day today, so [it] looks like he’s going to go in for us.”
The forward missed the entire six-game losing streak due to an upper-body injury suffered in the Flyers’ last win, a 5-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 6. In the first period of the game, Brink was blindsided by Jansen Harkins and did not return.
While Brink did not travel on the Flyers’ last road trip to Buffalo and Pittsburgh, he did practice on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena. At practice, he was back on a line with Matvei Michkov and Noah Cates.
“Having Bobby back, he’s a pretty smart kid,” Tocchet said. “He’s a quick kid. He adds more speed through the lineup for a forward position, which is good. [It] helps us there. I think he’s anxious, excited to play. It’s been a while.”
In a corresponding move, Dan Vladař was placed on injured reserve. There was no update on the goalie, who was injured in the Flyers’ loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. The move is retroactive to Jan. 14, so he is eligible to be activated seven days after that date.
On a positive note, Vladař did make the trip to Nevada after Tocchet said that if he wasn’t going to play at all on the three-game road trip, then he wouldn’t travel.
“At this point, I’d say day to day,” Tocchet said Saturday regarding the goaltender’s status. “It depends [on] how he feels after therapy. So it’s like, one of those things every 24 hours … you get better or not? What percentage? So it’s hard to really pinpoint things exactly.”
The coach said that the game against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday (9 p.m., NBCSP) was a possibility. The Flyers also play the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday (9 p.m., NBCSP).
“He was on the ice today,” said Tocchet, updating his status on Monday. “He had a good day. So that’s good, that’s a good [one] for us. So, we’ll see the next couple of days how it reacts. But seemed like he had a good day today.”
Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar was moved to injured reserve. He is eligible to be activated beginning on Wednesday.
The reinsertion of Brink should help boost the forward lines — after all, the losing streak started when he got hurt. Brink works well with Cates, and the duo has a natural, connected chemistry on the ice.
It should help a Flyers team that, as defenseman Travis Sanheim said, needs to get back to fundamentals. It is something Cates and Brink have showcased since last season. And coupled with Michkov, the line has brought offense. According to Natural Stat Trick, across the nine games the two Minnesotans played with the Russian winger, beginning Dec. 16 in Montreal, the Flyers scored five goals and allowed one with a 64.63% expected goal share.
Brink has 11 goals and 20 points in 41 games this season. The 24-year-old is one goal away from tying his career high set last season in 79 games and is shooting a career-best 15.5%.
“He’s definitely a guy that you can count on,” Tocchet said. “He’s a consistent player for us. You lose guys like that, and then your depth gets challenged. But that’s where guys have that opportunity to shine. … But having Bobby back, he does settle things down for us.”
Breakaways
Rodrigo Ābols has been replaced on Latvia’s Olympic roster. The Flyers forward was one of the first players named to the squad, but he suffered a lower-body injury on Saturday against the New York Rangers. He was placed on injured reserve on Sunday. No timeline was provided for his potential return. … Sam Ersson (6-8-4, .855 save percentage) will get the start against the Golden Knights, while Lane Pederson, who was called up Sunday, is in Vegas and is “a possibility” to play, Tocchet said.
TOWSON, Md. — Tyler Tejada scored 14 points and Jack Doumbia made two free throws with eight seconds left Monday as Towson came back to beat Drexel, 59-58.
Shane Blakeney led the way for the Dragons (9-11, 3-4 Coastal Athletic Association) with 16 points. Drexel also got 11 points and two steals from Kevon Vanderhorst. Victor Panov also had 10 points
Tejada contributed five rebounds for the Tigers (11-9, 3-4). Dylan Williamson scored 12 points and added five assists. Jaquan Womack shot 2 of 10 from the field, including 1 for 3 from three-point range, and went 5 for 5 from the line to finish with 10 points.
Womack scored seven points in the first half, but Towson went into the break trailing by 32-20. Williamson scored a team-high 12 points in the second half.
Next up for Drexel is a home game against Northeastern on Saturday at 2 p.m.
When Tyrese Maxey first learned he could become an NBA All-Star Game starter, the 76ers point guard said it would be cool.
He talked about watching Joel Embiid start in an All-Star Game and how much he enjoyed watching his teammate’s experience.
“So if I’m blessed with the opportunity, I definitely won’t take it for granted,” Maxey said on Dec. 29.
The opportunity has become a reality.
Maxey learned Monday that he was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.
