NEW YORK — Whenever Adem Bona works through his pregame shooting routine, he eventually moves to the corner and fires three-pointer after three-pointer. The 76ers’ second-year big man even takes a step back to plant his feet out of bounds, a tactic designed to make any “real” long-range attempt feel less daunting.
So when Bona got a pass with about one minute remaining in Friday’s matchup at the Brooklyn Nets, he recalled the advice of player development coach Fabulous Flournoy and launched without hesitation.
“Don’t give yourself time to think much about it or what the situation was,” Bona recalled. “ … It was just catch, and let it fly.”
Bona’s first career NBA three-point make — which arrived after he missed the previous five games with a sprained ankle — could be viewed these days as a nod to Andre Drummond, the Sixers’ other previously non-shooting center who has suddenly become a legitimate threat from the corner. The Sixers now might need more of that from Bona — who also finished the Sixers’ 115-103 victory in Brooklyn with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, six rebounds, and four blocks — after Drummond left the game in the second quarter with a right knee sprain.
It was the latest example of what Sixers coach Nick Nurse called “two steps forward, one back” in the injury department, which in the short term could lead to some patchwork frontcourt lineups.
“We were just piecing it together,” Nurse said after the game.
The other step forward? Paul George returned from a one-game absence due to a sprained ankle to total an efficient 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting in his fourth game this season. He also continues to re-acclimate on a minutes restriction following offseason knee surgery, saying he recently landed on an approach to “activate” the knee before games.
Still, the Sixers (10-8) struggled to put away the already-tanking Nets (3-15), who played Friday without top scorers Michael Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas. Yet even with Bona’s and George’s return — and before Drummond’s departure — the Sixers took the floor without injured starters Joel Embiid (knee), VJ Edgecombe (calf), and Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee) along with key reserve Trendon Watford (adductor). Through 18 games, max-contract players Embiid, George, and star guard Tyrese Maxey have yet to share the floor.
Andre Drummond (1) leaves court after getting injured during the first half against Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
In comments with an unintentionally short shelf life, Nurse spoke before Friday’s game about the benefits of reintroducing Bona’s size and “bounce” to the Sixers’ rotation. Those qualities could spell Drummond, who had been enjoying a resurgent season by averaging 8.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in 16 games entering Friday. The Sixers are otherwise undersized without Embiid, who on Friday missed his ninth consecutive game with an issue with his right knee.
And this week’s public messaging about the state of Embiid’s knee could be perplexing to an outsider. Embiid was initially listed as questionable to play Tuesday against the Magic on the NBA’s official injury report, before being ruled out the afternoon of that game. On Thursday’s report, Embiid was immediately ruled out for the game in Brooklyn the following night.
“We’ve been thinking he’s been trending towards getting there, and he just hasn’t yet,” Nurse said before Friday’s game. “They just haven’t cleared him to go. That’s all it is. Pretty much the same thing I keep telling you. He’s just not there yet.”
Embiid’s absence has yielded an opportunity to start for Drummond, who during Friday’s game had totaled seven points and four rebounds in 11 minutes before hitting the floor and grabbing his knee. Though the 6-foot-11, 280-pounder needed to be helped off the court, he was standing under his own power with his knee wrapped following the game. George empathized with Drummond in the postgame locker room, because George was hampered by a knee hyperextension last season.
“I know that injury very well,” he said. “ … It’s a tough rehab. I mean, I don’t know the severity of it [for Drummond]. But hopefully, it wasn’t the case that mine was, because it’s a challenge.”
Drummond’s injury, plus foul trouble with multiple players, forced the Sixers into some unconventional frontcourt looks against the Nets. Rookie Johni Broome played the first legitimate rotation minutes of his NBA career, sometimes alongside Justin Edwards as the power forward. There were stretches with two-way players Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker on the floor together as a small-ball look.
Dominick Barlow (25) drives past Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton during the second half on Friday.
Nurse said after the game that he was pleased with the playmaking from those big men whenever the Nets forced the ball out of Maxey’s hands.
“There was a lot of dunks and there was a lot of driving layups,” Nurse said. “There was a couple kick-outs. So, for the most part, those guys handled things really well.
“Those guys are fairly new to the league, and [opponents are] going to put the ball in their hands and see what they can do with it time and time again.”
Part of Drummond’s value to these Sixers has been his mentorship of younger players, including Bona. The veteran noticed Bona getting “a little overwhelmed” as his role increased, prompting Drummond to sit next to Bona on the bench.
“Listen,” Drummond told Bona, “this is a huge, huge opportunity for you to showcase yourself and be present in the moment and have fun with this. Because, right now, you’re young, so messing up is OK. So I would try and do as many things as you can, just to showcase yourself and just stay with it.”
Bona initially beat out Drummond for the backup center job during the preseason, before Drummond recently regained that spot. Bona understands that consistency — rather than shorter bursts of impactful play as a rim protector and athletic finisher — is the next step in his development.
“It was maybe not 20 minutes of amazing play,” Nurse said of Bona’s production before his injury. “But there was always that spurt of three or four minutes that gets you to that next part of the game — or sparks you on a momentum run.”
Bona’s first career three-pointer certainly qualified as that type of moment. And it was a fitting homage to Drummond, whose role Bona might need to replace for the time being.
“He shot that confidently,” Nurse said, “and looked good.”
Over in the visitors’ locker room, the head coach had his shirt off. He was flexing and jumping and shouting and looking like a man who might soon be taken away by some folks in white gowns. Ben Johnson had every right to act a fool. He earned it. His team earned it. All anybody else could do was shrug.
“We’ve got great people in this team that I have a lot of faith and belief in,” Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said after a disconcertingly definitive 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears. “I think we still have everything we want ahead of us.”
