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  • Eagles vs. Bears: Predictions, odds, injuries, and what everyone’s talking about ahead of the Black Friday game

    Eagles vs. Bears: Predictions, odds, injuries, and what everyone’s talking about ahead of the Black Friday game

    Like any seasoned holiday shopper, the Eagles know exactly what they’re looking for on Black Friday — a win.

    After squandering a 21-0 first-half lead to the Cowboys in Dallas last week, the Birds will host the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday.

    Here’s everything you need to know about the team’s Week 13 matchup…

    How to watch Eagles vs. Bears

    The Birds’ game against the Bears will stream live for free on Amazon Prime Video at 3 p.m., with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit on the call and Kaylee Hartung on the sidelines. The game will be shown for free, meaning fans do not need an Amazon Prime subscription to access the broadcast. Fox 29 will also carry the Prime broadcast over the air to viewers in the Philadelphia area.

    If you want to listen to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick on the call, the radio broadcast can be found on WIP-FM (94.1). And if you want to watch the game with fellow Birds fans, these are the spots to check out.

    Eagles-Bears injury report

    The Eagles are expecting to be without Lane Johnson for a second week after the veteran offensive lineman suffered a foot injury in the team’s Week 11 win over the Lions. Johnson did not move to the injured reserve list, indicating he may come back sooner than initially expected, but he did not participate in practice on Tuesday or Wednesday. The Birds will also be without Drew Mukuba, as the rookie safety suffered a right leg fracture in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against Dallas.

    The Eagles’ secondary is healing quickly. Adoree’ Jackson is set to return against the Bears.

    DeVonta Smith’s status for Friday is also uncertain, as the receiver was a non-participant in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. Brandon Graham’s status is uncertain, after being a limited participant in practice on Wednesday after sitting out for Tuesday’s practice.

    The final injury report will come out on Thursday, but here is what the two teams’ reports looked like as of Wednesday afternoon …

    Eagles vs. Bears odds

    As of Wednesday afternoon, the Eagles were 7-point favorites at DraftKings and 6.5-point favorites at FanDuel. Both sportsbooks have set the projected point total at 44.5.

    The Eagles quarterback will be looking to rebound from a collapse against the Cowboys last Sunday in Friday’s game against the Bears.

    Storylines to watch

    The Eagles’ season-long offensive struggles were amplified in the second half of their loss to Dallas last Sunday. The Cowboys held the Birds scoreless in the second half and scored 24 unanswered to storm back from a 21-point second-quarter deficit.

    The Birds’ second-half collapse has intensified the public scrutiny of Kevin Patullo’s play-calling in his first season as offensive coordinator. Patullo’s offense is averaging 23.2 points per game, which ranks 17th among all NFL teams. Nick Sirianni said the Eagles are “searching for answers” on offense but that he was not considering demoting Patullo from his play-calling responsibilities.

    Defensively, the depth of the Eagles’ secondary will be tested against the Bears. Mukuba, a rookie who has made 10 starts alongside Reed Blankenship at safety, suffered a right leg fracture during the team’s loss to Dallas that required surgery and may sideline him for the rest of the season.

    Blankenship also exited the Dallas game with a thigh injury and was a limited participant in Tuesday’s practice, but Vic Fangio expects the safety to play on Friday. Sydney Brown will start in place of the injured Mukuba.

    How Bears hope to turn Eagles fans ‘against their own team,’ why Vic Fangio is ‘the Godfather,’ and more from Chicago

    Here are a few more storylines …

    Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis (90) and linebacker Jaelan Phillips will be relied upon again in Friday’s game against Chicago.

    One number to know

    9: The total number of games the Eagles have played on a Friday since the franchise was founded in 1933. The Eagles opened the 2024 season with a Friday night win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil, but prior to that, the Birds had not taken the field on a Friday since 1960.

    These numbers show Saquon Barkley’s drop-off from his historic 2024 season with the Eagles

    Eagles-Lions predictions

    Our writers aren’t in agreement when it comes to their predictions for Black Friday …

    Jeff McLane: I think the Eagles match up well against the Bears. I like Vic Fangio vs. most young quarterbacks, but Ben Johnson will offer a challenge. As far as the offense goes, I think that as long as the Eagles don’t turn the ball over, they should put up points. Chicago’s defense lives off the turnover, but the Birds are still among the best at protecting the ball, despite last week’s two giveaways. For the first time in weeks, I feel relatively confident about my pick. But we know how that usually pans out. | Prediction: Eagles 30, Bears 20

    Jeff McLane’s keys to Eagles vs. Bears in Week 13: What you need to know and a prediction

    Olivia Reiner: If the Eagles can’t run the ball on the Bears, it’s officially time to sound the alarm (if the red flags haven’t already been there). … I had this game as a win for the Eagles before the season started. But given the state of the Eagles’ offense over the last few games, I’m picking a narrow upset. | Prediction: Bears 30, Eagles 27

    Jeff Neiburg: Sure, the Bears are 8-3 after winning four consecutive games. But they’re doing the thing that teams do sometimes when they’re turning a corner after some down seasons: taking advantage of an easy schedule. Their win Sunday vs. the Steelers, 31-28, was their first against a team with a winning record. | Prediction: Eagles 27, Bears 17

    National media picks

    Here’s how the national media is leaning for Friday …

    • ESPN: Eagles
    • NFL.com: Eagles
    • CBS Sports: Eagles
    • Sports Illustrated: Bears
    • USA Today: Eagles
    • Sporting News: Eagles
    • Bleacher Report: Bears
    Eagles or Bears on Black Friday? Here’s a look at what the pundits are predicting.

    What we’re saying about the Eagles

    Here’s what our columnists are saying about the Eagles this week, starting with Mike Sielski, who argues that last Sunday’s collapse might put the Birds’ coaching staff under team owner Jeffrey Lurie’s microscope:

    Mike Sielski: “It is, of course, true that the offensive line’s decline is a huge factor in the Eagles’ overall regression, maybe the biggest factor, and that reality, one could argue, should absolve Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo, Jalen Hurts, and anyone else for an 8-3 team that feels like it’s 3-8. But it’s naive to think, given the nature of Sunday’s loss and the arc of this season, that Lurie isn’t taking a long, hard look at the coaching staff, Sirianni included.” Read more.

    David Murphy: “In order for Sirianni to make a change, he would need to be reasonably confident that things would get better. If not, things would get appreciably worse. Sirianni and the Eagles would be operating from a position of weakness for the duration of the season. The worst thing they can do right now is panic. We’ve seen how that sort of thing ends.” Read more.

    Former Eagles safety Kevin Byard signed with the Bears in 2024 after being released by the Birds.

    What the Bears are saying

    With the Packers and Lions close behind, the 8-3 Bears are looking to stay on top of a hotly contested NFC North with a win over the NFC East-leading Eagles. Bears safety Kevin Byard, a Philly native and former Eagle, called Friday’s game a “heavyweight matchup.”

    “This is a team that was just in the Super Bowl,” Byard said. “They have a winning culture, they have a winning mentality. We preach 60 minutes. We know they’re going to be a 60-minute team as well. … This is a heavyweight matchup for sure and obviously, we’re going into a hostile environment in a stadium that I played in, played against.”

    Here’s what else the Bears had to say …

    Byard on the Eagles’ success despite offensive struggles: “Stats for the entire offense have been down, but they’re finding ways to win. I mean, look at us, our stats haven’t been great on defense but we’re finding ways to win. … Stats is something we can all look at and judge. But at the end of the day, they’re finding ways to win. I think that’s just a testament of their culture and our culture. So, it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us. Just culture against culture, whose culture is better?”

