Barkley’s big night | Sports Daily Newsletter
His superb season with the Eagles keeps getting better.
After an otherworldly performance by Saquon Barkley on Sunday night, The Inquirer’s Jeff Neiburg made this observation: Barkley has more rushing yards than the entire New York Giants team does through 11 games.
Think he’s glad to be free of the purgatory he inhabited for six years in East Rutherford? Barkley punctuated an already great season by rushing for 255 yards, an Eagles record, as the Birds battered the Rams, 37-20, for their seventh straight win. He busted loose for 70- and 72-yard touchdown runs. Barkley may be the best player in the NFL at this point and he’s playing for a mighty strong team.
The Eagles are 9-2 and in complete command in the NFC East. There was plenty more for Birds fans to like in this one, from the sack-happy defense to A.J. Brown’s 109 receiving yards to Jalen Hurts’ efficient passing.
Complete coverage of the Eagles’ resounding victory can be found here.
— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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After a rare win on Friday, the Sixers (3-13) slipped back into their losing ways on Sunday as Joel Embiid and Paul George sat out the game against the Clippers at the Wells Fargo Center. Old friend James Harden scored 23 points as Los Angeles cruised, 125-99. Tyrese Maxey, still getting back in the groove after his hamstring injury, made 5 of 13 shots and finished with 17 points.
Rookie of the year? Even at this early point in the season, Jared McCain of the Sixers thinks he has a shot at the award. As Keith Pompey writes, McCain has a pretty good case so far.
It’s pretty easy to see the irony here. In his time as a nasty offensive tackle for the Eagles, Jon Runyan became known as one of the dirtiest players in the NFL. Nowadays, the 50-year-old Runyan is in charge of levying fines for infractions as the league’s vice president of policy and rules administration.
“Everybody just kind of laughed at it,” Runyan said of his duties. “They were like, after all the stuff you did on the football field, how the hell did you become a compliance guy? If you have an IT system, and you want to avoid getting hacked, you bring in a hacker. If you want to have good home security, you bring in a burglar.”
Katie Florio mounted a late comeback Sunday that saw the 30-year-old surge past her Ethiopian opponent en route to victory in the Philadelphia Marathon. The Archbishop Carroll High and Penn State graduate lives in Center City and gave birth to her first child in October 2023.
“Living in the city, I run these streets twice a day,” Florio said. “It was cool, like, I knew the tangents, I knew the course.”
St. Joseph’s memorable field hockey season ended Sunday with a 5-0 loss to Northwestern in the NCAA Division I championship game. The Hawks’ remarkable campaign included a 2-1 upset of defending champion North Carolina in the semifinals.
“I think that’s something our team should walk off the field knowing that they really can battle with anyone,” coach Hannah Prince said. “And obviously it’s especially tough on the players who it’s their last collegiate game, but they also, equally, should just be extremely proud, and they represented our university so well, and I can’t say enough good things about them.”
“In the NHL, there’s not many moments you’re going to get,” Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov said through a team translator on Saturday. “When you get the moment, you have to be cold-blooded and finish it.”
Michkov did exactly that, scoring off a pass from Travis Konecny in overtime as the Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2. The goal marked Michkov’s second overtime winner this season.
Worth a look
Villanova falls: Eric Dixon’s 38 points could not prevent a loss to Maryland.
Quakers ousted: Host Penn dropped a 1-0 decision to UMass in the NCAA men’s soccer playoffs.
Main attraction: South Jersey’s Hannah Hidalgo starred in Notre Dame’s basketball win at USC.
They’re No. 4: Penn State kept its spot in the AP college football poll after a narrow victory.
The schedule
The Flyers host the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at 7 (NBCSP).
The 76ers host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (NBCSP).
The Eagles visit the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. (CBS3).
On this date
Nov. 25, 2007: Filling in for the injured Donovan McNabb, A.J. Feeley passed for 345 yards and three touchdowns, but the Eagles lost to the New England Patriots, 31-28. Feeley also threw three interceptions.
Our latest episode
If early returns are any indication, the rookie cornerback tandem of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean could be primed to have a big impact on the franchise’s fortunes. The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane profiles the Birds’ budding defensive backfield duo — plus, he goes inside the weight room to highlight an area where second-stringer Kenny Gainwell has Saquon Barkley beaten. Listen here.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, Jeff McLane, Mia Messina, Alex Coffey, Paulie Loscalzo, Keith Pompey, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jackie Spiegel, Conor Smith, and Diamond Leung.
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.
Good luck with your Monday and thanks for reading. I’ll see you in Tuesday’s Sports Daily. — Jim