It is getting harder for those of us outside the locker room to share in that belief. The Bears didn’t just beat the Eagles on Friday evening. They shook them to their core. They walked into Lincoln Financial Field on the day after Thanksgiving as a seven-point underdog with a rookie head coach and a second-year quarterback who might not be good and they walked out with a win that lifted them to the second-best record in the NFC and dealt a serious blow to the Eagles’ hopes of landing the conference’s top playoff seed.
The Bears will frame it as a statement victory. It felt more like a statement loss by the Eagles. They lost an important game in tough conditions against an opponent that entered the day having earned none of the benefit of the doubt. In short, the Eagles did exactly the opposite of what they had done, almost without exception, over their previous 32 games. They made it very clear that they were not the better team.
That’s a remarkable thing to write, considering the circumstances. The Bears entered the day with an 8-3 record that couldn’t be taken seriously. They’d played the second-easiest schedule in the NFL, the easiest in the NFC by far, with six of their eight wins coming against teams that ranked among the 12 worst in point differential. The other two victories came against winning teams who barely qualified as such: the 6-5-1 Dallas Cowboys and the 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers. In fact, until Friday, the Bears had been outscored on the season.
“The sky is falling outside the locker room, we understand that, but I have nothing but confidence in the men in this locker room, players and coaches included,” said running back Saquon Barkley, who finished with 56 yards on 13 carries and has now gained 60 or fewer yards in nine of 12 games on the season. “It’s going to take all of us to come together, block out the noise.”
Until Friday, we could err on the side of nodding along to such sentiments. All season, as the Eagles have struggled to replicate last year’s dominance, they’ve insisted that their Super Bowl blowout of the Kansas City Chiefs was an exorcism of the demons of 2023. They swore they were a different team. They’d learned their lessons. Plus, they had an actual defense.
Neither of those things was evident against the Bears.
They allowed 281 rushing yards, their most since 2015 and the third-most in the last 50 years. They lost the turnover battle, in a fashion meek and mild, a fumble on a Tush Push and an ugly interception, both at the hands of the quarterback. Neither could be written off as the unfortunate byproducts of a warrior mindset.
Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and quarterback Jalen Hurts have failed to inspire confidence for much of the season.
Every quarterback has bad days. Where they differ is in their energy. Some quarterbacks are maddening, some erratic, some just plain dumb. Hurts at his worst looks listless. A nonfactor. Completely uncompetitive.
His coaches look that way, too. For most of the last month, Nick Sirianni and Kevin Patullo have looked like video game players who suddenly move the difficulty slider from All-Pro to All-Madden. Again, the computer won handily. The issue isn’t a lack of improvement. It’s that things are getting worse.
“It was both units, offense, defense, hats off to them,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “They played a good game; they coached a good game. They outcoached us; they outplayed us. That’s obviously something that I need to go through and watch, look through it, but to say I don’t want to — again, they ran for however many yards. We didn’t run for many yards. We lost the turnover battle. We lost the explosive play battle. All those things are going to dictate the win and loss.”
They didn’t just lose. They are at a loss. No answers. No ideas, even. This was the most concerning game of the Sirianni era, and it isn’t particularly close. Sure, 2023 was ugly. But at least it hadn’t happened before. The three scariest words in the world are “here we go again.”
If this Eagles season ends up where it is currently heading, the faces of the Bears will be the last thing they see on their final swirl around the toilet bowl. This was the kind of loss that can break a team through what it reveals. Until now, they’ve maintained an air of invincibility, a belief in the virtue of winning ugly. While the latter may be true, the Eagles looked entirely vincible on Black Friday.
They could write off their loss to the Denver Broncos as a game they should have won. Their loss to the New York Giants was a Thursday night fluke. After their loss to the Cowboys last week, they could cling to their one great quarter.
Their loss to the Bears? It felt like a culmination to all of that. The end of their suspension of disbelief. They are back in the same place they were when it all went up in flames. Talk has sufficed until now. Adversity is easy in its hypothetical form. Now, the Eagles must actually show us what they are made of.
The buyers: Cameron LaFreniere, 29, software engineer
The house: a 1,260-square-foot rowhouse in Point Breeze with three bedrooms and 2½ baths, built in 1925.
The price: originally listed for 350,000; sold for $340,000
The agent: Rachel Shaw, Philly Home Girls
The ask: Cameron LaFreniere was looking for a new city to call home and wanted to escape the stress of renting. Originally from Rhode Island, he considered settling down in Providence, but decided on Philadelphia because “the prices are significantly lower,” he said. It’s also easier to get around without a car, which was important to him.
The primary bedroom at Cameron LaFreniere’s home in Point Breeze.
He wanted a house that could be big enough for a family one day. “Basically something that could be a forever home if I wanted it to be,” he said. His budget was between $275,000 and $400,000, and he was only interested in historic rowhouses.
“I would much rather have an old build that’s well taken care of,” said LaFreniere, “because they’re often much more cost-effective in terms of maintenance.” He wanted something recently updated with multiple bathrooms, space for a home office, and within biking distance of Center City.
The search: LaFreniere began his search in December 2024 and spent months scouring South Philly for the perfect place. “I probably walked at least a third of South Philly,” he said. “I just really wanted to get a feel for the area. It’s one thing to look at something online; it’s another to experience it for yourself.”
LaFreniere outfitted the living room with all new furniture.
Across multiple weekend trips, LaFreniere looked at 25 properties, including eight on the final day of his search. He looked at a few places in Wharton Square and one in Graduate Hospital. He also saw one that was one street over from the house he ultimately bought — it cost $20,000 more. “It had nicer floors and was staged,” he said. As for the house he wanted, “there wasn’t much competition,” LaFreniere said.
Or it may have something to do with its location. “Point Breeze is a balanced market,” said LaFreniere. “There is a good amount of supply and places being fixed up. It’s a first-time buyer’s ideal situation.”