The starters were announced shortly after 2 p.m. on NBC/Peacock before the tipoff of the nationally televised game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers. The All-Star reserves, selected by the league’s coaches, will be announced at a later date. The game will be played on Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
“I’m very thankful for it, blessed,” Maxey said before Monday’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. “I appreciate everybody who voted for me, the people who believed in me. I’m thankful for my teammates, this organization for allowing me to kind of lead them and try to be a better version of a franchise and organization they were last year.”
Usually taking his pregame nap at 2 p.m., Maxey was asleep when the All-Star Game starters were revealed. But he could hear his ringer going off while teammate VJ Edgecombe tried to call him multiple times.
“I’m like, why is he calling me?” he said. “And I answer, and he’s screaming and showing me the TV. And I’m like, ‘OK.’ We chopped it up a little bit. I was thankful for that. Then my mom called me, and then I said, ‘Listen, I’m going back to sleep. I have work tonight.’
“But I’m thankful, man. I’m just thankful that my support system and everybody who is around me, and my very thankful for that.”
Maxey becomes the first Sixers guard selected to start an All-Star Game since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson in 2010. Iverson, however, did not play because his daughter, Messiah, was ill. The last time the Sixers had a player voted to start in the event was Embiid in 2024. He didn’t play because of a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Maxey made his first All-Star team that season as a reserve. But after missing the cut last season, he’ll be a two-time All-Star.
Fans accounted for 50% of the vote to determine the 10 starters. A media panel and NBA players each accounted for 25% of the vote. This season, All-Stars are selected regardless of position.
Tyrese Maxey is lifted up by Adem Bona after the Sixers beat the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 4.
Denver Nuggets center and three-time MVP Nikola Jokić and Milwaukee Bucks forward and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo are the leading vote-getters in their respective conferences.
The starters from the Eastern Conference are Maxey, Antetokounmpo, New York Knicks point guard and former Villanova standout Jalen Brunson, Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham, and Boston Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown.
“I guess you could say it’s one of the goals for sure, but my main goal is for us to win,” Maxey said of being a starter. “The rest of that will come. I feel like if I’m healthy and we can win games and stay afloat and try to get to a playoff spot and do something special there, all of the accolades and all that stuff will appear.”
For the Western Conference, the starters are Jokić, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Dončić, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.
Maxey finished second in the fan voting among Eastern Conference players. He was third in the media voting and fifth in the player voting.
The sixth-year veteran’s 2,941,622 fan votes were the most by an American player.
“Thanks, fellow Americans,” Maxey said upon hearing the news. “I appreciate y’all. That’s love. I appreciate y’all.”
The Texas native said he’s “blessed” to earn that type of popularity.
“I have great teammates, great organization that believes in me,” Maxey said. “I just give grace to God every single morning to be able to at least wake up and do what I love every single day. And I just work extremely hard to be in this position.”
Under a new format, the All-Star Game will feature a U.S. vs. World competition, consisting of two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games.
It’s not surprising that Maxey was voted an All-Star starter.
He entered Monday third in the league in scoring (30.3 points per game), tied for third in steals (1.9), and 15th in assists (6.7). He’s also fourth in made three-pointers (139), and has scored at least 30 points in 19 of 38 games.
“Look at his stats and what he’s been doing the whole season,” teammate Quentin Grimes said. “From Game 1 to Game 41 today, he’s been probably a top-three player in the league right now. So just seeing him go out every night has been really fun to go out there and watch.”
Maxey’s season highlight came Nov. 20 when he scored a career-high 54 points, to go with nine assists, five rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in a 123-114 overtime victory over the Bucks. He joined Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain (March 18, 1968) as the only players in franchise history to produce at least 50 points and nine assists in a game.
Sixers point guard Tyrese Maxey finished second in the Eastern Conference fan voting, third in media voting and fifth in player voting. Here are NBA All-Star Starters Voting Results: pic.twitter.com/WjMC8hGLpv
In the past week, the Eagles have made it known to sources around the league that hiring former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator is their No. 1 offseason priority. That includes fired New York Giants coach Brian Daboll, who is expected to interview for the position this week. Virtually no amount of money, literally no amount of autonomy, and no fear of conflict would deter the team from signing McDaniel, a respected offensive innovator.
McDaniel and Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio endured a rocky year together in 2023, when Fangio worked for McDaniel as his defensive coordinator in Miami, and their split, while couched as a mutual parting of the ways, was not without acrimony.