    Quarterback Caleb Williams on Jalen Hurts: “[We talked about how] there’s not many like us in our position — who we are, skin tone, and all these different things — there’s not many like us. So, just being able to understand the opportunity that we have and I have to maximize that and put myself in the best opportunity possible. It was kind of that type of talk. Jalen, you’ve heard all his bits. He’s pretty motivational when he speaks up here.”

    Head coach Ben Johnson on Vic Fangio: “He’s like the Godfather in a lot of ways. He’s kind of taken the lead over in terms of that scheme. … He’s influenced the game significantly. I never worked with Vic but a lot of respect from afar, obviously. The people that have worked with him speak so highly of how he calls a game. He’s usually a step ahead of the opposing play-callers. So, it’ll be a challenge here just to make sure that we’re trying to keep him as off-balance as we possibly can.”

    How Bears hope to turn Eagles fans ‘against their own team,’ why Vic Fangio is ‘the Godfather,’ and more from Chicago
    ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky says the Eagles are “one-dimensional,” and suggested that Saquon Barkley isn’t the Barkley that wowed fans last season.

    What the national media is saying

    Former Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles raised concerns about the Birds’ offense before their loss to Dallas on his podcast. Foles criticized the Eagles’ “simplistic” route designs and disjointed play-calling, which he thinks have contributed to the team’s offensive decline this season.

    “So the creativity is key as a play-caller, and calling the plays at the right time,” Foles said to The SZN co-host Evan Moore. “There’s just an art. And I don’t see that this year. I don’t think anyone sees it. Fans that are passionate Eagles fans — because I’ve been to Philly several times — and you hear, every time I run across Philly fans, ’Man, what do you think is going to happen with the offense? What’s going on? Is this Jalen [Hurts]?’ I’m like, ‘Listen, it’s a team thing. Kevin Patullo is probably a great dude, a great coach, but there’s an art to play-calling that not everyone has and it’s not showing up this year.”

    Nick Foles, former QBs on Kevin Patullo, Eagles offense: ‘There’s an art to play-calling that not everyone has’

    Here’s what else the national media is saying about the Birds …

    Dan Orlovsky on the offense: “They’re one-dimensional. They’re pass-only success when it comes to the offense’s ability. Their offensive line loses one-on-ones, they’re predictable in the run game, Saquon [Barkley] has not made people miss in space nearly as much as he was last year, and their routes — you can be predictable on offense if you’re creative with your route concepts. They’re not.”

    Cam Newton on their struggles: “A team of that caliber, we don’t expect those things to happen to them. The thing that’s alarming is, the first three drives you score, you come out with a bang, we impose our will. The last eight drives, nothing. The frustration stems from, when are the Philadelphia Eagles are going to put it together, all together? You’re starting to say, is it the offensive coordinator? Is it the quarterback? The players? That’s where my frustration comes in. When you have that much talent, and to not have one game — here we are in [Game] 11 — to not be able to say, they figured it out.”

    Jason Kelce on the offensive line: “[Lane Johnson] has meant so much to the Philadelphia Eagles … but it’s not just him this year, the whole offensive line has been banged up. They’ve been a top 10 rushing unit, as an offense, the Eagles have, every year since Jalen Hurts has been the starter. This year is the first year they have really struggled to run the football. A lot of it comes down to being banged up and not being the cohesive unit they have been, and healthy, in the past, but it is crippling this offense right now.”

    What else we’re reading and watching

    🏈 Bucko Kilroy was once called the NFL’s dirtiest player. He became much more than that in a six-decade career. On Friday, he goes into the Eagles Hall of Fame.

    🔢 These numbers show Saquon Barkley’s drop-off from his historic 2024 season with the Eagles.

    😱 Fear factors: David Murphy ranks the Eagles’ road to the Super Bowl, from the real Rams to the fraud Bears

    👀 Jason Kelce and “New Heights” will host a free Black Friday tailgate for Eagles fans, featuring a “belly bucking” competition.

  • Temple’s Drew Alexander is emerging as a three-point shooter off the bench

    Temple’s Drew Alexander is emerging as a three-point shooter off the bench

    Temple guard Drew Alexander entered this season with six career field goals and 17 career points. She redshirted her freshman year in 2023-24 and never played more than eight minutes in a game last season.

    Owls coach Diane Richardson made a point in the offseason that she was going to use her depth, which included Alexander.

    She was one of the first players off the bench in Temple’s season opener against George Mason on Nov. 3 and immediately made an impact. Known for her sharpshooting abilities, Alexander made three three-pointers and scored 13 points in the Owls’ 94-85 overtime win. She has since made at least one three-pointer in four of Temple’s first six games and has emerged as a key bench piece.

    “I know that my role on the team is to shoot the ball, rebound, and defend,” Alexander said. “I know every time I step on the floor, no matter if it’s for 30 minutes or 30 seconds, I have to do my role no matter what and play the hardest that I can.”

    Alexander grew up in Durham, N.C., and had a basketball in her hands at 3 years old. Her father, Darryl, played ball at Central Michigan and overseas. He taught her how to shoot, which has become her strength. They used to take 100 form shots before workouts and then put up 200 three-pointers a day.

    She started to receive college scholarship offers after her freshman year, and following her sophomore year at Greensboro Day School, she made a major decision.

    Alexander decided to attend Shabach Christian Academy in Maryland and played for the DMV Lady Tigers on the AAU circuit. To do that, she had to move to the Washington area, which meant leaving her family. Alexander spent that year living with her AAU coach, Sam Caldwell.

    Temple looks to be challenged in its trip to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops tournament

    “It was a little difficult not seeing my parents every day, but also it was a good experience for me to get adjusted to the college level the next year,” Alexander said.

    Caldwell led Alexander to Temple. Alexander graduated a year early and reclassified to join the Owls for the 2023-24 season.

    She redshirted her first year with the Owls and played on the scout team while learning the playbook. She had a limited role off the bench last season, but that mostly was because her expected role had been filled.

    Richardson likes to have one high-level three-point shooter on the court. Last season, that often was guard Tarriyonna Gary, who led the team in threes, making 72 of 188 attempts (38.3%).

    Drew Alexander shoots a three-pointer against George Washington.

    With Gary occupying the shooting role, Alexander did not see the court much. However, the role was up for grabs after Gary graduated, and she has taken it.

    “Her ability to come in and immediately make an impact within the first possession she touches the ball is a really good thing for us,” assistant coach Myles Jackson said. “I think her development throughout the year and her confidence throughout the year are only going to be improved.”

    Temple saw untapped potential in forward Jaleesa Molina. Now, she’s becoming ‘unstoppable.’

    Alexander finished with 13 points in the Owls’ first two games to surpass her total from last season. She came into the season hoping to have a role coming off the bench, but even she was not expecting to have that kind of performance to start the year.

    “I wasn’t expecting to have 13 points in the first two games,” Alexander said. “My confidence is really high right now, and I feel like I am in a really good spot.”

    Alexander’s shooting has earned her a spot in the rotation, but she still has plenty of room to grow on defense and in getting rebounds.

    As the Owls, who entered Friday with a 3-3 record, move further into the season, Alexander’s growth and confidence will continue to play a role on the court.

    “I think she’s going to keep progressing,” Jackson said. “We are going to see a really good Drew Alexander come February and March.”

  • Yardley’s Terrence Wallin once dreamed of playing for the Flyers. Now, he’s rising in the organization’s coaching ranks

    Yardley’s Terrence Wallin once dreamed of playing for the Flyers. Now, he’s rising in the organization’s coaching ranks

    Terrence Wallin stood on the home team’s bench at the PPL Center for warmups in early September.

    He looked around the arena in Allentown, the home of Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, and saw the Flyers logo everywhere. It was on the jerseys that the rookies were wearing as they prepared to play their New York Rangers counterparts. It was on the clothing that fans donned in the crowd.

