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Good morning! The Eagles should wear the kelly green jerseys permanently.
While You Were Sleeping: The Eagles re-ascend
Maybe that loss to the Jets was just a glitch. A week ago, the high-powered Eagles finally looked mortal, but last night, the glitch was sewn up. Fixed. After a 31-17 win over previously 5-1 Miami, the defending NFC champs are again arguably the best team in the NFL.
A couple of notes from maybe the season’s most impressive win thus far:
- The 6-1 Eagles looked better than the flashy Dolphins nearly all night. An early 17-3 lead evaporated, though, and the Dolphins looked ready for an upset after Jerome Baker’s pick-six in the third quarter tied it.
- Philly responded with two straight touchdown drives and stymied Miami the other way. It was a classic instance of Things Great Teams Do. The Dolphins are fun, but the Eagles are tough.
A.J. Brown went for 137 yards and a touchdown, putting the receiver on pace for 1,964 yards. That’s the same number as Calvin Johnson’s single-season record, posted in 2012. Granted, Johnson did it in 16 games and Brown will have 17, but it’s still something to watch the rest of the way.
- Also last night: Baseball heroics. In Houston, the Rangers forced a Game 7 with a 9-2 win, which looks like much more of a blowout than it was. The Astros had the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, down two with one out, but Texas’ José Leclerc — who gave up that huge home run to Jose Altuve in Game 5 — got a lineout and strikeout to neutralize the threat. Then teammate Adolis García happened in the ninth.
- Max Scherzer gets the ball for Texas tonight at 8 p.m. ET on FOX against Cristian Javier with a World Series trip on the line. Before that, the Phillies can clinch the other Series slot in Game 6 at 5 p.m. ET on TBS against the Diamondbacks.
We also got this insane fan catch in Houston last night (extra props for the LSU jersey):
GIVE HIM A CONTRACT 🤯👏
The barehanded catch by this fan was too smooth! pic.twitter.com/i8U7wWPQue
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 23, 2023
Pigskin Chaos: We’re calling for a Bills investigation
I want to stick with football for a second, because that was the most bizarre Sunday of the NFL season thus far. Three shockers:
- What are the Bills? A team full of talent lost to the woebegone Patriots, 29-25, and is headed toward one of the more baffling seasons in recent memory. Week to week, this 4-3 team can look like Super Bowl shoo-ins or expert tankers. The offense was bad and the defense might’ve been worse. Also, Bill Belichick got his 300th win, becoming the third coach in NFL history to do so. What a day.
- The Bears started an undrafted rookie quarterback … and won in a blowout. This was a team in complete disarray two weeks ago. It might still be. But for one day, Tyson Bagent — who said earlier in the week that his football backup plan is to become a “ripped and jacked” teacher — is 1-0 as an NFL starting QB, and the Bears are 2-5. It was a particularly awful day for the 3-4 Raiders. Is Josh McDaniels on the hot seat yet?
- What happened to the Lions? Baltimore rose to 5-2, looking like the best team in the league by dropping Detroit to that same record in a 38-6 demolition, and Lamar Jackson looked like his old MVP self. Was Detroit coming down from an early-season rush? Or is this a blip? Either way, the “sleeping giant” Ravens are awake now.
- We’re still reeling from the madness in Indianapolis. The Browns, now 4-2, beat the Colts, now 3-4, on a Kareem Hunt touchdown run with 15 seconds left, ending a strange day for Cleveland. Deshaun Watson got hurt early in the game, and backup/XFL legend P.J. Walker finished the win. Also, that awesome Browns defense? Gave up 38 points. And Myles Garrett still did this on a 60-yard field goal attempt:
Myles Garrett is a freakazoid pic.twitter.com/iaI8veNG66
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) October 22, 2023
He is not of this world. Bonus points from the rest of the action:
Did we miss your team? See Zak Keefer’s full Week 7 takeaways here. There’s more on frustrating days for the Packers and Rams. Plus, is Tyrod Taylor a better option than Daniel Jones? Yikes.
News to Know
Melvin interviewing with Giants
This should be getting more attention: Padres manager Bob Melvin will interview for the vacant Giants manager position, a strange look for a talented San Diego team. Melvin is a well-respected manager who Padres brass thought would steady the team; it hasn’t stuck yet, and he’s already looking to leave? To go to a worse (record-wise) team? Maybe the Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal story from September about the Padres’ dysfunction was onto something.
McAfee casts doubt on ‘GameDay’ future
ESPN personality Pat McAfee tweeted yesterday that he has not signed a deal to continue on the network’s “College GameDay,” news that came in response to a college football fan survey from The Athletic earlier last week. For what it’s worth, our Richard Deitsch thinks McAfee will definitely return, but the dissension is still surprising.
More news
Pulse Picks
This week, we enter (probably) the final phase of LeBron James in the NBA. Joe Vardon has an introspective look at the man who defies time, still an elite player at 39. And yet time is slowly winning, costing him games each season. This feels like the last stand.
Oppositely, the superstar era for the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards is just beginning. Jon Krawczynski profiles the 22-year-old and the two cities that have his back. I’ll read every single story about this guy. Can’t wait to watch him this year.
Nick Baumgardner updates his NFL QB tracker for this week. In the Heisman race, it’s J.J. McCarthy, Jayden Daniels and everyone else.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame requires a five-year waiting period for consideration. The Athletic’s Football 100 doesn’t — not exactly. In an excerpt from the forthcoming book, Mike Sando looks at seven players who should already be in consideration for both.
Austin Meek writes a fierce story about Michigan, which doesn’t care about your judgment.
Ari Wasserman, meanwhile, wonders if we should start re-evaluating Penn State’s realistic expectations.
Jayson Stark writes about the Schwarbomb Museum being built in these playoffs. Philly’s Kyle Schwarber is OPSing 1.898 in this NLCS, a record for this playoff round. More absurd stats in the latest Weird and Wild column here.
The Oilers are bad now? Sean McIndoe looks into NHL trends that may not last.
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(Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