At any rate, league sources indicate that even though Fangio’s work the last two seasons has been integral and possibly unmatched around the league, if the Eagles were somehow able to hire McDaniel, they would not be deterred by any possible discomfort from Fangio.
Of course, the actual hiring of McDaniel in Philadelphia would be an unexpected coup for the Birds. Right now, he’s a hotter commodity than Venezuelan oil.
He got even hotter Monday morning.
The Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott on Monday. McDaniel is sure to be a candidate for that job. So will Daboll, who worked with superstar quarterback Josh Allen as the Bills’ offensive coordinator from 2018-21. And McDermott immediately becomes the top head coaching candidate in the league.
There’s also a chance McDermott blocks McDaniel from a head coaching position, which pushes him back into the OC market, to the Eagles’ benefit.
One thing is certain: McDermott’s firing immediately makes the Eagles’ quest for their top two candidates much less likely to succeed.
McDaniel already has interviewed for head coaching vacancies in Tennessee, Baltimore, and Cleveland, was scheduled to interview in Las Vegas on Monday, and is expected to be interviewed a second time by the Browns this week. He interviewed with Atlanta, too, but the Falcons have already hired Kevin Stefanski, whom the Browns just fired.
A report last week indicated that McDaniel would consider taking one of the premier offensive coordinator positions in favor of a bad situation as a head coach.
Former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel will interview for the Bucs’ OC job Friday. He would consider a great OC opportunity better than a not-great head coaching vacancy.
To that end, McDaniel has interviewed with the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former is reportedly closing in on a deal with Arizona’s Drew Petzing. The latter offers a head coach in Todd Bowles whose future beyond next season is unsure, and the Bucs are as fervent pursuers of McDaniel as the Eagles.
After he leaves Las Vegas — or, if he leaves Las Vegas, which owns the No. 1 overall pick and would be an enticing rebuild — McDaniel is expected to interview for the Los Angeles Chargers’ vacant OC job. There, McDaniel would coach Justin Herbert, who, like Lamar Jackson in Baltimore and Allen in Buffalo, is a more enticing option than the QBs on the other teams.
And yes, that includes Jalen Hurts.
However, in Philadelphia, McDaniel would have the best offensive roster of any of the other stops. That is, unless you believe: right tackle Lane Johnson is too old, left guard Landon Dickerson never will be healthy, Hurts will never develop past his current skill set, and A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley, both 28, have lost a step.
Nick Sirianni (right) and the Eagles reportedly have not yet convinced Mike McDaniel to interview for the offensive coordinator position.
League sources say the Eagles have not yet convinced McDaniel to interview, which offers a glimpse into how he considers the Philly job. That said, don’t expect money to be an obstacle. Sources say that, for McDaniel, the position could be worth as much as the $6 million annual salary the Raiders gave Chip Kelly, who then was fired just 11 games into 2025, his first of three seasons under contract. At the end of the season head coach Pete Carroll also was fired, which created the current vacancy.
The Eagles have already interviewed former Falcons OC Zac Robinson, Indianapolis Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter (who does not call plays and therefore can leave), and former Eagles backup QB Mike Kafka, who was Daboll’s offensive coordinator with the Giants. They are expected to interview fired Bucs OC Josh Grizzard on Monday, and have expressed interest in Dolphins passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik, fired Washington Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury, and former Ole Miss OC Charlie Weis Jr., who was scheduled to follow Lane Kiffin to LSU.
They’re wise to cast their net wide, because, as of Monday morning, it looked like no amount of money or power will be enough to land their two biggest fish.
From experienced offensive minds and play-callers to young and up-and-coming offensive coaches, the Eagles are looking at candidates from various backgrounds. They have so far been linked to at least eight names.
Let’s take a look at the coaches the Eagles could be looking at, according to reports. (Names are listed in alphabetical order.)
Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has a connection to Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
Jim Bob Cooter
Cooter was a consultant when Sirianni first got the Eagles job in 2021 and has been Shane Steichen’s offensive coordinator in Indianapolis since 2023. The Eagles, according to Sports Illustrated, interviewed Cooter on Friday after the team requested permission to interview him.
Cooter does not call plays for the Colts, which is why this would not technically be a lateral move to the Eagles.
The Colts revived Daniel Jones’ NFL career before he suffered a season-ending injury this season. While he didn’t call plays, Cooter helped oversee what was one of the best offenses in the NFL before Jones got hurt.
