Eagles Nation Rejoices as Team Wins 6th Straight

GO BIRDS, many people are saying. More and more you’re hearing this.

Thursday night’s win over Washington put the Eagles firmly in command of the NFC East. Is it time to believe?

Oh - and while you were cursing out the Thursday Night Football refs, Matvei Michkov scored a game-winning OT goal.

Let’s discuss.

In the email today:

• 🦅 Eagles Nation Rejoices as Team Wins 6th Straight

• 🇷🇺 Matvei Michkov's OT Winner Caps Clutch Flyers Comeback Win Over Sens

• 🇧🇪 Vilanova's Nightmare November Continues as Matthew Hodge Is Benched by NCAA

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

We regret to inform you that it's time to believe in the Eagles again.

They're 8-2. They look better every week. They were good enough to survive about 15 missed kicks from Jake Elliott. And there's no team in the NFC that looks particularly dominant. Maybe the Lions?

Some highlights and reactions from Thursday night's 26-18 victory over Washington:

It was nice to see Saquon Barkley get a couple touchdowns this week. He has somehow been tackled inside the two yard line about a dozen times this season.

"Thank you, Giants" chants from Birds fans after the game 🤣 

Sadly, yet another NFL wide receiver was detained in Quintanamo Bay:

Let's not forget about our Exciting Whites:

The only player off his game? The guy you probably least expect:

It’s reasonable to still have doubts about this Eagles team, but 8-2 is 8-2.

Enjoy this one for a while. The Birds will play their next game on November 24, in LA against the Rams.

You’re forgiven if you didn’t watch much (any?) of the Flyers game last night. The Eagles were playing a home Thursday night game for the NFC East lead. The Flyers were playing Game 17 out of 82.

Well, most people would forgive you, anyway.

We’ll say this: If you missed the Flyers game, you missed an instant classic for the Orange and Black.

It certainly didn’t start that way.

Hopefully Mr. Rodgers stuck it out, because the third period saw the Flyers go down 4-2 midway through the third period. At that point, anyone could have reasonably changed the channel.

Rebuilding teams like the Flyers don’t generally survive getting comprehensively outshot, then going down two goals on the road. As often as not, a game like this would end 6-2 with at least one Senators’ empty-netter at the end for good measure.

But the Flyers scored two goals in two minutes to tie it, setting up what can only be described as a storybook ending for a player who was (checks notes) benched for two straight games less than a week ago.

Lots to feel good about here. Michkov continues to deliver on the boundless promise Flyers fans were told about before he got here. A young team scratches out a road win against the run of play and with every possible excuse to pack it in in the third period.

But maybe the best news here is that John Tortorella’s decision to sit Michkov for consecutive games not only didn’t backfire, it clearly worked.

The Flyers are home for the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. What sort of sorcery will Michkov have then?

Villanova basketball’s deal with the forces of darkness appears to have come due. Whatever suffering the Wildcats agreed to accept in exchange for the two Jay Wright national championships, it’s happening now.

The Wildcats have already lost games at home to Ivy League Columbia at home and A-10 St. Joseph’s on the road this month. Their Big East schedule looms, and the buzzards are circling around head coach Kyle Neptune.

Bad news is hitting the Wildcats from other fronts, too. Brendan Hausen transferred from Villanova to Kansas State after two seasons because Neptune didn’t play him. It’s only two games, of course, but Hausen is averaging 19.5 a game for K-State.

And as it stands, the Wildcats have buzzard’s luck: Can’t kill anything, can’t find anything already dead. Matthew Hodge could definitely have helped Villanova this season, right now. He apparently will not get the chance.

It’s a long, strange story behind Hodge arriving at Villanova and the NCAA then deciding that Hodge is ineligible to play this season. This piece does a fine job with the details.

• Player Information: Hodge, a freshman forward at Villanova and former St. Rose (NJ) High School standout, is a 6'8" four-star recruit.

• NCAA Decision: The NCAA denied Villanova's appeal to grant Hodge eligibility for this season.

• Impact: Hodge will redshirt this season, meaning he will not compete but will receive financial aid, practice, and travel with the team.

• Eligibility Determination: Hodge's initial eligibility waiver for qualifier status was denied, and the NCAA upheld this decision despite Villanova's appeal.

• Eligibility Issue: The issue appears to be related to his academic transcripts from Belgium, not his classification as a junior upon entering St. Rose High School.

At some level, though, it kind of doesn’t matter why Hodge isn’t playing. It only matters that he isn’t playing. It bears noting that Villanova has an interim Athletic Director; one wonders whether an established AD might have had more luck with the NCAA.

In any event, the Wildcats need something, anything, to go their way. Right now, a program that had a Midas touch under Wright is watching it all turn to Neptune dust.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On November 15, 2010, Mike Vick led the Eagles to a 59-28 win over Washington on Monday Night Football. The game was even more lopsided than the score indicates.

📊 Poll

Results from Thursday:

Brown caught five passes for 65 yards.

🔗 Links

• ⛷️Lindsey Vonn, 40, is coming out of retirement.

• 🟥 Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is going under the knife.

• 🌴 The Tampa Rays will play their 2025 home games at Steinbrenner Field.

• 👋 Mike Tyson took a WWE-esque slap at Jake Paul to hype their “fight.”

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

Friday, November 15, 2024

• Sixers at Magic, 7:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Saturday, November 16, 2024

• Flyers vs. Sabres, 7:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Thanks for reading. See you Monday.

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