Avoiding the injury bug | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Eagles may have escaped with more than a victory against the Jaguars on Sunday. They also may have avoided serious injury concerns.

An NFL source told The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane that A.J. Brown is not expected to miss a significant amount of time with a knee injury. The star receiver underwent an MRI exam on Monday afternoon after he left the Jags game early in the second half. “A.J. was in good spirits today,” coach Nick Sirianni said Monday. “We’ll see how it goes.”

In addition, running back Saquon Barkley said he got “banged up a little bit” on Sunday but assured that he’d be ready to go for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. An NFL source told McLane that Barkley had experienced some tightness in his back.

Meanwhile, those Cowboys are a 3-5 mess after their third straight loss and quarterback Dak Prescott already has been ruled out for Sunday with a hamstring injury. This might end up being doomsday for Dallas.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

❓ Are the Cowboys cooked? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

The 76ers are finally getting reinforcements. After a 1-4 start to the season, Paul George returned from a bone bruise he suffered in his left knee during an Oct. 14 preseason game. For George, it was the end of a frustrating three weeks. George said he hated being relegated to the sidelines as his teammates struggled. “This is what this whole offseason, preseason, leading up to this point, was about,” the Sixers’ prized free-agent signee said. “To start with a new group, a fresh opportunity, to start with another great organization, this is what this whole thing was about from the get-go.”

Coach Nick Nurse said he talked to Joel Embiid the day after the All-Star center shoved The Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes in the locker room. For Nurse, the goal is to keep Embiid focused on basketball.

George scored 15 points on a tough shooting night in his 76er debut, but Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant hit the game-winning bucket to stretch the Sixers losing streak to three games.

With Prescott already having been ruled out of the Eagles game, Cooper Rush is expected to get the start for the Cowboys.

Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter continues to excel this season. But could the team still use some help on the defensive line with the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. today? It hasn’t helped the team that Howie Roseman’s free-agent signing of Bryce Huff, who barely played against the Jaguars, hasn’t panned out.

Sam Ersson is likely to be sidelined for a few games after the Flyers’ starting goalie suffered a lower-body injury on Saturday against the Boston Bruins. That creates an opportunity for 22-year-old Aleksei Kolosov. There is a strong possibility that Kolosov will be in goal tonight when the Flyers face the Carolina Hurricanes on the road. Coach John Tortorella says he likes the young goalie’s fight.

Matvei Michkov has gotten off to a fast start with the Flyers. Here’s where he ranks all-time among the team’s rookies in their first 10 games.

Phillies great Dick Allen is under consideration again for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Allen, who died in 2020, was one of eight players named Monday to the Hall’s Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot. The panel will meet on Dec. 8 at baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas. Allen fell one vote shy on similar committees in 2014 and 2021.

The Phillies retired Allen’s No. 15 in September 2020. That was enough, he said. But his son, Richard, said three years ago that his father still would have appreciated a bronze plaque in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Speaking of another chance, the Phillies’ infield is highly likely to return intact in 2025 after two straight surprising postseason exits. And Trea Turner is just as likely to stay put at shortstop.

The Phillies cut five players Monday, including left-hander Kolby Allard.

The college basketball season began in style Monday night with five Big 5 men’s team in action. Temple got things started with an early game as Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 26 points in an 81-70 win against Sacred Heart.

Here’s the opening-night scoreboard:

How many former Eagles quarterbacks are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Bonus points if you can name them. First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

A) One

B) Two

C) Three

D) Four

We asked you: Do you think the criticism of Nick Sirianni is fair? Among your responses:

Yes, Yes, Yes!!! All the criticism of Nick is fair and appropriate. It doesn’t appear he makes many decisions during the games these days, but some of the ones he does make shows he doesn’t belong in the head coach position. Bring aggressive is one thing, having no clue and stupid decisions are another. He will cost the Birds games going forward. — Tom G.

Definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. Sirianni could have put the game out of reach, but I’m guessing his ego got in the way. Ridiculous calls. — Natalie C.

Yes, the criticism is warranted. Why continue to do something harder when you can do what most coaches do, make it easier on your team, TAKE THE DAMN POINTS. If he continues this ridiculous decision making, when playoff time comes, he’s gonna find himself out of a job. — Mitch B.

The criticism of Sirianni is definitely valid. His ego gets him into trouble on game day strategy. In addition, he does not seem to learn from his past mistakes. — Keith C.

As a season-ticket holder since 1958, yes 1958, I seen a lot of games. I know I am not smart enough to be a head coach, but I do know what I do not know. Unfortunately Nick thinks he is smarter than everybody else and more unfortunately does not seem to learn, that points are important. Lucky for him the Birds held on, unlucky for the team he is still going to call the shots. — Gary P.

Is the criticism of Nick Sirianni fair? Did Scott Hartnell fall down a lot? Is Aaron Rodgers a narcissist? Should Kyrie Irving’s nickname be “World B. Flat”? Does this answer your question? — Stephen T.

Siriani is lucky that the team has been winning which covers up his bonehead decision making. If he doesn’t change it will ultimately cost the Eagles like It almost did yesterday. — Dan B.

The criticism that Sirianni receives is absolutely fair. He is a knucklehead that consistently makes the wrong decisions during the course of the game. Luckily he has been bailed out by his players in many but not all of the games. There is a time and a place to gamble, and a time and a place to take the points. Sirianni doesn’t know how to differentiate between the two! — Bill R.

Yes the criticism of Nick is fair. A good win for the Eagles yesterday with many players contributing much, but Nick’s flawed decision making could have erased all those exciting moments given to the fans by Saquon and DeVonta etc. were it not for Dean’s game sealing interception. I think he became overconfident and thought he could waste given points against this weaker opponent, but then suddenly Doug’s guys woke up and came real close to pulling out a huge upset. Nick cannot coach like this next week in Dallas where the falling and desperate Cowboy’s will be really pumped to knock off our Eagles. — Everett S.

Yes, and he deserves it. He relies on the players to fulfill his idiotic schemes which are not based on sound fundamentals. He gave up 10 points. What a fool! — Gig B.

Sometimes yes but sometimes no. I’m not a coach but with a commanding lead (which got whittled down to nothing) I don’t understand all the attempts at the 2-point conversion when you have Jake. Who you then had attempt a 57 yarder. That’s the stuff that makes me shake my head. I’m not a fan of the 2-point conversion unless the game’s on the line. It’s a total crapshoot. — Kathy T.

Nick seems to have adopted the mantra of always being aggressive even when it is stupid to be aggressive. Also he must need some tutoring in math. It is bad when a team has to win in spite of its coach. Doug figured out how to beat the Tush Push and Nick seemed intent on beating him at it instead of focusing on what was best for the team. — Bob F.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Olivia Reiner, Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, Jeff Neiburg, Keith Pompey, Jackie Spiegel, Gustav Elvin, Lochlahn March, Matt Breen, Gabriela Carroll, Declan Landis, Mia Messina, Paulie Loscalzo, Katie Lewis, and Avery Hill.

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.

Happy Election Day. Thank you for reading. Kerith will be at the newsletter controls on Wednesday. — Jim