Cooter, 41, was Doug Pederson’s passing game coordinator in Jacksonville during the 2022 season. He previously worked under Adam Gase with the New York Jets as the team’s running backs coach and before that worked under Jim Caldwell and Matt Patricia with the Detroit Lions. Sirianni and Cooter also worked together with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012 under Romeo Crennel. Sirianni was the wide receivers coach that season while Cooter was an offensive quality control coach.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has familiarity with former Giants head coach Brian Daboll.
Brian Daboll
ESPN reported Sunday that the Eagles are expected to interview Daboll, who most recently was the head coach of the New York Giants before he was fired in November.
Daboll was also on that 2012 Kansas City staff with Sirianni and Cooter. He was the boss as offensive coordinator. Daboll, 50, worked with Jalen Hurts at Alabama, so there is plenty of familiarity with the coach and quarterback in Philadelphia.
That said, Daboll is also in the market for head coaching jobs, and an interesting one opened Monday morning when the Buffalo Bills fired Sean McDermott. Daboll was born in Canada and grew up in suburban Buffalo. He was the team’s offensive coordinator during the rise of Josh Allen before leaving to lead the Giants.
Daboll is one of the more experienced offensive coordinators on the market. His offenses have been up and down over the years, but when he led the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, and Chiefs more than a decade ago, he wasn’t working with stellar quarterback talent. His best success was with Allen, who is sort of a unicorn. Could he help Hurts turn the Eagles offense around?
Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard worked closely with quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) this season.
Josh Grizzard
The Eagles, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, plan to interview Grizzard, who was just let go by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Grizzard, 35, was the offensive coordinator for one season after joining the Bucs in 2024 as a passing game coordinator.
Before Tampa Bay, Grizzard worked with Mike McDaniel in Miami and was with the Dolphins during stints with Gase and Brian Flores, too.
Grizzard has been a fast riser. He played at Yale and was a student coach there, too. He was hired to David Cutcliffe’s staff at Duke as a 23-year-old and was there for four seasons as a graduate assistant and then a quality control coach before leaving for the NFL.
This past season was Grizzard’s first calling plays, and he oversaw a steep drop-off in Tampa after former coordinator Liam Coen departed for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bucs, however, dealt with multiple key injuries.
Mike Kafka was the Giants’ interim coach and knows the Eagles well.
Mike Kafka
The Eagles, according to ESPN, have already interviewed Kafka, who was Daboll’s coordinator in New York before taking over as interim head coach.
Kafka, 38, is a familiar name around here, having spent two seasons as a backup quarterback after the Eagles selected him in the fourth round of the 2010 draft.
Kafka bounced around to seven teams in six seasons before embarking on his coaching career at his alma mater, Northwestern, as a graduate assistant in 2016. He joined Andy Reid’s Chiefs coaching staff in 2017 as a quality control coach and then was Patrick Mahomes’ first position coach as a full-time starter in 2018. Mahomes’ career high in touchdowns (50) came that season, and Kafka was his quarterbacks coach through the 2021 campaign when Kafka left to become Daboll’s offensive coordinator.
The Giants, obviously, did not have a ton of offensive success under the Daboll-Kafka regime. Kafka called plays before Daboll stripped him of those duties in 2024. But Daboll gave that responsibility back to Kafka this past season. The Giants were 13th in yards per game in 2025, up from 30th in 2024. The Jaxson Dart effect.
Mike McDaniel (left) is a popular pick to become Nick Sirianni’s offensive coordinator but could also be in the running for another head coaching job.
Mike McDaniel
The Eagles’ link to McDaniel is a loose one, with ESPN’s Jeff Darlington replying “yes” to a person on X when asked if McDaniel would get an interview with the Eagles. But it’s worth including him as a candidate.
McDaniel, of course, was fired by the Dolphins after it initially appeared as if he’d return for a fifth season.
The 42-year-old went 35-33 as Dolphins head coach. Before that, McDaniel spent 11 seasons working under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who is well respected as an offensive mind. McDaniel was San Francisco’s offensive coordinator in 2021 and helped lead the 49ers to the NFC title game.
His titles before that under Shanahan were running game coordinator, offensive assistant, and wide receivers coach. McDaniel could help revive an Eagles running game that stalled behind a weakened offensive line in 2025.
He is also a popular head coaching candidate.
Zac Robinson helped guide Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins while with Atlanta.
Zac Robinson
The Eagles interviewed Robinson on Friday, according to ESPN. They are among at least three teams who have interviewed Robinson for an OC job, joining the Bucs and Lions.
