Eagles. Commanders. Soon.

Happy Thursday! Can we start tailgating yet?

The Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday and gave an estimated “Limited Participant” designation to Jalen Hurts, Quinyon Mitchell, and a few other players.

Hurts says he will play, but is (of course) not talking much about his knee. Mitchell insists that he is completely fine.

Our take? Unless someone’s limbs completely fall off, it’s gonna be hard to keep any of these guys off the field this Sunday. Hopefully that doesn’t mean we’re in for another visit from Jalen Percs.

In the email today:

• 👀 What they’re saying about the NFC Championship

• 💤 Quiet quitting Sixers' "tank" will be uglier than last time

• 🌴 It could be worse, the Sixers could have kept Jimmy Butler

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

The best Eagles coverage is always local, but it’s helpful to get a national perspective as well. Here’s what they’re saying about your Birds’ chances against the Commanders, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

From USA Today: Eagles 30 - Commanders 27

“NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite Jayden Daniels has led the Commanders to their first NFC championship game since the 1991 season. Daniels is the sixth rookie quarterback to reach a conference championship game.

“However, Saquon Barkley is the star of stars in this game. The Eagles running back is coming off of a 205 rushing yard performance versus Los Angeles. He’s registered 324 rushing yards and two rushing TDs in two postseason games.

“Barkley rushed for 296 yards and four touchdowns in two games versus Washington this year. He’s bound to cause more problems for the Commanders in this one.”

From Sporting News: Commanders 31 - Eagles 27

“The Eagles were the better team in the division during the regular season, but the difference was not as big as many might think. The Commanders have big momentum on their side after taking it to the Buccaneers and Lions, while the Eagles survived the Packers and Rams, who made a lot more mistakes than they did. Washington has that feel of seeing through their big surprise, while Philadelphia has seemed headed for an eventual letdown.”

From Yahoo Sports: Eagles 24 - Commanders 21

“The Eagles have lost one game since the end of September. That came against the Commanders in Week 16. That game was unusual for Philadelphia, with Jalen Hurts leaving in the first quarter due to a concussion. The Eagles probably still win that game if DeVonta Smith didn't drop a third-down pass late in the fourth quarter. That allowed Jayden Daniels to put together a game-winning drive and throw his fifth touchdown of the game with six seconds left to win it. The Commanders led at Philadelphia in the fourth quarter of a Week 11 game too, but the Eagles pulled away. Washington can compete with Philadelphia because it is well-coached and has a dangerous quarterback. Ask the Detroit Lions. The Eagles have the better team, with more talent up and down the roster and a 14-1 record since Week 4. Of their three losses, they allowed game-winning touchdowns with 34 seconds left in one (vs. Atlanta in Week 2) and six seconds left in another. That level of dominance should eventually take over the NFC title game. But it won't be easy.”

From Fox Sports: Eagles 38 - Commanders 28

“You can't help but see a high-scoring game, and Daniels has been so dangerous in late-game situations. The divisional win over the Lions ended a run of five straight games that Washington won on the final play. With two potent offenses going head-to-head, this could come down to red-zone execution — the Commanders ranked sixth in the regular season there, while the Eagles ranked 13th. But on red-zone defense, Philadelphia ranked fifth and Washington 22nd. We'll take the Eagles to hold on for a home win to go to their second Super Bowl in three seasons.”

The Sixers gave up 144 points in Denver on Tuesday night. Incredibly, they marginally improved defensively in the second half since they ceded 77 points in the first.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse looked bereft after the game.

In fairness Nurse, he wasn’t here for the Process years. Instead, he appears to be here for the quiet quitting years.

What is quiet quitting? Glad you asked.

We can’t call the Sixers quiet quitters without some backup. Thankfully, X is gonna give it to you.

George is taking the brunt of the abuse in a perverse way. Perverse, because he’s being strafed for actually taking the court and being less than he used to be. At least he’s playing.

This graphic from the Tuesday night TNT broadcast was helpful but also dispiriting.

So what now? Other than McCain, all five of the players in that graphic are 29 years of age or older. They’re just not going to go from “day to day” to “playing back to backs.”

And it’s not like the Sixers can really, fully, tank again. Former Sixer Lou Williams convincingly put that to rest.

To sum up: The Sixers really need to lose a lot of the next 40 games to save their first round pick from going to Oklahoma City. But unlike the Process Sixers, this team isn’t constructed of objectively bad players who lost even when they tried their hardest.

The Sixers thus have to bank on, ironically, both continued poor health and continued subpar effort from players who are way too good to be this bad.

It’s an ugly recipe.

It says a lot about Philadelphia sports fans generally and Sixers fans specifically that people around here still get sad about Jimmy Butler leaving Philadelphia.

The obsession with Butler, who left the Sixers BEFORE COVID, continues into 2025.

Butler is now 35 years old. He has been in Miami for 5+ seasons and made two All-Star teams. The Heat made the Finals in 2023 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022, rounds Joel Embiid has never played in.

For all that success, though, Butler has been a consistent malcontent. Butler always seems to be happiest when he’s unhappy.

With the Heat stuck in neutral at 21-21, Butler is unsurprisingly doing the opposite of leading his team out of their current predicament.

Sixers fans love to “what if” about Butler, fantasizing about deep playoff runs had the team kept the mercurial sometimes star. We live in the real world, though. Butler didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be in Miami, at least then. Now, he wants to leave again.

Imagine the dumpster fire that is the Sixers, and now imagine it with Jimmy Butler in the Paul George spot.

Or, on second thought, maybe don’t.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On January 23, 2004, the McNabb/Reid Eagles finally, mercifully, won an NFC Championship Game.

📊 Poll

Results from Wednesday:

🔗 Links

• 🇯🇵 The Mariners will retire Ichiro Suzuki’s number 51 following his induction to the Hall of Fame.

• 🪓 Trent Baalke followed Doug Pederson out the door in Jacksonville.

• ⚖️ You won’t believe this, but Patrick Mahomes thinks NFL officials are doing a great job.

• ❄️ Heavy snowstorms in the South caused multiple game cancellations and postponements.

• 🖥️ Streaming services’ efforts to undermine ESPN go on at a fast pace.

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

Thursday, January 23, 2025

• Flyers at Rangers, 7:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

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