One of LaFreniere’s favorite rooms in the house is the kitchen, which was updated in 2017.
The appeal: LaFreniere liked that the house had been updated in 2017. It has central air and heat and the “quality of the kitchen is fantastic,” he said. At the same time, it still has several of its original features, like the staircase. “It’s the best of both worlds,” said LaFreniere.
The deal: On the afternoon LaFreniere visited, the seller had just dropped the price by $10,000. He decided he wanted it a few hours later and offered the new asking price of $340,000. There weren’t any competing offers, and the seller accepted.
LaFreniere was concerned about the floors, which he described as “a little beat up,” and asked for money to replace them. The seller said no but agreed to cover $3,000 of whatever issues the inspection turned up.
LaFreniere’s house features original details like the wooden staircase in the living room.
The money: LaFreniere had $30,000 to spend on the purchase of his home. “I saved this from working in a tech career for the past six years,” he said. It wasn’t always easy. He had significant student loans to pay off as well. To help keep costs down, he lived with roommates.
Of that $30,000, LaFreniere used $10,200 for a 3% down payment. Because he lived in an eligible census tract, he qualified for community reinvestment financing through OceanFirst’s HelpingHome loan, which allowed him to skip private mortgage insurance and lowered his interest rate from 7% to 6%. It also covered $6,000 of his closing costs.
The move: LaFreniere didn’t want to lug a bunch of stuff to Philadelphia from Providence, so he donated most of his furniture and half his belongings to local charities and thrift stores. He didn’t hire movers or rent a car. He took the train instead. Come moving day, all he had was a suitcase full of clothes and his bicycle, which he brought with him on the Amtrak. He moved in on June 25.
The basement, also known as the “man cave” at Cameron LaFreniere’s home in Point Breeze.
Any reservations? LaFreniere says he doesn’t have any regrets. “I knew what I was getting into,” he said. Certain parts of homeownership, like “how to do the trash,” were new to him but didn’t take long to figure out. The only thing he has had to contend with since moving in is cockroaches. But that was just once. “No recurrent pest problems,” he said.
Life after move: LaFreniere spent the last of his savings, about $10,000, on furniture. “I basically moved with nothing,” he said, “and then bought everything at Ikea.” He thought about redoing the floors but decided against it. The rugs and furniture cover the imperfections.
My newest global cheesesteak crush is the Vietnamese banh mi version at Saigon Grace, a sweet fusion cafe on South Street blending Asian and Mexican flavors where I’d already fallen for the intense salt foam Vietnamese coffee. The food has been very good, too, and this recent sandwich special is pretty much exactly the multicultural mashup it sounds like: a griddled hash of flat-iron beef, onions, and melty mozzarella tucked into a delicately crusty Vietnamese roll from South Philly’s Ba Le Bakery along with the classic banh mi fixings of pickled daikon and carrot laces, jalapeño rounds, and crunchy cilantro stems. What ultimately brought this sandwich to the next level, though, was the unexpected flow of golden sauce ladled over top. Was it Whiz? Absolutely not! It was an aromatic Vietnamese curry sauce — a hint sweet and fragrant with star anise — enriched with a creamy kiss of coconut milk that kept the sandwich moist and added an extra layer of nuanced spice to every bite. Saigon Grace Cafe, 1514 South St., 267-423-0081, saigongracecafe.com
— Craig LaBan
Hirame usuzukuri as served at Uchi, 1620 Sansom St.
Hirame usuzukuri at Uchi
This sleek, sumptuous Japanese spot out of Austin planted its flag in Rittenhouse this month. Its dim lighting makes it a date-night must (sushi bar, drinking bar, dining room options) for high-level fish. This hirame usuzukuri off the cool tastings menu was a crudo surprise — so simple, but so complex: its candied quinoa base gives it a quiet crunch and nutty depth that sharpen the pristine flounder’s silkiness. Uchi, 1620 Sansom St.,215-647-7611, uchi.uchirestaurants.com
— Michael Klein
Murasaki sweet potato with yuzu kosho Buffalo sauce, sour cashew cream, and chives at Pietramala.
The Buffalo sauce-covered sweet potato at Pietramala
Lucky me to have a band of friends who were up for sharing the entire menu at Pietramala, Philly’s brightest vegan star, now Michelin-endorsed. On the night I had dinner there, chef-owner Ian Graye was off at the awards ceremony, picking up a Green Star and a Recommended. The meal was no less applause-worthy, starting with the tomato XO sauce-laden focaccia (which Craig LaBan considers one of Philly’s best renditions of tomato pie) and finishing on the chocolate-enrobed peanut mousse bar (which I deeply regret not ordering an individual serving of).
The menu was full of hits, but a predilection for wings perhaps inspired a deep appreciation of the Buffalo sauce-smothered Murasaki sweet potato. The silken, white-fleshed spuds come from Robin Hill Organics in Newtown Square. Pietramala roasts them, smashes them flat, then deep-fries them to order to yield a crispy-creamy slab of potato. It arrives on the plate positively drenched in a velvety Buffalo sauce made with yuzu kosho (a citrusy fermented chili paste), topped with a generous dollop of sour cashew cream and a shower of fresh chives. When our server put the plate down, they let us know it’s not often Pietramala repeats menu items, but this one’s too good to let go. Pietramala, 215-970-9541, pietramalaphl.com
On a recent Thursday evening, Philadelphia art collector William Skeet Jiggetts sat in the foyer of Awbury Arboretum’s Francis Cope House surrounded by grand collages taken from the walls ofhisEast Falls home.
The art — all made by living artists and friends of Jiggetts — is striking. A framed paper and antique lace dress by textile artist Rosalind “Nzinga” Vaughn-Nicole sits next to portrait-size cameos that mixed media artist Danielle Scott fashioned from newspapers and other found objects.