Robinson, 39, was Atlanta’s offensive coordinator for two seasons. The Falcons had a lot of success on offense in 2024 but took a step back in 2025 as quarterback Michael Penix struggled in his second NFL season (first as a starter).
Robinson, a former quarterback, was a seventh-round pick by New England in 2010 and was in the league for four seasons as a backup or practice squad player. In addition to the Patriots, he spent time with the Seattle Seahawks, Lions, and Cincinnati Bengals.
Robinson then became an independent coach and trainer of quarterbacks and was a senior analyst at Pro Football Focus before Sean McVay hired him in 2019. Robinson eventually became the Rams’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022.
Bobby Slowik had initial success as the Texans’ offensive coordinator but was fired by DeMeco Ryans after the 2024 season.
Bobby Slowik
The Eagles, according to ESPN, requested to interview Slowik, Miami’s senior passing game coordinator.
Slowik, 38, is another branch on the Shanahan tree. He worked with the Shanahans in Washington from 2011 to 2013 and then, like Robinson, was a PFF analyst. Kyle Shanahan then hired Slowik in 2017 as a defensive quality control coach.
Slowik, the son of Bob Slowik, a longtime NFL coach, jumped to the offensive side of the ball in San Francisco in 2019. He was the passing game coordinator for the 2022 season before Houston hired him to be its offensive coordinator in 2023. He was with the Texans during C.J. Stroud’s impressive rookie season but oversaw a decline in 2024 that led to his firing.
Slowik then joined his pal McDaniel in Miami for the 2025 season.
Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is a wild-card candidate in the Eagles’ OC search.
Charlie Weis Jr.
As with McDaniel, the connection from Weis to the Eagles is a loose one right now. The Eagles, according to the New York Daily News, “poked around” on Weis, the 32-year-old son of longtime coach Charlie Weis.
Weis was just 28 when Lane Kiffin hired him to lead Ole Miss’ offense after the 2021 season. In four seasons at Ole Miss, Weis helped lead one of the best offenses in college football. The Rebels were second in yards per game in each of the last two seasons.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Sean McDermott arrived in Buffalo in 2017, envisioning the day of looking out his office window and seeing a throng of fans celebrating a Super Bowl victory.
That possibility ended on Monday, when McDermott was abruptly fired by team owner Terry Pegula following a nine-year tenure in which the coach transformed the Bills into perennial contenders but fell short of reaching the Super Bowl.
The move came two days after a heart-wrenching 33-30 overtime loss at Denver in the divisional round of the playoffs.
“Sean helped change the mindset of this organization and was instrumental in the Bills becoming a perennial playoff team,” Pegula said. ”But I feel we are in need of a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take our team to the next level.”
The new structure features general manager Brandon Beane being promoted to president of football operations. Beane will oversee his first coaching search since arriving in Buffalo five months after McDermott, who replaced Rex Ryan after two seasons in Buffalo.
Beane is expected to target an offensive-minded coach to spur an offense in which quarterback Josh Allen was too often asked to carry the burden.
Sean McDermott was the Eagles’ defensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010.
Playoff shortcomings
Despite a seven-year playoff run and Allen setting many franchise passing and scoring records and earning AP NFL MVP honors last season, the Bills advanced no further than the AFC Championship Game, which they lost both times to Kansas City in the 2020 and ’24 seasons.
Buffalo became the league’s first team to win a playoff round in six consecutive years but not reach the Super Bowl.
McDermott was aware of the shortcomings, and addressed them in August.
“We take a lot of pride in what we’ve done here. And nobody has more internal drive and internal expectations than I do or we do. And very confident in who we are,” McDermott said. “There’s one thing that remains. We know what that is. But you can’t get there tomorrow.”
Tomorrow never came.
The Bills went 12-5 in the regular season and had their five-year run atop the AFC East end, finishing second behind the New England Patriots.
McDermott’s firing is the latest in what’s become a seismic shift in the NFL’s coaching ranks this offseason. He became the 10th head coach to lose his job, joining a respected group that includes Baltimore’s John Harbaugh and Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin. Harbaugh has since been hired by the New York Giants.
The 51-year-old McDermott finished with a 98-50 regular-season record and was 8-8 in eight postseason appearances, ranking second on the team in wins behind Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy (112-70, 11-8). McDermott’s eight playoff wins are the most by any NFL coach to not include a Super Bowl berth.
A wrestling and football star at North Penn and La Salle College High School, McDermott spent the first 12 years of his NFL coaching career with the Eagles in a variety of roles, including defensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010.