    That’s when it started to sink in for Wallin. In a few short weeks, the 33-year-old would stand on that same bench as the new assistant coach for the Phantoms, playing a key role in the Flyers’ rebuild.

    But then he peered across the rink and saw his 2-year-old son. For Terrence, it was an unforgettable moment, but not just because his son, who loves the rink, was there. Little Wes Wallin was wearing a Flyers jersey. Terrence’s Flyers jersey. The same one he wore when he was 4 years old growing up in Yardley.

    Terrence Wallin’s son, Wes, is his biggest fan and loves being around the rink.

    “The Flyers have always kind of been in the background of who I am as a person growing up here,” Wallin said, sitting at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees during rookie camp.

    “Growing up a Flyers fan, you dream of being a part of it somehow,” he added. “Obviously, when you’re young, you hope it’s as a player, but to get the opportunity to do it now as a coach is something that I don’t take for granted.”

    For Terrence Wallin, he is home.

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    Love and Memories

    Chris Barcless’ excitement poured through the phone even via text. The hockey director at the Ice Land Skating Center in Hamilton Township, N.J., was looking forward to speaking about one of his favorite players across his 31 years with the Mercer Chiefs organization.

    “I loved coaching him [and] he loved to play,” said Barcless, who is coaching the 2013 and 2014-born players this season for the Chiefs, over the phone. “At a young age, not only was [Wallin] one of the best kids, but he absolutely loved to play. [He was the] first guy on the ice, last guy off the ice type of player, eager to learn, listen, real coachable, worked hard, and we had a lot of success together.”

    Raised about 30 miles outside Philly, Wallin’s older brothers, Tim and Chris, played hockey, so it’s no surprise that the youngest of Mike and Alice’s three boys was thrust into it, too. Terrence Wallin joked that he didn’t have much of a choice, but he fell in love with the sport.

    Q&A: New Phantoms coach John Snowden discusses philosophies, his impressions of Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko, and more

    Wallin skated for Pennsbury at a young age before switching to Mercer around the age of 10. He spent his childhood playing hockey all over New Jersey and Pennsylvania, even hitting the ice in Voorhees.

    Skilled offensively, he was also known as a responsible 200-foot player. His strong work ethic and never-quit attitude stood out to Barcless, specifically during a championship game for the Atlantic Youth Hockey League. With a minute or two to go, and Mercer up by one, Wallin was one of the team’s two forwards on the ice during a six-on-four.

    Terrence Wallin played minor hockey for the Mercer Chiefs, where he became “a sponge,” says former coach Chris Barcless.

    “For the first minute, they killed the penalty. They’re dead tired, and they can’t breathe. There’s a whistle and the other coach changes lines, puts their second power play on,” Barcless recalls.

    “… I’m like, ‘Listen, guys, we got one minute to go. I know you’re tired. If you cannot go for the next minute, I’ll use my timeout, because I’m not changing lines. So if you cannot go, we’ll use the timeout. But I strongly urge you to get back out there and just kill the last minute without calling a timeout so their first power play can’t get back on the ice.’ And they did. … We ended up winning the championship that day.”

    Before moving to Connecticut to play at The Gunnery (now known as the Frederick Gunn School), the forward brought that same mindset to La Salle College High School. Wallin was so committed to his game, he would often go to La Salle’s practices and then, driving in his hockey gear, head to Jersey to skate with Mercer.

    Although he played only two years at La Salle, the school competed in the Flyers Cup twice, winning the Class AAA Flyers Cup and the state championship in 2008. A sophomore on a team loaded with upperclassmen, he played a big role in the Explorers’ success as a playmaker, whether on the wing or at center, while skating on the penalty kill and power play.

    “He was very skilled, and his hockey IQ was off the charts, and his compete level was high,” said Wally Muehlbronner, his coach at La Salle. “So the three of those things certainly blended together made for a really good hockey player. When he was with me at La Salle, he hadn’t had a growth spurt yet. He’s still not the biggest guy, but back then, he was definitely a little bit smaller. But made up for that with his IQ, his skill level, and his compete level.”

    Listed at 6-foot, 204 pounds, Wallin went on to play four years of Division I hockey at UMass-Lowell. Across 138 games, he had 16 goals and 34 assists and helped lead the River Hawks to two Hockey East championships. Named Hockey East’s rookie of the week three times, he scored in UMass-Lowell’s 4-2 loss to Union College and Shayne Gostisbehere in the 2012 NCAA regional final.

    Terrence Wallin played four seasons at UMass Lowell before embarking on a pro hockey career.

    Between 2015 and 2020, Wallin played as a pro, skating in the Southern Professional Hockey League, ECHL, and AHL. In September 2018, he was acquired by the Maine Mariners of the ECHL in the franchise’s first-ever trade.

    The guy who pulled the trigger on the deal was current Flyers general manager Danny Brière.

    I Go Through

    The trade began a relationship that has now spanned almost a decade between Brière, Wallin, and the Flyers’ director of player development, Riley Armstrong. In 2018, Brière was the Mariners’ vice president of operations — i.e., general manager — and Armstrong was the head coach.

    “He was one of our leaders. He was one of our best players in Maine, and had scored the most goals the year before,” Brière said of Wallin, who tied for the team lead with 23 goals in 2019-20.

    But the then-28-year-old Wallin decided he was ready to begin his climb up the coaching ranks.

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    “We didn’t want to lose him, and he came to us [to say] that he wanted to get into coaching,” Brière recalled. “So that showed how much he wanted to get into the coaching side of things that he was willing to leave his career when he was one of the best players in the league, in the ECHL at the time, and played some games in [the AHL] … to get into coaching. So it was a big career move for him, and showed a lot of passion for the coaching side.”

    Danny Brière first got to know Terrence Wallin when they he worked with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL.

    After spending a year working with youth hockey in Maine, he was back with the Mariners as an assistant coach. A year later, he was running the show.

    “If you told me way back that he was going to eventually be a coach, I would say I could see that,” Barcless said. “He was a sponge. He listened. He played in all aspects for our teams. … His IQ was good. He learned the game. I remember when he first started with me, he was all about offense and skill. But for many years, and sticking with it … he became a really well-rounded hockey player.”

    Wallin was behind Maine’s bench for three seasons, leading the squad to its best season in franchise history in his first year (42-27-3). His first two seasons, the Mariners made the postseason, losing in the North Division semifinals, and he finished with a 107-94-15 record.

    This past summer, after going through the interview process with new coach John Snowden and Flyers assistant general manager Alyn McCauley, who runs the Phantoms, he was hired as Lehigh Valley’s newest assistant coach. “They came back to me and said they felt Terrence was the guy for the job, so that made my life a lot easier, knowing that it was him … and obviously I was on board right away,” Brière said.

    At just 33 years old, Terrence Wallin (left) is already on an AHL bench as an assistant coach. His coaching rise has happened quickly.

    Of a Revolution

    Heading into Thanksgiving, Wallin certainly has a lot to be thankful for. It probably also helps that the Phantoms have the sixth-best record in the AHL (11-5-1-1) and that he’s coaching the next generation of Flyers stars.

    Wallin runs the forwards, including prospects like Alex Bump, Denver Barkey, and Karsen Dorwart, as well as the power play for Snowden, who also made the jump from the ECHL as a head coach to the AHL as an assistant. Wallin runs video with the groups and “is a calming influence” on the bench.

    As Muehlbronner said, “I think he gained a lot of wisdom along the way, but it’s his personality and the way he sees the game that I think probably is making him a very effective coach.”

    Coaching is obviously in his blood, but so are the Flyers.