A guest looks at artwork collected by William Skeet Jiggetts during the Museum of African American Art Collections’ inaugural exhibit at the Awbury Arboretum in East Germantown.
Jiggetts, 57, an art collector for more than 30 years, has had pieces from his collection on display in small shows, but never in his wildest dreams did he think that they would anchor an exhibition — in a traveling museum that he founded.
While the Barnes Foundation houses the late chemist and art collector Albert C. Barnes’ collection, there are very few other — if any — museums whose walls are solely dedicated to the collections of collectors. Nomadic, traveling museums, at that.
“It got to the point where I had more art than walls,” Jiggetts said looking over his black-framed glasses. “Nobody saw it … I didn’t even see it. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool for a bunch of collectors to get together and create a space to show our work. Tell our story?’”
Guest look at art work during the Museum of African American Art Collections inaugural exhibit at the Awbry Arboretum in East Germantown on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025.
Jiggetts got the itch to show his collection in the early 2020s after talking with colleagues who wanted to show theirs, too. In 2023 he set up a foundation, started approaching collectors, and began nailing down locations.
“There is a treasure trove of African American art in our living rooms, in our reading rooms, and in our dens that need to be shared,” Jiggetts said. “The Museum of African American Art Collections is a forum to host these collections and tell the stories that come with them.”
That’s how the Museum of African American Art Collections began.
A $200 frame and an obsession
Jiggetts, who works as a tax accountant, grew up in Germantown and spent Sunday afternoons at the Philadelphia Art Museum gazing at the impressionist works of Manet and Monet.
When he was in his 20s, he bought a poster of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers. “I spent $200 of 1989 money on that frame,” he said with a laugh. That purchase marked the beginning of an obsession. He bought his first piece of original art from Germantown painter Lucien Crump Jr., who, according to a 2006 Inquirer obituary, owned the first gallery in the city dedicated to Black art.
Jiggetts scoured galleries and festivals for original art, buying any piece that tickled his fancy for under $500. In the early 2000s, his mentors — well known Philadelphia appraiser Barbara Wallace and the late African American collector Ronald Ollie — urged him to start evaluating his choices and he became a serious art collector.
“I figured out what it was I really liked,” Jiggetts said, describing his favorite pieces as ones that marry impressionist and abstract art, like the ones on display at Awbury Arboretum. “I realized I enjoyed the experience of buying art as much as the art. I like the company of artists.”
His collection is comprised of mostly living artists like the mixed media artist Danielle Scott; abstract painter Ben F. Jones; and Paul Goodnight, who is known for his colossal oil paintings featured in the backdrops of TV shows like Seinfeld and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (Although Jiggetts does have a pencil sketch by the late Bahamian artist Purvis Young.)
Graphic designer for the Museum of African American Art Collections, Staci Cherry, places labels for the art collection from Stephanie Daniel during the Museum of African American Art Collections inaugural exhibit at the Awbry Arboretum in East Germantown on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. The piece in the center is the Dox Thrash mezzotint.
Keepers of history
Collectors are the glue that keep the fine arts ecosystem — artists, patrons, buyers, gallerists, and museum creators — connected and running.
They are often patrons of the arts like James J. Maguire and his late wife, Frances, investing in artists and art institutions, building impressive art collections in their homes. Collectors Adrian Moody and Robyn Jones connect artists to buyers at Jenkintown’s Moody Jones Gallery, but their personal collection has more than 400 pieces.
Art collectors Adrian Moody and Robyn Jones during the Museum of African American Art Collections’ inaugural exhibit at the Awbury Arboretum in East Germantown.
“Collectors drive the market,” said Valerie Gay, chief cultural officer for the city of Philadelphia. “They have the power to catapult an artist from obscurity to a household name.”
It’s the Black collector who discovers artists at street fairs, off-the-beaten-path galleries, hair salons, and their friend’s basement.
Their interest — like mid-20th-century author Ralph Ellison’s enthusiasm for Harlem Renaissance-era oil on canvas master Romare Bearden — brings artists’ work to a wider audience that can lead to cementing an artist’s place in the fine arts canon. Their picks speak to the collective Black experience, shaping Black America’s historical image.
“They are the keepers of our history,” Green said. “Mediators who carry the work forward and continue the legacy.”
A guest walks past art collected by Diana Tyson during the Museum of African American Art Collections inaugural exhibit at the Awbry Arboretum in East Germantown on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. Artis Beverly McCutcheon created Dad (left) and a piece titled Untitled.
Setting value
The Black collectors’ library, Jiggetts says, is the first stop on living artists’ journeys to corporate boardrooms or the walls of major museums. “Our role is that of an economist,” Jiggetts said. “We set the value.”
Collectors shared their experiences over white wine and sweet potato cupcakes on opening night.
Daniel — whose collection features local masters — spoke effusively about her Dox Thrash mezzotint. She will never let the print by the important early 20th-century Black artist go, she said. Robyn Jones interpreted the Jesse Read and Antoinette Ellis-Williams vibrant abstracts. (This reporter thought both of those pieces were images of shoes.)
Art collector Stephanie A. Daniel with Samuel Benson’s.Gay Head Cliffs MV painting during the Museum of African American Art Collections inaugural exhibit at the Awbry Arboretum in East Germantown on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025.
The concept of a collectors museum is a new one. Black collectors are not.
“We’ve always collected our work,” Jiggetts said, stressing that these times require Black people to be stewards of their own stories.
“At the Museum of African American Art Collections, no one can tell us what to do, what not to do, and what we need to do differently. We don’t have to worry about having it being taken away. It’s ours.”
The Museum of African American Art Collections, through Dec. 31, Awbury Arboretum’s Francis Cope House, 1 Awbury Rd., Phila.Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free.