To his credit, in McDermott’s first season, Buffalo sneaked into the postseason on the final day to end a 17-year drought that stood as the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional leagues.
Allen arrived a year later as a first-round draft pick to raise the franchise’s national profile to among one of the NFL’s elite.
Sean McDermott, left, and quarterback Josh Allen fell short of reaching the Super Bowl in their eight seasons together.
There is increasing urgency in Buffalo to win with Allen turning 30 in May, and with the team now moving into a newly built $2.1 billion stadium across the street from its old home.
Allen was nearly inconsolable following the loss at Denver. Choking up several times and wiping tears from his eyes, Allen stood at the podium and took the blame following the loss at Denver in which he threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles.
“I feel like I let my teammates down tonight,” Allen said. “It’s been a long season. I hate how it ended, and that’s going to stick with me for a long time.”
McDermott rallied to Allen’s defense. He then let his emotions show in questioning the officials’ ruling on Allen’s second interception, which ended Buffalo’s lone possession in overtime.
Receiver Brandin Cooks came down with Allen’s deep pass, but had it wrestled out of his hands by Ja’Quan McMillian. Officials ruled McMillian had the ball before Cooks was down by contact, and Denver was awarded the turnover at its 20.
“I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it. I’m standing up for us,” McDermott said, noting he was particularly dismayed by how little time the league took to review the play.
‘13 seconds’
Each of Buffalo’s past three playoff losses have been decided by three points. And three of McDermott’s playoff losses ended in overtime.
That includes a 42-36 loss to Kansas City in the 2021 divisional round that’s become dubbed “13 seconds” — the amount of time Patrick Mahomes had to complete two passes for 44 yards and set up Harrison Butker’s tying, 49-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.
McDermott, otherwise, led a team that won 10 or more regular-season games over seven straight seasons.
He also was credited with guiding the Bills through some difficult moments. The worst came January 2023, when safety Damar Hamlin nearly died after collapsing and needing to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati.
Hamlin was one of several current and former players to express their support for McDermott following his firing. He posted a note on X referring to McDermott as “A True Leader of Men.”
Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips described the firing as “stupid honestly sickening.” Former center Eric Wood posted a note that read: “Sean is a great man and will be a great hire for another organization, and I hate we couldn’t get over the hump with him as HC in Buffalo.”
McDermott moved up the NFL ranks as a defensive specialist, and was hired by Buffalo following six seasons as Carolina’s coordinator, and where Beane worked in a front office role.
Coach/GM rift?
Together, McDermott and Beane provided the Bills with stability before fractures began showing this past season.
Allen’s 3,668 yards and 25 touchdowns passing were his fewest since 2019.
The defense struggled in part because of a transition to youth and a rash of injuries. Though Buffalo’s defense finished ranked seventh in the NFL this season, the unit had difficulty stopping the run.
It’s in the playoffs where the defense was criticized for collapsing too often. Buffalo allowed 30 or more points in four of its playoff losses.
If there’s anyone who understands the position Broncos fans are in right now, it’s the Eagles.
So, naturally, Nick Foles offered a few words of encouragement to Broncos fans on Sunday, after Denver learned it had lost starting quarterback Bo Nix for the rest of the season with a broken ankle he suffered in the closing moments of Saturday’s win over Buffalo.
“Note for the Broncos and their fans: I know it has been an emotional 24 hours. I feel for Bo and the team, and I’m sending prayers for a strong recovery,” Foles wrote on X. “A positive note going into the game vs. the Patriots is that they struggle against backup QBs in championship-type games.”
Note for the Broncos and their fans: I know it has been an emotional 24 hours. I feel for Bo and the team, and I'm sending prayers for a strong recovery.
A positive note going into the game versus the Patriots is that they struggle against backup QBs in championship-type games.
Foles, of course, famously took over for Carson Wentz in 2017, after Wentz suffered a torn ACL in a Week 14 win over the Rams. Foles led the Eagles all the way to Super Bowl LII against the Patriots, and threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, plus his one receiving touchdown — the Philly Special. Foles was named Super Bowl MVP.
Nix finished the 33-30 win over Buffalo, but coach Sean Payton revealed after the game that he would miss the rest of the Broncos’ playoff run. Jarrett Stidham is expected to replace Nix for the AFC championship game against Drake Maye and the Patriots, which will be played in Denver.
Broncos fans can only hope that Stidham puts up anywhere near the caliber of performance Foles turned in. Stidham has been a backup for five seasons, including two in New England, appearing in 20 career games. The AFC championship game will be his fourth career start.
