Payback time? | Sports Daily Newsletter

It wasn’t that long ago when Jalen Hurts and the Eagles were taking a 31-15 beating from Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wild-card playoff game.

It was Jan. 16, 2022, to be exact. Fast-forward to today and Hurts is a Super Bowl quarterback who finished second in the MVP voting last season. Brady is retired from the game, for good this time. And the Eagles will visit Tampa, Fla., tonight for the first time since that humbling playoff loss for Hurts.

In the aftermath of that game, an NFL Films clip showed Bucs cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross telling players that Hurts “can’t read” a defense.

Hurts remembers all of it, of course. “Everything’s personal to him,” tackle Jordan Mailata says. “Especially those types of losses.”

How will Hurts respond in a Monday Night Football clash of unbeaten teams? “I’m wired to give my best and play to my standard,” the quarterback says. “But a little extra inspiration never hurts.”

— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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In the wake of D’Andre Swift’s career-best, 175-yard rushing game against the Minnesota Vikings, our Aaron Carter revisits the running back’s high school career at St. Joseph’s Prep.

Swift once ran right through La Salle’s defense for 275 yards and seven touchdowns. But Swift, the ultimate competitor, says he’ll never forget losing to La Salle a year earlier.

In his 14th season, defensive end Brandon Graham still derives joy on a daily basis from the same activity that brought him happiness at 22 years old. “Just whooping on people every day,” Graham said with a smile. The veteran will play in his 181st career game with the Eagles tonight, moving him up on the team’s al-time list.

A.J. Brown handled last week’s sideline drama with all the diplomatic aplomb it called for. Now, he’ll a get a chance to feast against the Bucs.

Next: The Eagles visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football at 7:15 (6ABC).

The Eagles visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest story lines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Tampa, Fla.

It was quite a road back for Bryce Harper from offseason elbow ligament reconstruction. The Phillies slugger made it back way ahead of schedule but endured a power outage that left him without a homer for 38 games. He finally regained his strength and is on pace to finish with an OPS near .900. He may even get some down-ballot National League MVP votes.

“I am just so fortunate to be in this spot right now,” Harper says. “Just the way my offseason went and the way my rehab went and things like that. This is all just a bonus for me.”

The Phillies reduced their magic number for a postseason berth to one by beating the Mets, 5-2, completing a four-game sweep.

José Alvarado’s cutter is back in form at just the right time for the Phillies with the playoffs looming.

Next: After an off day on Monday, the Phillies open their final home series of the regular season with a chance to clinch a playoff berth against Pittsburgh at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP).

John Tortorella and the Flyers have a lot of roster decisions to make over the next month.

One of them will be how many defensemen the team will keep out of training camp. The Flyers have several established NHL blueliners in Travis Sanheim, Ramus Ristolainen, Cam York, Sean Walker, Marc Staal, and Nick Seeler. They also have several youngsters pushing to break through like Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, Emil Andrae, and Adam Ginning.

How many will they keep? Jeff Neiburg believes Tortorella could opt for an extra body on the back end over a 14th forward.

Next: The Flyers open their preseason exhibition schedule Monday at 7 p.m. against the New Jersey Devils in Newark.

Saturday’s MLS Cup rematch between the Union and LAFC began with a lot of hype. It ended in a whimper, as weather impacted the star-studded affair and made it one of the more forgettable games in recent Union history.

Jonathan Tannenwald put in overtime and tried to find some positives from the bore fest at Subaru Park.

Next: The Union are back at home Wednesday at Subaru Park against FC Dallas (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

Sept. 25, 1980: Manny Trillo tripled and scored a run as the Phillies edged the New York Mets, 2-1, at Veterans Stadium. Lonnie Smith and Garry Maddox knocked in runs for the Phillies in support of winning pitcher Marty Bystrom.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Lochlahn March, EJ Smith, Jonathan Tannenwald, David Murphy, Matt Ryan, Jeff Neiburg, Aaron Carter, and Olivia Reiner.