It would be unfair to pin the Eagles’ 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears on Jalen Hurts, even if his two turnovers and ineffectiveness as a passer were contributing factors.
Nick Sirianni and Kevin Patullo’s inability to scheme to the quarterback’s strengths, while also covering for his weaknesses, again was the primary reason for another inept showing from the offense. The same could be said for their game plan in the run game.
The rest of the offense, meanwhile, underperformed — from the offensive line to skill position players. And, for the first time in some time, the defense can’t be absolved. Vic Fangio’s group couldn’t stop a pig in an alley. The Bears’ 281 rushing yards were the most the Eagles have allowed in 10 years.
The Eagles were collectively bad on Black Friday. “They had that thousand-yard stare in their eyes,” said one team source about players and coaches on the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sirianni has a mini-bye to turn another two-game losing streak around. He’s done it before. He’s earned the benefit of doubt. But he may have to cut his offensive coordinator loose, alter the play-calling command, or bring in a consultant to save a unit that currently has no chance in the playoffs …
Assuming the 8-4 Eagles don’t collapse and fail to reach the postseason.
“We’re not changing the play caller,” Sirianni said.
Sirianni probably can’t change the quarterback, nor should he. The Eagles have won a lot of games with Hurts, including the Super Bowl just 9½ months ago. But his limitations as a dropback passer have been a season-long problem and are central to what’s plaguing the offense.
If you want to know why the Eagles can’t run the ball, look at the play-calling, the O-line, and running back Saquon Barkley. But don’t forget the quarterback. Defenses have concentrated their efforts on stopping Barkley, and Hurts has failed to consistently make them pay through the air despite lighter secondaries.
If you want to know why the passing route design sometimes looks rudimentary, look at Sirianni, Patullo and their nondescript scheme. But don’t forget the quarterback. There are swaths of the playbook that aren’t touched because Hurts isn’t comfortable with certain concepts.
And if you want to know why a group that returned 10 of 11 starters and costs more than any other offense in the NFL is among the worst in the league, look at the men in charge. But if Sirianni and Patullo are to be called out for failing to coach to their talent, Hurts has to face that same scrutiny.
On Friday, there was plenty beyond the big-picture problems to be critical of.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts jogs off the field after the loss to the Bears.
“A combination of a lot of things,” Hurts said when asked about the offensive struggles. “Ultimately, you look inward first, and I see it as how the flow of things has gone for us this year and being practical about that. I can’t turn the ball over, so the ultimate goal is to go out there and find a way to win.
“That’s been a direct correlation with success for us being able to protect the ball and so that really, really killed us.”
No quarterback had been as efficient in protecting the ball this season. Hurts had just one interception and two lost fumbles in the first 11 games. But the Bears force turnovers at a higher rate than any defense.
And Hurts was careless when he was flushed from the pocket early in the third quarter and was picked off by former Eagle Kevin Byard for the safety’s NFL-leading sixth interception.
“I saw Kevin coming over and I knew there was a chance he was going to be able to make a play on the ball,” Hurts said. “Just was trying to give him a chance and throw it to the sideline where A.J. [Brown] could try and make a play on it, and I wasn’t able to connect with him.”
The defense held and Hurts bounced back on the ensuing drive. He drove the offense 92 yards and hooked up with Brown for a 33-yard touchdown. Jake Elliott missed the extra point, but the Eagles only trailed, 10-9, despite having just four first downs on their first seven possessions.
Saquon Barkley found some running lanes on Friday, but it wasn’t enough.
Then Eagles outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt intercepted Caleb Williams. Off the turnover, Barkley ran three times for 24 yards down to the Chicago 12 and the Eagles appeared primed to take an inconceivable lead. But Hurts was stripped by cornerback Nahshon Wright when he was stood up on a Tush Push.
“I have to hold onto the ball,” Hurts said when asked if he felt there should have been an earlier whistle to blow the play dead. “It definitely presents itself as an issue and it always has. It’s just never gotten us and so today it got us, and it’s something that we and I need to tighten up.”
As for the Eagles’ patented quarterback sneak, Hurts admitted that “it’s becoming tougher and tougher” to execute.
It was a tough day to execute the passing game with winds blowing at 18 miles per hour at kickoff. Hurts’ passing inefficiency should be viewed through that lens. Williams completed just 47.2% of his throws. Hurts finished 19 of 34 (55.9%) and threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
But he was 9 of 18 through 3½ quarters. Hurts converted just one of seven third downs as a passer over that span. He threw behind receiver DeVonta Smith on an early third down and the Eagles settled for a field goal.
“It was two guys on two different pages,” Hurts said, “and that’s a bit of the issues that we’ve kind of been having.”
Smith, who caught five of eight targets for 48 yards, declined an interview request after the game because he said he had to see the team doctor. He’s been dealing with various injuries. Brown had more success, pulling in 10 of 12 attempts for 132 yards and two scores.
But the outspoken receiver didn’t seem any more pleased even though he’s been more involved in the last three games. Brown understands the run game is paramount to the Eagles offense functioning at a high level.
“They’re making it extremely tough to run the ball,” Brown said of opposing defenses. “And we have to run the ball. We have to. That’s how you get the game going, you know?”
Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown have seemed more on the same page in recent weeks, a good sign for a team that needs one.
It’s a shame because the Eagles got some push and there were some lanes for Barkley to run through against one of the league’s worst run defenses. But the offense was hardly on the field in the first half partly because the defense couldn’t contain Bears running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.
Hurts also had some moments on the ground. He picked up 23 yards off a draw that set up the first touchdown. It’s long been one of the Eagles’ more effective plays, but only recently has it been featured.