The long arc of history is a lot shorter in the modern NFL. Howie Roseman offered a nod to it last week. The tone of his voice was quite grave.
“There’s natural transition in what we do,” the Eagles’ general manager said. “I’m not making an excuse or anything, but there’s a national transition in that in terms of what you’re paying your guys, which side of the ball you’re paying guys who are coming up.”
Look back at the historically great teams and you will see a familiar pattern.
The early-’90s Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four years and have not been back to a conference championship since.
The turn-of-the-century Rams went to two Super Bowls in three years and then had one winning season in the next 15.
The Patriots won three Super Bowls in four years in the early 2000s and then did not win another over the next decade. Then they won three in five years.
And let’s not forget about the Andy Reid Era Eagles: four straight conference championship appearances with one Super Bowl Bowl appearance followed by one conference championship appearance in the next eight seasons.
More often than not, you look back and realize that the best version of a team was the one that took everybody by surprise. The Chiefs’ two biggest point differentials in the Andy Reid Era came in Patrick Mahomes’ first two seasons as a starter. The Packers outscored opponents by a combined 452 points in Aaron Rodgers’ first four seasons as a starter and then outscored them by 428 in his next eight.
Tackle Lane Johnson broke down this season and the Eagles offense suffered.
The phenomenon extends beyond the NFL. You don’t need to look far. The Phillies in 2008 and 2022. The Sixers in 2018-19. The Flyers in 1996-97 and 2009-10.
By the time you realize the good times are here again, they are already ending.
You might reject that thought as depressing, even nihilistic. But it is the reality of the Eagles’ situation. Their regression on the offensive side of the football was more due to the natural order of things than it was to the unique and aggressive incompetence of the head coach and his handpicked play-caller. They were a team with disproportionate reliance on the overwhelming talent of its offensive line. That talent advantage wasn’t as great this season.
Mekhi Becton left for more money. Lane Johnson missed the end of the season. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens weren’t as healthy as last season. Even if the line was 85% of what it was, that would still jibe with the Eagles overall being 85% of what they were, especially if it was compounded by A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley not being as uniquely dominant as they were last season.
Attrition is a natural part of the NFL, both at the individual level and the roster level. Those two things go hand-in-hand, obviously. One can argue that the job of a head coach and play-caller is to adapt to the realities on the ground. That’s more than fair. It is also a difficult thing to do midseason. The Eagles are right to be doing it now in their search for a play-caller to replace Kevin Patullo. But nobody should be surprised if they fail to find one.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll learn a lot about the rest of the NFL’s diagnosis of the Eagles. Former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is a unique enough genius to be interviewing teams rather than teams interviewing him. A recent report said that he would rather accept a great offensive coordinator position than another head coaching job doomed to fail. A year ago, you would have counted the Eagles as such a job. Maybe they still are. But are they really a better job than the Lions?
McDaniel reportedly has spoken with Detroit, which previously made Ben Johnson a star. Jahmyr Gibbs is a running back with the same skill set that McDaniel had in Miami with De’Von Achane. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta can make their case over Brown, DeVonta Smith, and whoever plays tight end for the Eagles next season. The Lions’ offensive line has consistently ranked near the top of the league, albeit behind the Eagles.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley had a subpar season.
Brian Daboll and Zac Robinson are two other recognizable free agents. At the same time, the Chargers and Ravens are two other recognizable jobs. The Eagles aren’t just looking for the right guy … the right guy is looking for the right team.
All of that is to say that the real challenge of this Eagles offseason is figuring out the talent situation. Roseman has done a marvelous job of it on the defensive side of the ball, reinventing that unit in barely two offseasons. This season, the Eagles had seven players from their last three draft classes log at least 700 defensive snaps. No other team had more than five.
Building the offensive line is always the Eagles’ top priority. But they could sure use some reinforcements at the skill positions. Another wide receiver, a tight end, a change-of-pace running back with pass-catching skills, all would have helped immensely this season. That’s true even before we start to contemplate whether to trade Brown.
“I think we’ve drafted 15 guys since Nick [Sirianni] has been here in the first and second day, and 14 of them have been long-term starters. We’ve got to keep hitting like that. I know that’s hard, but we’ve got to keep doing it,” Roseman said. “That means we have to have a good process. We’ve got to understand the people that we’re bringing into the building. We’ve got to understand the roles and the vision that we have for them when they’re playing. If we do that, good things will happen. We’ll be able to keep the players that we need to keep under long-term contracts and have an influx of young players that are really good that can play at a high level.”