    “I think there’s an extra passion there with the Flyers organization,” Brière said of Wallin, who listed guys like John LeClair, Jeremy Roenick, Peter Forsberg, Scott Hartnell, and Claude Giroux as his favorite players.

    Flyers fans once joined a club by getting hit by a puck. It made them ‘feel special’ — and protected the team.

    “He understands it, knows it having grown up with the Flyers in his backyard. So yeah, that’s a big plus.”

    Added Snowden: “I do think there’s a sense of pride for him, knowing that this is what he kind of grew up watching and knowing, and now he gets to put himself in the middle of it and really try to help the Phantoms win a championship and develop the best players possible for the Flyers. I would assume, as a kid from the area, that’s a great opportunity and a big moment, and he’s done a really good job at grasping on and taking advantage of it.”

    There is a massive thread that ties Wallin to the organization, one that’s been getting thicker and thicker since those days as a 4-year-old wearing the jersey his son Wes sported in September. And he’s looking forward to playing a role in helping the Flyers get back to being a contender.

    “They dropped the article that I was the assistant coach, and I got a couple of texts from kids growing up like, ‘Wow, that’s so awesome to see how all your hard work has paid off,’” Wallin said.

    And then came those other texts.

    “I did get [those] texts like, can you help turn this around?” he added with a chuckle.

    “I hope so. And I think that we can, I think there’s a lot of fun prospects in this organization, too.”

    Terrence Wallin is someone the organization thinks very highly of and believes has room to grow.
  • Tyrese Maxey, Vic Fangio head the annual Philly Sports Thanksgiving thankfulness list

    Tyrese Maxey, Vic Fangio head the annual Philly Sports Thanksgiving thankfulness list

    I tell folks all the time: Philadelphia is the best place in the country to be a sportswriter, and maybe the best place in the world. It has everything, including soccer.

    And it’s not New York. (Relax. I’m from New York.)

    There is no patience here for complacency, at least not since the foot-dragging Phillies got their new ballpark and the Sixers stopped losing on purpose. Now that I think of it, there wasn’t much patience for that garbage then, either.

    I’ve been here for more than three decades, and I’ve trudged through the Clarence Weatherspoon and Nerlens Noel editions of the Sixers; the Desi Relaford and Maikel Franco editions of the Phillies; and the Koy Detmer and Nnamdi Asomugha editions of the Eagles. There have been lots of Thanksgivings when there wasn’t much on the Philadelphia sports scene to be thankful for.

    This Thanksgiving, there’s plenty.

    Forthwith, then, my completely subjective and possibly incomplete top seven, an entirely arbitrary number fallen upon because seven filled the space I was allotted for this column.

    Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey reacts after hitting a three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 19.

    1. Tyrese Maxey

    It’s remarkable that, in a city that boasts the reigning Super Bowl champion and a former NBA MVP, Maxey is its most universally adored athlete. He’s a tireless worker. He’s constantly improving. He’s a spectacular teammate. He’s a fearless player.

    Perhaps Maxey is so beloved because of the contrast in personality with other stars in town and the connection to the city that other stars lack. Joel Embiid won the league MVP award in 2023, but he’s always hurt, he’s seldom in shape, and he has a history of feuds with fans. For a third consecutive season, Eagles receiver A.J. Brown is providing a self-centered distraction. And Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, despite his best efforts, remains aloof and chilly — at least compared to Maxey.

    The only player close to Maxey in demeanor, accomplishment, and connection is running back Saquon Barkley, and he’s having a down year.

    2. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman

    The Eagles’ owner gives the GM cash, and the GM spends it wisely. They’ve taken the Eagles to the Super Bowl three times in the last eight seasons, they’ve won it twice, and, in an era of NFL parity, they’ve delivered a golden era to a historically downtrodden franchise.

    A championship team doesn’t give away wins. That’s exactly what the Eagles did at Dallas.

    Lurie sets the example for other owners in the city to follow on the field and in the community.

    Roseman’s genius grows by the year, lying mainly in his ability to draft NFL-ready players — Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Nolan Smith, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Drew Mukuba — and his ability to pivot when things go badly, such as with the deadline trade for edge rusher Jaelan Phillips.

    Jalen Hurts has a a 60-26 record as Eagles quarterback, including the playoffs.

    3. Jalen Hurts

    You can choose to dwell on Hurts’ shortcomings: the slow release, the average arm, the inability to diagnose and process defenses. But those are shortcomings by comparison.

    Hurts’ release was quick enough, his arm was strong enough, and his processing good enough to compile a 60-26 record, six of those wins in the playoffs, one of them Super Bowl LIX, of which he was the MVP. He’s won all of those games, despite having a coach who creates distractions and a wide receiver who frequently is critical of him. He also has served under six play-callers: former head coach Doug Pederson, current head coach Nick Sirianni, former offensive coordinators Shane Steichen, Brian Johnson, and Kellen Moore, and, now, Kevin Patullo. What’s more, Sirianni, Steichen, Johnson, and Patullo had never called plays before.

    Hurts isn’t perfect, but he has made the most of what he’s had, he’s avoided controversy, and he wins, wins, wins.

    4. Bryce Harper

    Harper fought a wrist injury for at least the first half of the season and didn’t produce the way he has produced in the past, but his .912 OPS since joining the Phillies in 2019 is still fifth-best in baseball among players who played at least 800 games. His intangible value has increased the past three seasons.

    Since Rhys Hoskins left after sitting out injured in 2023, Harper, along with Kyle Schwarber, has become more of a clubhouse leader and more of the face of the team. That has real value in a city that scrutinizes its baseball team so fiercely.

    Harper’s presence also was a major reason that ace Zack Wheeler, catcher J.T. Realmuto, and Schwarber signed or re-signed their deals. And if Schwarber decides to re-sign, Harper’s presence will weigh into that decision, too.

    Keith Jones (left) and Danny Brière have been entrusted with turning around the Flyers.

    5. Danny Brière and Keith Jones

    When the Flyers in May 2023 hired two alumni with scant experience as their GM and president, respectively, it smacked of the same sort of corporate nepotism that dragged the franchise into rebuild mode in the first place.

    But Brière and Jones have deftly navigated a roster rebuild that, currently, presents a very watchable hockey club on a nightly basis. Consider the obstacles they faced.

    They inherited irascible coach John Tortorella, whom they fired last spring. They hired former Flyers winger Rick Tocchet to replace him. So far, so good. Stay tuned.

    Tyrese Maxey ghosted, then roasted James Harden in a battle of brothers

    They lost franchise goalie Carter Hart when Hart took leave to face sexual assault charges in Canada. He ultimately was acquitted, but the legal process cost the Flyers at least 1½ seasons of his services.

    Cutter Gauthier, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft, forced a trade in 2024 before he played a game for the Flyers. He went to Anaheim, where he was an All-Rookie selection last season and this season had 26 points in 22 games entering Wednesday night.

    All things considered, the future looks bright.

    6. Vic Fangio

    In a year when Barkley signed as a free agent, the defensive coordinator was an even bigger addition for the Eagles. He led the No. 1 defense in the league last year. When healthy, it’s one of the better defenses in the league this year.

    Fangio understands his players’ capacities, asks them to do the things they can do, and tells the truth to them and to us.

    Refreshing.

    Denise Dillon coaching the Villanova Wildcats during an exhibition against Towson last month.

    7. College basketball

    It ain’t what it was when I got here 30 years ago, but Philly still has a vibrant and healthy college basketball scene, led by Villanova women’s coach Denise Dillon. Can’t wait to see what former Iowa coach and Philly high school legend Fran McCaffery does at Penn.