There were more run-pass option plays this week, and Hurts kept once as a runner. But including him more in the run game might be like trying to stuff toothpaste back into a tube. There are so many issues with the offense, and yet, it wasn’t just Sirianni who defended Patullo.
“That’s a crazy question,” Brown said when asked about making coaching changes.
He said receivers were getting schemed open. So why has the passing game been listless?
Hurts supported Patullo — seemingly with a caveat.
“I have confidence in him,” he said. “I have confidence in this team. I have confidence in us when we’re collaborative. I have a lot of confidence when we have an identity.”
The offense had an identity built around Hurts, which was to establish the run — with his involvement — and open the downfield passing game. And when the Eagles secured a lead in the fourth quarter, they could salt the game away behind their four-minute offense.
But they haven’t been able to run at will anymore and Hurts hasn’t been able to shoulder the offense as a dropback passer — at least on a game-to-game basis.
“I thought he made some good plays, had some good scrambles, had some good things that he did,” Sirianni said of his quarterback. “Just like all of us, he had some plays that he’ll want back, and he had some really good plays, but, again, we just weren’t consistent enough as a whole.”
Hurts can win, obviously. Some inside the NovaCare Complex seem to have forgotten that, based on frustrations with how he’s performing seeping into the public. He isn’t perfect. Far from it.
But he’s been good enough. And he’ll have to be — for now. It’s on Sirianni to figure it out.
In northern Massachusetts, just below the Vermont border, the Berkshires have been a four-season destination for as long as tourism has existed in America. Over the last couple of decades, greasy spoons, summer camps, and old motor lodges have given way to trendier offerings across North Adams, Lenox, and Williamstown.
The region’s recent renaissance coincides with its rise as a cultural hub — and, more recently, an escape hatch for New Yorkers and Bostonians during the pandemic. Why should they have all the fun? At roughly four hours from Philly, the Berkshires make an easy late-fall weekend trip. You may still catch a few lingering leaves, and with any luck, an early dusting of snow. Dress warm — you’ll want plenty of time outdoors.
With its low-slung, mid-century silhouette, TOURISTS Welcome almost blends into the forested landscape behind Route 2. That’s intentional, since this property (reborn in 2018 from a 1960s motor lodge) is all about the outdoors, offering guided Appalachian Trail hikes, waterfall meditations, and a cinematic suspension bridge strung across the Hoosic River. Inside, Scandi-meets-rustic comfort reigns: fireplaces, worn-in leather, raw wood, and window nooks perfect for reading. It works just as well for families (skip the amaro cocktails) as it does for weekending stylists.
While the picturesque landscapes bring many to the Berkshires, MASS MoCA has functioned as the area’s other magnet since its debut in 1999. Located in a former industrial mill complex, it’s one of the most lauded contemporary visual art museums in the country, filled with (and sometimes seemingly constructed from) colossal installations you can literally get lost in. Don’t miss the immersive light works by James Turrell.
Just a short walk from MASS MoCA, Steeple City Social lures visitors with the scent of cinnamon and coffee — and a menu that runs from thick biscuit sandwiches and sticky buns to savory cheddar-and-pickle scones. The pies by the slice are excellent, and a rotating selection of vintage housewares lines one wall. At night, the café shifts to spritzy cocktails and potatoes with caviar dip.
📍 5 Eagle St., North Adams, Mass. 01247
Walk: The Clark Institute Sculpture Park
Not to be outdone by MASS MoCA, the Clark Institute is the other destination museum of the Berkshires, with a collection of American and English art that includes a striking bronze cast of Degas’ Little Dancer. But the real magic — especially for families — lies outside. Its 140-acre sculpture park is free, filled with meadows, storybook woods, and walking trails that are especially enchanting with a little snow on the ground. The museum provides snowshoes.
Pop a bottle of sour quince, crabapple-and-McIntosh pét-nat, sparkling rosé, or one of the other exciting ciders at Berkshire Cider Project. The young cidery’s tasting room is open on Saturdays and Sundays at Greylock WORKS, a former textile mill-turned-artisan hive.
📍 508 State Rd., North Adams, Mass. 01247
Splurge: Miraval Berkshires
A Relax & Renew day pass at Miraval Berkshires — a nationally respected spa retreat in Lenox — isn’t cheap ($509 Sundays–Fridays; $539 Saturdays). But it includes $230 in credits for treatments (mineral body peels, birch-and-juniper foot massages), fee-based activities (falconry, golf), scheduled classes (yoga, rock climbing), full access to spa amenities, lunch, and gratuities. You can easily spend the entire day here. Consider it an early holiday gift to yourself.
If you love a cozy pub, you’ll love Water Street Grill. Historic building? Check. Friendly hospitality that makes you feel like a regular? Check. Creamy clam chowder you’d be happy to drown in? Check. At WSG, which lives in a wood-clad, century-old building, the 21 taps spout craft beers from here and away, the wings wear eight different sauces, and the meatloaf comes smothered in bourbon-kissed mushroom gravy.
Most days newspaper photographers are assigned to illustrate reporters’ stories, or cover news, events, or sports. We are given a time to be somewhere, the name of a contact and are either told, or have an idea of what we will be photographing.
Other times we have to come up with something on our own.
So how do I generate an idea from a completely blank slate? How we each do this is the magic of creativity.
My process is to look around, not just at what’s in front of me, but to think of what I’ve seen and read and thought about lately. I recall pictures I’ve made previously, or images I’ve admired by others. I let my thoughts drift, and try to notice patterns, juxtapositions, or things that seem out of place. And make connections.
Zhaomin Li records Weili Jia as she throws leaves in the air along Walnut Street at Washington Square Nov. 25, 2025. The couple was visiting from Carmel, Indiana.
I am patient, even when it seems inspiration is not going to hit me.
I seldom find that spark while driving. I need to get out of the car and walk. Or sit on a bench. And free associate.