It’s no coincidence that the NFL’s championship windows are the same as the four-to-five-year windows of rookie contracts. The Eagles have already begun to extend theirs with their draft success on defense. It’s still the place where they are most likely to fix the offense.
Thousands of college football coaches have paid their dues through the years, so it’s good to see a lifer like Curt Cignetti reach the top rung in his sport.
Cignetti’s unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers will play Miami tonight for the College Football Playoff championship (7:30, ESPN), and for the 64-year-old coach it is the culmination of quite a climb.
He was the head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Elon, and James Madison, among many other stops in his career. He also put in his time on North Broad Street as quarterbacks coach for Temple from 1989-92. Matt Breen tells the story of Cignetti’s time on Jerry Berndt’s staff, when the young coach learned by watching a master in another sport: Basketball Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Speaking of someone paying his dues, linebacker Mohamed Toure certainly has done that with the Miami Hurricanes. A native of Pleasantville, Atlantic County, Toure is in his seventh season of college football after ACL injuries cost him two seasons at Rutgers.
“It means a lot to the community,” says Chris Sacco, who was Toure’s head coach at Pleasantville. “I know it means a lot to the younger kids to be able to look at the school and say there’s somebody playing on Monday night for the national championship that went here, and recently.”
Beyond the local connections tonight, there is a reason for Eagles fans to tune in. Several Hoosiers and Hurricanes could be draft candidates for the Birds, and Devin Jackson identifies seven players who could fit the bill.
Sports Daily is taking a break to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There will be no newsletter on Tuesday. We’ll return to your inbox on Wednesday morning.
Bo Bichette reportedly has two opt-outs in his three-year deal with the Mets.
Bo Bichette is headed to the Mets, much to the chagrin of Phillies fans. The reports emerging in the immediate aftermath of New York’s agreement with the former Blue Jays star shortstop on a three-year, $126 million contract suggest the Phillies thought they were on the verge of signing Bichette to a seven-year, $200 million deal. But that’s more a misreading of the state of play than it is reality, David Murphy writes.
If the Mets were willing to offer Bichette these kinds of terms, and Bichette was intent on taking the best deal for his personal finances, the Phillies weren’t going to sign him. Both of those outcomes were more likely to be the case than Bichette accepting a long-term deal that the Phillies felt made fiscal sense.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey believes his team could be better at producing offense late in games.
With their second straight loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, the Sixers dropped from fifth to seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. They blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead in the 117-115 defeat at home.
They have played 25 “clutch” games — contests with the scoring margin at five points or less with five minutes remaining — and they have lost 12 of them, including three in a row.
“We’ve got to close games,” says Joel Embiid, “and we’ve had a lot of games that [we] probably wish we could take it back.”
Rodrigo Ābols was averaging 10 minutes, 43 seconds a night, centering the fourth line and killing penalties before the injury.
The Flyers will try to end a six-game losing streak tonight when they take on the Knights in Las Vegas (8, NBCSP+), but they’ll have to do it without Rodrigo Ābols. The team placed the fourth-line center on injured reserve after he was hurt Saturday in the loss to the Rangers. Ābols appeared to get his right toe stuck in the ice along the boards in the offensive zone, and his ankle buckled.
The Flyers called up Lane Pederson from the Phantoms to take his place.
Temple’s Jordan Mason looks to pass as he is covered by Florida Atlantic’s Kanaan Carlyle (left) and Niccolo Moretti.
Temple ran out of gas at the Liacouras Center on Sunday, getting outscored by 10 points in the last 10 minutes of a 79-73 loss to Florida Atlantic, the first-place team in the American Conference.
An aerial view of Veterans Stadium during the last football game played there in 2003.
Jan. 19, 2003: In the final Eagles game at Veterans Stadium, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spoiled the party with a 27-10 victory in the NFC championship game. Ronde Barber intercepted a Donovan McNabb pass and returned it 92 yards for a touchdown.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Matt Breen, Devin Jackson, Owen Hewitt, David Murphy, Gina Mizell, Jackie Spiegel, Jeff Neiburg, Colin Schofield, Katie Lewis, Ryan Mack, Sean McKeown, and Conor Smith.
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.
Thanks for reading Sports Daily. Enjoy the holiday and we’ll return to your inbox on Wednesday. — Jim
