Hogging the ball | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Eagles did not merely beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, they physically dominated them. That 27-13 final score on Sunday could have been more lopsided if not for two Eagles fumbles.

Armed with the best offensive line in football, the Eagles simply take the ball and refuse to give it back. They ran an astounding 77 plays and allowed the Steelers to run only 41. They nearly doubled up Pittsburgh in time of possession, 39 minutes, 52 seconds to 20:08.

Remember the days when Chip Kelly intimated that time of possession didn’t matter? (We saw how that worked out for him.) It matters. The Steelers punted the ball away in the fourth quarter and never saw it again as the Birds grinded 10:29 off the clock to end it.

That’s domination in the trenches. “It didn’t feel like that,” tackle Jordan Mailata said. “We had to earn every down. That was a great team that we played.”

Mailata also said half-jokingly that he’s “tired of that [expletive] Tush Push,” but the play keeps working, thanks in large part to him.

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

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❓ What has been more impressive for the Eagles, the offense or the defense? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

The Joel Embiid saga continues. The 76ers center, who had missed a large chunk of the season because of left knee swelling, personal reasons, and a three-game suspension, will miss another week because of the right sinus fracture he suffered in Friday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers. He’s expected to miss both games of a back-to-back set against the Charlotte Hornets and a weekend meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After he is reevaluated, the Sixers will determine whether Embiid is healthy enough to play against the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 23.

Without Embiid, the Sixers got big performances from Tyrese Maxey and Paul George to get past the Charlotte Hornets, 121-108. The win was the fifth over the last seven games for the Sixers as the Maxey-George duo combined for 73 points.

Let’s keep the spotlight on the offensive line. Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt recorded two sacks against the Eagles, but neither of them came against Lane Johnson. The veteran right tackle was matched up against Watt, a four-time All-Pro, for much of the game and allowed only one quarterback pressure.

“He’s one of the best players in the NFL,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said of Watt. “Lane’s one of the best players in the NFL. So any time our game gets to see two of the top players at their positions battle, I think it’s always special. It’s fun to watch.”

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles defense held the Steelers to only 163 yards. “If we can be a dominant defense and do the right things right, then I feel like we’re unstoppable,” safety Reed Blankenship said.

John Tortorella must like the line combination of Joel Farabee, Sean Couturier, and Travis Konecny, who have spent 135 minutes on the ice together this season. On the defensive end, the Flyers coach is not as impressed. “I think they’ve been awful defensively,” he says. The three have been working to clean things up on that end.

Penn State will open the College Football Playoff against Southern Methodist without a key contributor on offense. Although quarterback Drew Allar announced that he plans to return next season, his backup Beau Pribula has entered the transfer portal. Pribula played in all 13 games for the Nittany Lions this season, rushing for 242 yards and passing for 275. He accounted for nine touchdowns.

If Pribula did not enter the portal until after Penn State’s playoff run, he risked missing out on a starting job, with plenty of starting-caliber quarterbacks already in the portal.

The Associated Press named Lions edge rusher Abdul Carter (La Salle College High) as a first-team All-American. Boston College edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku (Williamstown High) made the first team, too.

Who holds the Eagles’ record for touchdown passes in a season? First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

A) Donovan McNabb

B) Sonny Jurgensen

C) Randall Cunningham

D) Carson Wentz

We asked you: For those of you who doubted him, is your faith restored in Jalen Hurts? Among your responses:

I never lost faith in Hurts. The offense was going with the remarkable Mr. Barkley and that of course slowed down the passing game. I am sure Kellen Moore knew it would be a tough day for Saquon so he put the passing game back to prime time and it worked to perfection. Excellent work by Jalen and good catches by Brown, Smith, and Calcaterra. Outstanding work by the entire team against a really good Mike Tomlin Steelers team, but Fangio’s defense was especially outstanding. If our young defensive Jalen is going to be a superstar he will need to curb his anger and not cost his team hurtful penalties. Great game. — Everett S.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Olivia Reiner, EJ Smith, Jeff Neiburg, Keith Pompey, Lochlahn March, Avery Hill, Katie Lewis, and Owen Hewitt.

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.

Here we are on Tuesday morning and the Steelers are still waiting to get the ball back. Thanks for reading. Bella will be at the newsletter controls on Wednesday. — Jim