This week I thought of autumn, the end of daylight savings, the sunlight low in the sky, and cooler days. In a park I watched squirrels scampering on leaves collecting and burying food for the even colder days coming.
More walking, and sitting, and I spotted an unusual black squirrel. I once read they are more common around the Great Lakes, but around here, plain old grey squirrels are what we have. (I googled it later. Less than 1% of the grey squirrel population on the East Coast “present heightened levels of the dark pigment melanin.”)
Back on my feet I came across a courtyard full of fan-shaped leaves, spread in front of me like a quiet, golden revelation.
Ginkgo biloba, I knew from previous assignments. The oldest tree species on Earth, it’s often called a “living fossil.” It has survived for over 200 million years, outlasting the dinosaurs, and has remained relatively unchanged.
That became my inspiration this week. Call me a biophiliac (having the hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature). But it’s how I made the connection and this week’s photo.
See more gingkoes (and another photo of the black squirrel) in the gallery:
Since 1998 a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in the print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:
November 24, 2025: The old waiting room at 30th Street Station that most people only pass through on their way to the restrooms has been spiffed up with benches – and a Christmas tree. It was placed there this year in front of the 30-foot frieze, “The Spirit of Transportation” while the lobby of Amtrak’s $550 million station restoration is underway. The 1895 relief sculpture by Karl Bitter was originally hung in the Broad Street Station by City Hall, but was moved in 1933. It depicts travel from ancient to modern and even futuristic times. November 17, 2025: Students on a field trip from the Christian Academy in Brookhaven, Delaware County, pose for a group photo in front of the Liberty Bell in Independence National Historical Park on Thursday. The trip was planned weeks earlier, before they knew it would be on the day park buildings were reopening after the government shutdown ended. “We got so lucky,” a teacher said. Then corrected herself. “It’s because we prayed for it.” November 8, 2025: Multitasking during the Festival de Día de Muertos – Day of the Dead – in South Philadelphia.November 1, 2025: Marcy Boroff is at City Hall dressed as a Coke can, along with preschoolers and their caregivers, in support of former Mayor Jim Kenney’s 2017 tax on sweetened beverages. City Council is considering repealing the tax, which funds the city’s pre-K programs. October 25, 2025: Austin Gabauer, paint and production assistant at the Johnson Atelier, in Hamilton Twp, N.J. as the finished “O” letter awaits the return to Philadelphia. The “Y” part of the OY/YO sculpture is inside the painting booth. The well-known sculpture outside the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History was removed in May while construction continues on Market Street and has been undergoing refurbishment at the Atelier at the Grounds for Sculpture outside of Trenton.October 20, 2025:The yellow shipping container next to City Hall attracted a line of over 300 people that stretched around a corner of Dilworth Park. Bystanders wondered as they watched devotees reaching the front take their selfies inside a retro Philly diner-esque booth tableau. Followers on social media had been invited to “Climb on to immerse yourself in the worlds of Pleasing Fragrance, Big Lip, and exclusive treasures,” including a spin of the “Freebie Wheel,” for products of the unisex lifestyle brand Pleasing, created by former One Direction singer Harry Styles.October 11, 2025: Can you find the Phillie Phanatic, as he leaves a “Rally for Red October Bus Tour” stop in downtown Westmont, N.J. just before the start of the NLDS? There’s always next year and he’ll be back. The 2026 Spring Training schedule has yet to be announced by Major League Baseball, but Phillies pitchers and catchers generally first report to Clearwater, Florida in mid-February.October 6. 2025: Fluorescent orange safety cone, 28 in, Poly Ethylene. Right: Paint Torch (detail) Claes Oldenburg, 2011, Steel, Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic, Gelcoat and Polyurethane. (Gob of paint, 6 ft. Main sculpture, 51 ft.). Lenfest Plaza at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts on North Broad Street, across from the Convention Center.September 29, 2025: A concerned resident who follows Bucks County politics, Kevin Puls records the scene before a campaign rally for State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the GOP candidate for governor. His T-shirt is “personal clickbait” with a url to direct people to the website for The Travis Manion Foundation created to empower veterans and families of fallen heroes. The image on the shirts is of Greg Stocker, one of the hosts of Kayal and Company, “A fun and entertaining conservative spin on Politics, News, and Sports,” mornings on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT.September 22, 2025: A shadow is cast by “The Cock’s Comb,” created by Alexander “Sandy” Calder in 1960, is the first work seen by visitors arriving at Calder Gardens, the new sanctuary on the Ben Franklin Parkway. The indoor and outdoor spaces feature the mobiles, stabiles, and paintings of Calder, who was born in Philadelphia in 1898, the third generation of the family’s artistic legacy in the city.September 15, 2025: Department of Streets Director of Operations Thomas Buck leaves City Hall following a news conference marking the activation of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras on the Broad Street corridor – one the city’s busiest and most dangerous roads. The speed limit on the street, also named PA Route 611, is 25 mph.September 8, 2025: Middle schoolers carry a boat to the water during their first outing in a learn-to-row program with the Cooper Junior Rowing Club, at the Camden County Boathouse on the Cooper River in Pennsauken. September 1, 2025: Trumpet player Rome Leone busks at City Hall’s Easr Portal. The Philadelphia native plays many instruments, including violin and piano, which he started playing when he was 3 years old. He tells those who stop to talk that his grandfather played with Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, and Dizzy Gillespie. August 25, 2025: Bicycling along on East Market Street.August 18, 2025: Just passing through Center City; another extraterrestrial among us.
We’ll show you a photo taken in the Philly-area, you drop a pin where you think it was taken. Closer to the location results in a better score. This week’s theme is all about shopping. Good luck!
Round #9Published Nov 29, 2025
Question 1
Where is this?