  • For Haverford High’s Liam Taylor, playing on Thanksgiving is his last hurrah on the gridiron

    For Haverford High’s Liam Taylor, playing on Thanksgiving is his last hurrah on the gridiron

    Liam Taylor has been bracing himself for this. It whirls through his mind that this will be the last time he will wear shoulder pads. It will be the last time he will put on a football helmet. The last time he will practice. The last time he will play football.

    The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Haverford High School senior tailback admits he has been taking mental snapshots, trying to inhale each fleeting moment, before they fade past his eyes from light to shadow. The thoughts paralyze him sometimes.

    Then he catches himself with this: He is on the verge of something special Thursday in the Fords’ traditional Thanksgiving Day game at Central League rival Upper Darby at 10 a.m. Only two players have ever rushed for more than 5,700 career yards in the long history of Delaware County high school football. Taylor is one of them. The other is former Cardinal O’Hara star Kevin Jones, the 2004 NFL first-round draft choice who now is a professor at his alma mater, Virginia Tech.

    North Catholic beat Frankford on Thanksgiving in 1978. It’s a victory the Norphans haven’t forgotten.

    On Thursday, Taylor will need 79 yards to break Jones’ Delaware County career rushing record of 5,790 yards. Taylor enters the game with 5,712 career yards after establishing the single-season Delaware County record — previously held by Interboro graduate Abu Kamara (2,832) — when he rushed for 3,006 yards last season as a junior.

    Against eight- and nine-man defensive fronts designed to stop him this season, Taylor has been “held” to 1,950 yards rushing this year.

    Breaking the record will not be easy, Taylor says. Not only will Upper Darby try everything to stop him from surpassing that mark, but it also will be his last football game. He has opted, despite recruiting attention from numerous colleges, to not play football beyond Thursday.

    Haverford High School’s Liam Taylor needs 79 yards to break the Delaware County all-time rushing record.

    He realizes he will be saying goodbye to a part of himself.

    “That’s the hard part,” he said. “I look forward to practice. I have been playing football for 10 years, since I was in second grade. When I think about it, other than going to school for 12 years, it is the longest thing I have ever done in my life. It’s why I am looking forward to this Thanksgiving Day game. This will be like a backyard game you play with your friends after school. When we lost to Council Rock South [27-7 in the opening round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs on Oct. 31 in Newtown], that hit hard. I know we had one more game to play. But it was a long bus ride back. We didn’t play any music.

    “I love football. I’m trying to savor everything right now. Last year and this year have been a lot of fun. I decided over the spring not to play in college. I’ll miss it, and I am not fully over it. I never really gave it a thought of playing college football. It was difficult to make the decision, but I definitely would not call it an internal civil war, because I knew what I wanted. Every Saturday morning waking up after games was a very sore day. It was definitely a part of my decision. It was not a huge part of it. It’s hard to let something you love go. I’m ready for it, though.”

    Rivals Northeast and Central believe their Thanksgiving football game, like the game’s trophy, is worth saving

    Taylor said posting stats such as his does not happen without help. He noted he would not be going anywhere without senior tackles Rocco Kelleher and Oliver Clune, senior guard Brendan Walker, junior guard Joe McGinley, senior center Emmet Gillespie, and rotating senior tackle and guard Liam McCloskey.

    Haverford coach Luke Dougherty has been the buffer for incoming colleges interested in Taylor. Dougherty, who is in his fifth season at the helm and eighth overall with the program, had to tell coaches his star player was not interested in playing college football.

    After his junior year, Taylor, who carries a weighted 4.7 GPA, was attracting Patriot and Ivy League attention. As this season progressed, Taylor has only strengthened his resolve not to play college football, Dougherty said. It gave Taylor a newfound freedom on the field, playing without feeling the scrutiny of college recruiters.

    Luke Dougherty, the head football coach and a social studies teacher at Haverford High School, with Liam Taylor (right) on Nov. 24.

    “Liam can easily play college football at a lot of places, and when we revisited his decision in early October, he told me, ‘Coach, I am dead set on my decision not to play college football. I’m loving this,’” Dougherty said. “The Patriots and Ivys all liked Liam, but it never reached the formal offering process because by that time, when he did not go to any of the college camps he was invited to, word was out. Penn came here for Liam. Cornell came in three or four times. Bucknell came to the building.

    “College coaches are a little different. They can’t understand someone as talented as Liam not wanting to play college football. Coaches are still coming in asking, ‘Is Liam still not interested in playing college football?’ It was shock for a lot of these guys.

    “Penn’s [offensive line coach] Kyle Metzler, who recruits our area, probably said it best when he told me, ‘There are a lot of people who go to really good schools who don’t play football and make a lot of money in this world. God bless Liam, he knows what he wants, because we have too many guys at Penn who come here thinking that they have a meal ticket to the NFL and we try to convince them that they’re here for the four-year Penn education. This isn’t a transfer portal launching pad.’”

    Many schools still left their information for Dougherty in case Taylor changed his mind. Taylor has not changed his mind. He wants to go to Georgia, his the alma mater of his father, Eric.

    Special motivation

    Taylor comes from special genes. His father, a former Haverford star, is the son of former Springfield (Delco) coach Rick Taylor. His maternal grandfather is Jan Stefanski, the brother of Eddie Stefanski, the former Bonner-Prendergast and Penn basketball star and 76ers general manager who is the father of Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski.

    In January, Eric was diagnosed with cancer. It is under control. He received immunotherapy for three months. Progress has been made. He is still receiving chemo maintenance.

    Liam entered his senior year with that on his mind.

    Eric did not miss a game this season.

    Liam Taylor has had a stellar football career at Haverford High.

    “I was mad because this is something I couldn’t do anything about, but my dad inspires me. He inspires me every day,” Liam said. “Thinking about it, I suppose I took his mind off what he was going through. My dad loves seeing me play. He is always on my mind. If playing helped him get through this, that’s all I care about. We talk about breaking the record all the time. My whole family is going to be there. I’ll be thinking about my dad. We get to gather around a high school football game and not think about real life.

    “This won’t be easy. It will be good. Hopefully I break the record, and everyone will be happy. It will be sad because I’ll be taking off a Haverford uniform for the last time.”

    Eric, a 1990 Haverford graduate and longtime Upper Dublin assistant coach and special education teacher, is bracing himself for the end of Liam’s football career, too. Because of the cancer treatments, he missed Liam’s lacrosse games last spring and could not travel to see his daughter, Emma, pitch for Yale’s softball team.

    Brett Gordon keeps his late father in mind as La Salle continues its run in state playoffs

    “For three hours every Friday night, I don’t know who was more excited for games, me or Liam,” said Eric, who has been on a medical sabbatical from Upper Dublin. “He inspires me, seeing the things he does on a football field and how well he plays. Our whole family was able to come out and watch games. I was never able to beat my dad at Springfield when I played at Haverford, but Liam beat them his junior year. Liam wants to go south, and he wants to enjoy his college experience.

    “It is tough not watching him play in college. He is so good. He could play in college. We’re going to have to adopt another kid to watch. We have had that talk. He can come home from college and play in the local softball bar league. You can’t do that with football. This is it. He’s OK with it. It was tough. There were conversations. We were looking for him to change his mind.”

    But Eric and his wife, Christa, raised Liam to have a mind of his own.

    “That’s why he will be great at anything he does,” Eric said. “He is kind of special. He says I’m his inspiration. He’s my inspiration, too. But where the speed comes from, I don’t know. It’s certainly not from the Taylor side. I see my wife run, too, so I don’t know where he gets it.”

    Haverford High’s Liam Taylor with his father, Eric.

    Then Eric recalled a story about Liam when he first began playing football.

