A striking parallel | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Eagles quarterback lit up the airwaves, dazzling the nation on Monday Night Football.

No, we aren’t talking about Jalen Hurts, though he did throw for 333 yards and a touchdown and added two more rushing scores Monday against the Minnesota Vikings.

We’re talking about Carson Wentz’s four-touchdown performance against Washington in October 2017. Now, though, Wentz is sporting burgundy and gold, and his former backup is the one starring on the famed Monday broadcast.

Five years ago, Wentz was just like Hurts — a promising young quarterback leading a talented team. Everyone knows about the downward spiral that led to Wentz being shipped to Indianapolis and eventually ending up in the nation’s capital as a Philly sports villain.

If the Eagles and their fans don’t want history to repeat itself with Hurts, maybe slow down the hype train, Mike Sielski writes.

— Maria McIlwain, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

Hurts, though, turned fans into believers with Monday’s performance and even had some talking about the Super Bowl. He showed he could play at an elite level by racking up 333 passing yards. He spread the ball around to multiple receivers. And his running ability can change a ballgame, as his 26-yard touchdown run was a memory maker. It says a lot about the way offensive coordinator Shane Steichen has called the plays.

And on defense, how about Darius Slay? Two interceptions, including one that he presented to James Harden, had everyone talking about how he’d shut down one of the top receivers in the league in Justin Jefferson. The stats show how Slay affected Kirk Cousins when he tried to go to his No. 1 target.

While the Flyers have fallen on hard times over the last two seasons, the organization has won two Stanley Cups and seen many great players, including several Hall of Famers, don the Orange and Black over the years.

In our quest to come up with the definitive list of the 50 greatest Flyers of all time, we tasked Olivia Reiner, Giana Han, three former Flyers beat writers for The Inquirer, as well as the great Lou Nolan to come up with a composite list.

Here were the results.

Tell us who you think we missed who should have cracked the top 50. Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

From the start, Phillies officials contended that the club could be dangerous in the postseason if Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are able to start Games 1 and 2 of the first series. With Wheeler rejoining the rotation on Wednesday, it’s up to the Phillies now to make that happen by treating the season like it’s 160 games — and not a single day more.

The Phillies, including Bryce Harper, used their Monday off-day to take in the Eagles’ prime-time victory over the Vikings.

After an 18-11 loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday, the Phillies’ losing streak reached five games, the longest skid in the Rob Thomson era.

Next: The Phillies wrap their series against Toronto at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday (NBCSP). Wheeler (11-7, 3.07 ERA) will start against Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (12-10, 3.45).

Probably no one expected Jesús Ferreira to rocket up the striker depth chart for the United States men’s national team, not the least because he was until recently more of an attacking midfielder. But then more than a few of the U.S. strikers went into untimely scoring slumps while Ferreira kept finding the back of the net.

He’s not simply lucky, however. He’s also good, and perhaps more importantly, good for the preferred scheme of manager Gregg Berhalter. Jonathan Tannenwald gets the details of how Ferreira has stayed focused during his rise to the top of the scoring ranks, guarding his mental health along the way.

Despite Berhalter’s success with the U.S. national team this past year, his roster choices are not above question. At the striker position in particular, Inquirer writers have some questions.

Monday night flashback: Who passed for 333 yards and four touchdowns to lift the Eagles past Washington, 59-28, on Nov. 15, 2010?

The answer is B) Michael Vick. Jeff P. was first with the correct answer.

We asked you: What was the most promising thing about this Eagles win? Among your responses:

It is difficult to choose between the individual performance of Jalen Hurts and the collective performance of the Eagles defense. I was in the bandwagon to run DC Gannon out of town after the Detroit game last week. Now I must give credit where credit is due …the defense played great and the defensive play calling/scheme was equal! As for Jalen, he continues to grow (“get better every day”) before our eyes and at his young age has become a true leader on this team. — Jim V.

Hurts, Hurts, Hurts. — Brian D.

It’s close between the play of the O-line and the lock-down Defense. The D looked 100% better than last week. While the O-line gave protection and time for Hurts, the negative is the penalties for illegal procedure and O-linemen leaving their assignments and trying to be receivers.

Looks promising for the season. — Dominic S.

The defense and Slay — Mark R.

... There were two major questions going into Week 2:

There will always be questions, but the biggest questions going into Week 2 have been answered in an impressive, resounding fashion. — John C.

The first drive by Hurts was a thing of beauty! Hurts led the Eagles down the field in decisive fashion with precision passing and and great balance of a crisp running attack. The play calling was outstanding. It set the tone for the entire game. I hope the players and staff watch that drive before every Eagles game to remind them of their potential greatness! — Tom B.

The most promising feature of last night’s game? Hurts’ stunning composure in executing plays -- and uncanny fusion of strength and will in dragging three defenders over the goal line to score his second running TD! — Dianne P.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jonathan Tannenwald, Andrea Canales, Kerith Gabriel, Gus Elvin, Mike Sielski, Josh Tolentino, EJ Smith, Jeff McLane, David Murphy, Giana Han, Olivia Reiner, Ed Barkowitz, Les Bowen, Tim Panaccio, Lou Nolan, Scott Lauber, Alex Coffey, and Sam Cohn.