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ClickTap on map to guess the location in the photo
ClickTap again to change your guess and hit submit when you're happy
You will be scored at the end. The closer to the location the better the score
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
This is a public space on East Market Street. It has been transformed into a mixed-use area with apartments, hotels, restaurants, and office buildings over the past decade.
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Question 2
Where is this mall?
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Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
This is the King of Prussia mall. The mall has more than 450 stores, including Nordstrom, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and a collection of luxury retailers.
Quiz continues after ad
Question 3
Where is this pet store?
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Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
This is Fairmount Pet Shoppe on Fairmount Avenue. The store provides more than 1,000 kinds of pet supplies and occasionally has cats for adoption.
Your Score
ARank
Amazing work. You've secured the doorbuster deal!
BRank
Good stuff. You are definitely in-stock of the facts.
CRank
C is a passing grade, but seems like your knowledge is suffering from an inventory shortage.
DRank
D isn’t great. You missed all the deals and walked away with an empty cart.
FRank
We don’t want to say you failed, but you didn’t not fail.
You beat % of other Inquirer readers.
Looking for something special this holiday season? Check our 2025 Gift Guide! We’ll be back next Saturday for another round of Citywide Quest.
Jake Weinstein and his dad, Gregory Weinstein, both spend a lot of time thinking about robots.
Jake, an art student, has been drawing robots since he was young, inspired after watching Star Wars films like A New Hope and Return of the Jedi with Gregory, an avid sci-fi fan. The idea of a friendly robot like C-3PO or R2-D2 stuck with the curious kid who was constantly doodling.
His parents were “signing me up for arts classes as soon as I could walk,” said Jake, who grew up in Gladwyne. Robots were a frequent subject in his drawing, sculpture, and illustration pursuits.
That passion may have developed partially through osmosis.
Gregory Weinstein is a pioneer of robotic surgery for addressing head and neck cancer at the University of Pennsylvania. He regularly operates an advanced machine’s tiny, precise arms to remove tumors from patients’ throats.
“Jake heard about robots from the very beginning because my wife [Penn radiologist Susan Weinstein] and I were constantly talking about it,” said the surgeon, who now lives in Wayne.
Jake Weinstein and his father Gregory Weinstein at Works on Paper Gallery in Center City.
By the time Jake got to high school, he couldn’t wait to try robotics to see if the technology he imagined matched up with reality. But the experience was deflating.
“I was a little annoyed that the robots didn’t look pretty enough, and the goal was to shoot a ball into a net. Who cares?” said the now 24-year-old Penn student who lives in University City. “I want to see something walking and talking. It was an arm on wheels and no personality. They put me to sleep.”
Enrolling in a joint program with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Jake designed his own machines on paper. They were humanistic and expressive; a tender dome-headed machine holding a purple flower or a goofy dancer squatting as if mid-“Thriller.” Another appears with one green eye, surrounded by industrial clouds of meticulous, minimalist lines — the giant may seem intimidating, but it’s focused on the smaller robot in its palm; Jake named the piece The Caretaker.
CR4DL3-11 is artist Jake Weinstein’s favorite. It is an ink, pencil and marker on paper, in a “Cradle” frame made from wood, paint and objects mounted to a painted wood base.
His work soon caught the attention of Evan Slepian, who runs the Works on Paper Gallery in Rittenhouse and often features PAFA students. (Robots have also been a subject of his previous shows.)
The gallerist has served as a mentor to Jake over the past four months as they developed his first solo exhibit “Clanker,” running through Dec. 31. (The derogatory term for robots — derived from Star Wars, too — has become a frequent punchline across the internet.)
The show spotlights Jake’s sculpture work, too, with elaborate frames made from found wood and recycled objects that frame his drawings as well as toddler-size painted wooden and aluminum robots. Slepian says the show is performing well, with sculptures selling around $1,300 and framed ink drawings, around $2,100.
A few of Jake’s drawings pull directly from his dad’s surgery work, depicting centimeter-long metal arms conducting surgery to replace the lungs and brain with machines.
Weinstein uses found wood and recycled materials to frame his ink drawings like a cradle.
Gregory finds his son’s creative visions delightful. The surgeon — a third-generation doctor from Staten Island — has fond memories of his own art classes in youth. He even contributed his own artistic efforts along his medical career: His first academic paper featured his own illustrations of an operation his colleague from Paris conducted on a cadaver.
“You would have been the fourth generation of doctors … but as you grew up, I thought, ‘Well, that’s a silly idea.’ I just want you to do work you’re going to be happy from,” Gregory said to Jake on a recent Thursday at the gallery, adding that his grandfather dabbled in art, too.
“My grandfather was an incredibly good artist. He wanted to study art when he and my grandmother met,” Gregory recalled, chuckling. “My grandmother said, ‘Unless you become a doctor, I won’t marry you.’”
Gregory, however, always encouraged his son’s artistry.
“We did lots of Legos together. That was like a father-son thing, so I guess he did introduce me to some form of sculpture,” said Jake.
Painted wood sculptured by Jake Weinstein.
Beyond his gallery show, Jake is also one of the artists helping to build a new arts venue in a historic bank in Old City called the Ministry of Awe, led by Philly muralist Meg Saligman.
Jake’s art has resonated at a time when artificial intelligence has become widely accessible and the prospect of advanced robotics seems to inch ever closer to the futuristic world of The Jetsons. Still, he remains optimistic about the future.
“Through this narrative [in the show], it’s like, ‘Let’s try and be friends with the robots. Let’s work with them. Let’s not work against them,’” he said.
His plans for the forthcoming holiday season? Another ambitious Lego project with dad.
“Jake Weinstein: Clanker” is on view through Dec. 31 at Works on Paper Gallery, 1611 Walnut St., Mezzanine, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103, 215-988-9999 or wpartcollection.com.