    Eric or Christa would drop him off and pick him up after practice was over. They had to shuttle their daughters around and rarely had time to sit and watch Liam’s practices. One time Christa, who is Haverford’s field hockey coach, happened to arrive at football practice just before it wrapped up one evening. The team was finishing its sprints, and she noticed something.

    Christa recalls going down to the field and asking Liam, “Are you OK?” Liam looked up at his mom and said, “I’m OK, why?” Christa replied, “Because you’re last. Listen, you don’t always have to be first, but you can’t be last.”

    After that, every time Christa and Eric picked up Liam, he was in front.

    He’s been front and center, it seems, ever since.

  • Jeff McLane’s keys to Eagles vs. Bears in Week 13: What you need to know and a prediction

    Jeff McLane’s keys to Eagles vs. Bears in Week 13: What you need to know and a prediction

    The Eagles host the Chicago Bears in a Week 13 matchup at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday at 3 p.m. Here’s what you need to know about the game:

    When the Eagles have the ball: If the rushing offense can’t get going against this Bears defense, it may never. I wrote the same ahead of the Cowboys game, and Saquon Barkley and Co. ended up doing very little on the ground. But Dallas leaned into its five-man front — to the Eagles’ surprise — and that’s been a scheme they’ve struggled with most of the season. The Bears don’t stray much from their four-man front in run situations, although they will bring a linebacker down to match heavy personnel. Could defensive coordinator Dennis Allen throw another curveball at the Eagles? I guess it’s possible. But Chicago’s personnel is suited to a 4-3 front and it stays in nickel personnel (72%) more than most defenses.

    The Bears’ run defense has allowed 5.2 yards per carry, ranks 25th in expected points added (EPA) per rush, and 26th in rush success rate. They’ve been shorthanded at off-ball linebacker with Tremaine Edmunds placed on injured reserve last week and T.J. Edwards out after hand surgery. The Eagles should run at linebacker Noah Sewell (elbow) if he’s healthy — he’s missed eight tackle attempts vs. the run. They might want to dip further into the quarterback-run game. Jalen Hurts has been noticeably silent in that regard. He’s averaging 2.4 fewer carries per game than he did in his previous four seasons. Another solution could be a little more of Tank Bigsby (9.1-yard average per carry) at the expense of the dinged-up Barkley (groin).

    The Bears aren’t much better in pass defense, at least efficiency-wise. But they force turnovers at a high rate — an NFL-best 20.9% — with safety Kevin Byard and cornerback Nahshon Wright tied atop the league with five interceptions apiece. Chicago added another ballhawk to the mix last month — former Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson — who’s back at his original slot cornerback spot. Allen blitzes at a relatively high rate (27.5%) and no offense has faced more blitzes than the Eagles (34%). Gardner-Johnson has three sacks already in blitzes from the slot. Montez Sweat is the Bears’ best rusher, and leads the team with 7½ sacks and 30 pressures. Eagles right tackle Fred Johnson will start in place of Lane Johnson for a second straight game and will see a lot of Sweat.

    Eagles defensive tackle Byron Young’s father died suddenly in March. He’s found a way to keep Kenny Young close.

    Allen will mix up his zones, with Cover 3 his most predominant in single-high safety looks and Cover 2 in split-safety looks. Hurts has thrown only one pick all season. DeVonta Smith (shoulder/chest) should play, but he won’t be at full strength. That could be additional reason to feature tight end Dallas Goedert in the middle of the field. The Bears have allowed 6.5 catches per game to tight ends. Goedert has been the Eagles’ best red zone threat this season (seven touchdowns), and Gardner-Johnson has historically been undisciplined inside the 20.

    Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been pressured a lot, but his elusiveness has helped Chicago contend.

    When the Bears have the ball: Ben Johnson is one of more innovative offensive minds in the NFL. The former Lions offensive coordinator has elevated Caleb Williams’ game, although the second-year quarterback has left meat on the bone by not playing within structure. He makes plays out of the pocket and on scrambles. But he holds the ball longer than any other quarterback at 3.23 seconds and has faced a decent amount of pressure (32%). To his credit, Williams has been sacked only 4.2% of the time, partly because he’s good at wriggling out of would-be tackles.

    Williams has adapted to being more under center, which has added play-action to his tool belt. He ranks in the middle of the pack in play-action efficiency, but he also has avoided turnovers and ranks sixth in interception percentage (1.1). Rome Odunze is Williams’ favorite deep target. The second-year receiver has caught 8 of 23 targets of 20-plus yards for 218 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles dodged some bullets in the secondary with safety Reed Blankenship (thigh) and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (head injury) expected to be ready. But Drew Mukuba (ankle) was placed on injured reserve and Sydney Brown is slated to fill the void. Dallas went at Brown on Sunday and the Bears are likely to follow suit.

    Vic Fangio expects to have safety Reed Blankenship available on Friday vs. the Bears

    The Eagles’ back seven has mostly done a solid job of tackling after the catch, but Williams throws his receivers into space as well as any quarterback. He averages 5.98 yards after the catch on his throws. The Bears have a potent ground game — sixth in EPA per rush — with good blocking up the middle behind center Drew Dalman and left guard Joe Thuney. Running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai average 4.6 and 4.7 yards a carry, respectively. Neither is especially adept in blitz pickup. I’d expect Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean to test both.

    In terms of the Eagles’ pass rush, the Bears may need to help left tackle Theo Benedet vs. edge rushers Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith. Forced into the lineup two months ago, Benedet has allowed a team-high 20 pressures. Jaelan Phillips has a tougher matchup on the other side against right tackle Darnell Wright.

    Are the Bears capable of stopping a Jalen Hurts Tush Push?

    Extra point: The Bears stopped a Steelers Tush Push attempt last week. They didn’t appear to do anything exotic. But Pittsburgh pulled off a fake the next time it ran the play, with former Eagle Kenny Gainwell scoring a touchdown after a 54-yard run. Chicago later allowed two conversions on third-and-1 off more traditional quarterback sneaks. Center Cam Jurgens is clearly less than 100%, but the Eagles are unlikely to ditch their version of the Tush Push.

    After losing their first two games, the Bears have won eight of nine. They have one victory against a team with a winning record — beating the 6-5 Steelers on Sunday, 31-28. The Eagles, obviously, shouldn’t sleep on Chicago. They’ve beaten some of the best teams in the league, but there could be a hangover after getting banged up in Texas. It may be too early to look ahead to playoff seeding, but a loss to the 8-3 Bears would drop the Eagles into third place in the conference.

    I think the Eagles match up well against the Bears. I like Vic Fangio vs. most young quarterbacks, but Ben Johnson will offer a challenge. As far as the offense goes, I think that as long as the Eagles don’t turn the ball over, they should put up points. Chicago’s defense lives off the turnover, but the Birds are still among the best at protecting the ball, despite last week’s two giveaways. For the first time in weeks, I feel relatively confident about my pick. But we know how that usually pans out.

    Prediction: Eagles, 30-20.

  • Gameday Central: Eagles vs Bears

    Gameday Central: Eagles vs Bears

  • Tyson Foerster and Sean Couturier score in the final minute in Flyers’ 4-2 road win over Panthers

    Tyson Foerster and Sean Couturier score in the final minute in Flyers’ 4-2 road win over Panthers

    SUNRISE, Fla. — Standing outside the locker room on Wednesday night in the bowels of Amerant Bank Arena, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet asked if his team was done playing the Florida Panthers.

    When told the season series was complete, he said, “Thank God.” But hold on there. The Flyers took two of three games against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers with a last-minute 4-2 victory on Thanksgiving Eve.

    Tyson Foerster scored the game-winning goal with 45.2 seconds left in regulation, and Sean Couturier added a deflection up and over goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with 25 seconds left to give the Flyers the win.

