🥱 A whole lot of yawn | Sports Daily Newsletter
The Eagles are now in last place in the NFC East.
It was expected that Sunday Night Football between the Eagles and Commanders was going to be an underwhelming primetime matchup.
But for a moment, when Saquon Barkley won a race to the pylon for a first-quarter touchdown to put the Eagles up, 10-0, it seemed like there was a chance that the Birds could beat Washington.
That feeling was wrong. Tanner McKee, in his third start of the season, and Co. wouldn’t score another point as the Eagles’ offense fizzled again and the Commanders scored 27 unanswered points.
McKee had his worst outing to date, although he wasn’t given much help. In his first road start of his career, the quarterback went 23-for-34 for 212 yards and had two turnovers. He also was sacked five times. McKee hasn’t been a backup you can win with, writes Jeff McLane.
The defense looked slightly better compared to last week against Dallas, but that unit still failed to come up with enough stops. The Eagles extended their losing streak to six games, the longest by the franchise since 2012, and dropped into last place in the NFC East.
— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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It’s been a while since the Phillies had a new voice at hitting coach. That’s what Peter Fatse is expected to provide. Fatse steps into a role formerly held by Kevin Long. He’ll have a month to start connecting with the Phillies hitters.
But this offseason, the timeline for building relationships will be compressed with the collective bargaining agreement ending on Dec. 1. During the lockout that is expected to follow, teams will be unable to communicate with players until a new CBA is reached.
What we’re...
🏈 Learning: In 1966, there was a proposal to build the Vet with a dome. Would public sentiment for the next stadium be different if it had been?
🧐 Wondering: Rittenhouse Square was the scene of Philly’s latest lookalike competition. Can you guess who folks were mimicking?
⚽ Reading: Ryan Richter isn’t worried about the Union’s loss on Saturday, but said it was “tough to walk away from this game with nothing.”
🏒 Seeing: The Philly grandmother who won everybody over at a recent Flyers game said the moment made her feel like “a movie star.”
The Flyers flipped the calendar to November on Sunday and held off the charging Utah Mammoth for a 6-3 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena. October was a bit disastrous, as the Orange and Black lost 12 of 15 games. But their win over Utah snapped a three-game losing streak. Plus, for the first time this year, they scored more than four goals.
Part of their success had to do with the return of Travis Konecny — who got on the scoreboard — and Owen Tippett. Both were activated off injured reserve prior to the game.
Sunday didn’t quite deliver the results Villanova was looking for, but a trip to Rome to open the college basketball season offered more than just basketball.
A day before both programs faced Notre Dame, the teams gathered in Vatican City for a three-hour Mass, then presented a gift to Pope Leo XIV, with 7,000 members in attendance: “It was moving — It was inspirational.”
But the results on the court were less encouraging.
The Villanova men’s team blew a 10-point second-half lead and made two critical turnovers in the final four minutes in a 74-72 loss. The women were also blown out by South Jersey’s Hannah Hildalgo, who scored 32 points.
The festivities surrounding One Philly HBCU Week brought step shows, a battle of the bands, career fairs, and two football games to Lincoln Financial Field.
One of those games featured Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s alma mater, Lincoln University, where she graduated in 1994. Lincoln fell to Virginia Union, 62-0. Despite the score, it didn’t dampen the spirits.
Saturday’s Norfolk State-Delaware State game — where the Hornets pulled off a dramatic 36-33 comeback victory — capped off an expanded week of events to highlight HBCUs, and former Eagles Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson were at the center of it.
🚨 Other college football news from Saturday:
Penn State saw improvement from its run game and earned its first Big Ten win.
Villanova won its third straight game and is on a hot streak after its bye week.
Penn benched its quarterback and attempted a comeback, but it wasn’t enough.
Tight end Peter Clarke went down with an injury as Temple lost its third straight.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, Devin Jackson, Olivia Reiner, Gabriela Carroll, Jeff McLane, Gina Mizell, Chris Hine, Jackie Spiegel, Ariel Simpson, Lexie Linderman, Finn Courtney, Mike Livingston, and Hannah Chang.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Thanks for getting your morning started with me. Hope your weekend was filled with tricks and treats. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow. — Bella