    Foerster’s goal came after his initial shot was blocked by Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, and the puck went right back to him. He patiently waited and picked his spot to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead.

    Couturier’s goal came off a heads-up play by Christian Dvorak to put the puck on net. Up by a goal, Tocchet also had Noah Cates on the ice, and the center was ready to pounce just in case.

    The Flyers have won three of their past four games and four of their past six. They also lead the NHL with 10 comeback wins.

    Nikita Grebenkin hopes to make his return to the Flyers lineup a permanent one

    The usual suspect

    The Flyers came out ready to play. Before the Panthers got their first shot on goal 4 minutes, 33 seconds into the game, the Flyers had four shots on goal and six more that were either blocked or missed the net.

    But, like usual, the Flyers fell into a 1-0 hole in the first period.

    “Yeah, I liked our start, and then obviously they flipped the table on us. [Dan Vladař] was unreal, and of course, he saved our bacon,” Tocchet said. “Getting out of [the first period down] 1-0, kind of regrouped, and made a couple of adjustments, and stuff like that. But I thought the resilience of the guys, give them a lot of credit.”

    The ice started tilting when Emil Andrae skated out from behind the net, and the puck slid off his stick. It led to a barrage of shots by the home team.

    Within 19 seconds, the Panthers put six shots on Dan Vladař, with another hitting the crossbar. The Flyers got the puck out, and at the other end, Nick Seeler had his stick break on a point shot, creating a turnover.

    The Panthers skated out with Sam Bennett eventually getting the puck back in the Flyers’ end. Bennett skated around Matvei Michkov, who got back but pulled down the forward as he cut across the crease with the puck sliding under Seeler. Michkov would have been called for a penalty if Brad Marchand hadn’t buried the puck.

    It is the 16th time this season the Flyers have trailed 1-0. They have played only 22 games. They are 9-5-2 when trailing first.

    “Yeah, we always get scored on first, it seems like,” Foerster said. “But it’s not a good thing, but it’s great that we always come back and we give a good effort every night.”

    Flyers right wing Matvei Michkov scored his fifth goal over his last nine games on Wednesday night against the Panthers.

    Andrae the Giant

    The Hockey Gods certainly love to dole it out. Andrae had a rough start and was also on the ice for the Panthers’ second goal in the second period, with Carter Verhaeghe finishing off a pretty passing play.

    But he bounced back with authority.

    “What I really like about that is, yeah, he had a tough first, right? But the game’s not over. There’s 40 minutes left, and he was a factor,” Tocchet said.

    Andrae cut the Panthers’ lead in half with his first goal of the season. After some sustained pressure by the Flyers, Andrae got the puck at the left point and threw it on net. With a ton of traffic in front, which included Trevor Zegras, Dvorak, and two Panthers, the puck threaded the needle and got past the former Flyers goalie Bobrovsky, who did not have his stick.

    “Obviously, you have your ups and downs in your season and in the game. So it was a little slow start in the first there, and just trying to get back to simple and hard, and let the game come to me,” Andrae said. “So think that worked pretty well tonight.”

    Less than a minute later, Andrae was in the penalty box for high-sticking, but the Flyers entered the night with the fourth-best penalty kill (85.5%) — it finished a perfect 3-for-3 — and held the Panthers to one shot on goal and one blocked shot.

    Flyers mailbag: Is Rick Tocchet compromising the future for short-term success? What’s going on with Nikita Grebenkin?

    On his next shift after serving his time, Andrae helped tie the game up. Controlling the puck, Andrae and Jamie Drysdale used their best commodity — their footwork — to cross atop the circles. Andrae then got the puck back and sent a shot on goal that Michkov deflected in. The goal is Michkov’s sixth of the year and his fifth in the last nine games.

    “I think that’s something we’re trying to emphasize in our offensive game as a team. So yeah, I mean, we’re both good at moving our legs and trying to create shooting lines that way,” Andrae said. “So, yeah, it was a great play, and glad it went in.”

    Andrae’s miscue tilted the ice away from the Flyers, but his offensive game tilted it right back as the visitors started to take over control of the game.

    Vladař comes up big again

    People questioned the signing of goaltender Vladař on July 1, but he has been nothing short of the Flyers’ best player this season.

    “Just from the beginning of the year, just the buy-in, the excitement he brings to our team as a goalie, coming by the bench [during the] timeouts and obviously standing tall for us when it wasn’t good for the last 10 minutes of the first,” Tocchet said. “We had a little rope-a-dope, and he kind of held it together for us.”

    The Panthers put 15 shots on goal in the first period, with several coming from high-danger areas, and he allowed just one goal. He stopped a Gustav Forsling point shot with his pad before robbing Verhaeghe from seven feet out. Vladař also stopped Noah Gregor as he weaved through the Flyers’ defense.

    Despite trailing 1-0 after the first period, Vladař stayed positive.

    “At the end of the day, it’s just hockey,” he said. “We are here for each other. And I’m pretty sure if we’re going to keep sticking up for each other, then good things are going to happen to a good team. So I think we are a good team.”

    In the second period, things settled down, and he faced just five shots on goal. But it’s about quality and not quantity, and Vladař robbed A.J. Greer as he sneaked behind the defense and tried to score on the backhand.

    And with the game tied 2-2, he reached back to make a sliding glove save on Uvis Balinskis. Vladař finished with 25 saves to earn his ninth win of the season in 13 games.

    While there is the “Great 8,” in Alexander Ovechkin, according to Foerster, his teammates call Vladař, “The Great 8-0.”

    “Don’t want to get it too high and at the same time too low,” the goalie said. “As I’ve said a lot of times, [it’s] a long year. So got to keep grinding, keep getting better every day. And, hopefully, we are going to accomplish something till Game 82.”

    Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar earned his ninth victory Wednesday night in 13 games this season.

    Breakaways

    Defenseman Egor Zamula and forward Nic Deslauriers were the healthy scratches. … Forward Owen Tippett had the secondary assist on Andrae’s goal for the 100th of his NHL career. … Couturier snapped a 17-game goal drought with his third of the year.

    Up next

    The Flyers practice in Florida before heading north for Thanksgiving and have a Black Friday matchup at the New York Islanders (4 p.m., NBCSP).

  • Nikita Grebenkin hopes to make his return to the Flyers lineup a permanent one

    Nikita Grebenkin hopes to make his return to the Flyers lineup a permanent one

    SUNRISE, Fla. — There are a few X accounts that ask the question, “Is [blank player] playing today?”

    It’s starting to feel like one of those accounts should be made for Nikita Grebenkin. If it were to be up and running on Wednesday, it would simply say, “Yes.”

    After sitting for the last three games, the Russian left winger will slot back in on the fourth line alongside Garnet Hathaway and center Rodrigo Ābols when the Flyers take on the Florida Panthers tonight at 7 (NBCSP). Nic Deslauriers will come out of the lineup.

    So what does Rick Tocchet want to see from Grebenkin?

    “I’ve got to see some good forechecking. He’s got to know where he goes sometimes in the D zone,” Tocchet said after morning skate. “Obviously, I want him to play mind-free. And just really, kind of don’t think too much.

    Flyers mailbag: Is Rick Tocchet compromising the future for short-term success? What’s going on with Nikita Grebenkin?

    “I think when he’s out there, sometimes he thinks too much, and he plays a slower game. So I think if he just kind of reacts off a puck and just goes, that’s when he’ll be at his best.”

    This is a game in which Grebenkin can show what he can do. The Panthers like to play man-on-man in the defensive zone, and the key to beating that, according to Tocchet, is to keep the feet moving, beat your check to the net, and bring energy.

    Enter Grebenkin, who is not only an energy guy but excels below the hash marks.

    “Plain as day, is very good,” Hathaway said of Grebenkin’s play in the bottom half of the offensive zone. “It’s a big part of his game, and it can allow us to create offense. We’ve played together against a few man-on-man teams, I think, and it’s our job now to say, hey, how can we get the puck down there? How can we puck possess? And then how can we get a guy like Grebby the puck who can puck protect and then create offense out of that?”

    According to Natural Stat Trick, the line of Grebenkin, Hathaway, and Ābols has played 26 minutes, 16 seconds together this season. They have allowed one goal and have been out-chanced, 12-6. But they do have 22 shot attempts to the opposition’s 20.

    Flyers coach Rick Tocchet wants Nikita Grebenkin (left) to be more predictable and responsible.

    Grebenkin has played in 12 of the Flyers’ first 21 games and has just 19 total NHL games under his belt. He notched his first NHL point in his season debut on Oct. 11 against the Carolina Hurricanes and his first NHL goal on Nov. 4 in Montreal.

    Tocchet recently said the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Grebenkin needs to be more predictable, which is something he has wanted to see more of from his group as a whole. The Ābols line will meet before puck drop to discuss how to hit Tocchet’s request.

    “We’ll talk about the keys that as a line we need to focus on that will make us more predictable,” Hathaway said. “I think that’ll allow us to keep our speed, stay in lanes to support each other. We’ve talked a little bit about having our toes facing the same way when we’re forechecking. We’re in there together and a closeness that allows us to keep puck possession and hold on to pucks.”

    Skating with the veteran Hathaway and Ābols, who doesn’t have many more NHL games than Grebenkin under his belt but played a long time in Europe before joining the Flyers last season, will help Grebenkin. He is under a bit of a microscope and assuredly wants to stay in the lineup. Hathaway said they will pull out the iPad if needed, and when the timing is right, Ābols also speaks Russian and can chat with the young winger.

    “Yeah, those situations you can see when they talk to their coaches, and you kind of see their lost face, then I kind of slide in,” Ābols said. “I’m going to try any way I can, whether it’s translating or helping any way I can.”

    Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko traded to Ontario Hockey League favorite Brantford

    Breakaways

    Dan Vladař (8-4-1, .912 save percentage) will start against the Panthers. He is 1-1-0 this season against them with a 2.02 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. The Flyers lost the season opener, 2-1, and beat Florida, 5-2, in the home opener at Xfinity Mobile Arena. … Defenseman Noah Juulsen will return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last two games. Egor Zamula will sit.

  • The Eagles’ secondary is healing quickly. Adoree’ Jackson is set to return against the Bears.

    The Eagles’ secondary is healing quickly. Adoree’ Jackson is set to return against the Bears.

    By the end of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, it seemed possible that the Eagles — on a short week — could be missing three starters in the secondary for Friday’s contest against the Chicago Bears.

    Reed Blankenship, Adoree’ Jackson, and Drew Mukuba were hurt in the second half of the loss and did not return to action. But only Mukuba, who will require surgery to repair a right leg fracture, sources told The Inquirer, is expected to miss the Week 13 game against the Bears.

    That’s good news for Jackson, who was evaluated for a concussion Sunday just five weeks after he suffered one against the Minnesota Vikings. The 30-year-old cornerback did not enter concussion protocol, though, and decided not to return to the game as a precaution.

    The concussion scare occurred halfway through the third quarter when Jackson said he hit his head on the turf while tackling Cowboys receiver George Pickens. Jackson immediately popped up and threw his helmet down out of frustration, he said, because he knew he had to come out of the game.

    Ultimately, the decision not to go back in after he checked out OK was mutually made between Jackson and his evaluators, he said.

    Adoree’ Jackson leaving the field after he suffered concussion against the Vikings on Oct. 19.

    “I had one, literally, [five] weeks ago,” Jackson said Wednesday. “So if I know I hit my head and playing fast and throwing my body around, I ain’t about to go and do it again, you know what I mean? It could have been worse. I go back out there and I do some [stuff], and now it’s something else, and now I’m out. Like, out out. You know what I mean? So it’s one of those situations where we were both being precautious of the situation at hand.”

    Jackson was a full participant Wednesday in practice, the lone session of the short week. That made practice all the more important, Jackson said, because he could marry the mental side of his preparation so far this week (film study and walk-through) with his physical movements on the field.

    Eagles defensive tackle Byron Young’s father died suddenly in March. He’s found a way to keep Kenny Young close.

    With Jackson healthy, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has the option to start the same trio at cornerback — Jackson, outside cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, and nickel cornerback Cooper DeJean — that started against the Cowboys. When Jackson came out in the third quarter, DeJean moved to the outside, and Michael Carter took over in the slot.

    But Fangio will have a different starting duo at safety with Sydney Brown set to take over for Mukuba. Blankenship, who exited Sunday’s game with a thigh injury, said Tuesday that he’s still a “little sore” with just a brief respite to recover.

    Blankenship was a limited participant in practice and expects to be available to play. While he’ll have a new partner alongside him on Friday, he won’t change who he is as a player and a leader in the secondary.

    Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) says his thigh injury remains “a little sore.”

    “I don’t like to change who I am as a person, regardless if you played with me a lot or not,” Blankenship said. “I want to give them the exact same thing I would if they played 1,000 snaps next to me because I feel like I’m not doing my job if I change for them. But I’m going to try and do my best to be more vocal, communicate a little bit more, little bit better, kind of say stuff and let [Brown] anticipate stuff that’s coming if he [doesn’t] really realize it at times. But I guess just be a shoulder to lean on.”

    Friday will mark Brown’s first start at safety since Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, when he was rotating with Mukuba. By Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, Mukuba was the full-time starter.

    Brown is eager for his opportunity to start, especially considering his NFL journey so far. Brown, the Eagles’ third-rounder out of Illinois in 2023, suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his rookie year that set him back in his second season, too.

    “It’s going to be amazing,” Brown said Tuesday about starting. “That’s what I came here to do, and just embracing the opportunity for what it is. I feel horrible for Drew. He’s been having a great season so far, doing a really good job in the secondary as a safety. I hate to see that as a young player. I can relate to him, ’cause I went through it. I know what he’s going through is a tough process, but he’s going to get through it. He’s going to be better on the back end of it.”

    Sydney Brown (right) is set to start at safety in place of the injured Drew Mukuba.

    The strength of the secondary will be all the more important against Caleb Williams and the Bears’ passing offense, which ranks 12th in the league at 227 yards per game. Williams, the Bears’ first overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Southern California, can test defenses deep and has completed 23 passes of 25-plus yards this season (fifth among NFL quarterbacks).

    The Bears beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday as Williams had his fourth career game in which he passed for at least three touchdowns with no interceptions.

    Kevin Patullo says his unit has ‘got to get rid’ of penalties that slowed the Eagles’ offense in Dallas

    While Williams & Co. will provide yet another test for Fangio’s secondary, Jackson is optimistic that the unit will find stability after the way the game against the Cowboys ended.

    “Everybody wants to be out there and to play and have yourself accessible and ready to go, but at the end of the day, the final judgment comes from above,” Jackson said. “But to have all hands on deck is always glass half full.”

    Injury report

    DeVonta Smith (shoulder/chest/illness) did not participate in practice. The illness was a new addition to the injury report for the 27-year-old wide receiver, who was listed with the shoulder and chest injuries on Tuesday’s estimated injury report. (The Eagles held a walk-through that day.)

    In addition to Smith and Mukuba, Xavier Gipson (shoulder) and Lane Johnson (foot) did not participate. Meanwhile, Blankenship, Saquon Barkley (groin), Landon Dickerson (knee), and Brandon Graham (groin) were limited participants.

    The Eagles’ final injury report will be released on Thursday.