Eagles vs. Ravens Headlines a Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

Time for real talk.

Thanksgiving is the far superior sports holiday to Christmas because the distractions are minimized. It’s one big meal and then nothing but sports. No hours of unwrapping presents, no shuttling from one family gathering to the next. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and four days of games on TV. Tell us we’re wrong.

In today’s send, the Eagles head to Baltimore to take on the dangerous Ravens. Paul George wants you to know that the Sixers are going to be just fine. And Penn State’s strategy of playing a lot of average teams was more clever than we knew.

In the email today:

• 🦅 What They’re Saying About Eagles / Ravens

• 🙄 Good News, Paul George Says the Sixers Are Going to "Change This Around"

• 🦁 Penn State Has Played This First Expanded Playoff Season Like a Stradivarius

  • 📆 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 a look at what they’re saying about your Birds against the Ravens this week:

From CBS Sports: Ravens 34 - Eagles 31

"I have come to the conclusion that Philadelphia and Baltimore are the same team.

"Both teams made the playoffs last year, but they both fell short of the Super Bowl, so they both went out during the offseason and made a move that you don't usually see NFL teams make these days: They both paid big money to a running back and the gamble has paid off immensely for both teams.

. . .

"The Eagles signed Saquon Barkley while the Ravens added Derrick Henry, and now, as we head into Week 13, Philadelphia and Baltimore are the top-two rushing teams in the league.

"Basically, these two guys are human battering rams, so the big question is: Which defense will perform better?

"There are only seven teams in the NFL surrendering less than 100 rushing yards per game this year and two of them are playing in this game. The Ravens are giving up just 77.9 yards per game, which ranks second in the NFL while the Eagles rank seventh overall, surrendering 99.5 yards per game.

I feel like that small edge might be enough to push the Ravens over the top."

From Sporting News: Eagles 30 - Ravens 29

"The Eagles have yet another chance to prove they are a Super Bowl contender in a spotlight game. The running backs will be the focus, but the key will be for Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts to complement their running game with game-changing plays through the air. This will live up to expectations, and we like Philadelphia to win in walk-off fashion."

From Sports Illustrated: Eagles win

"[T]he Lions and Eagles are the best two teams in the NFL and there's a wide gap between them and the rest of the NFL. That means I'll back the Eagles as underdogs against any team not named the Lions, and this is one of those spots.

"Ever since making adjustments in their early season BYE, the Eagles have had one of the best defenses in football. They rank second in opponent EPA and third in opponent success rate in that time frame. Now, they get to face a Ravens defense that has been one of the worst in the NFL all season.

"The Eagles offense can match the Ravens offense in every area, but it's the defense that's going to make the difference. It's also worth reminding you the Ravens are the most penalized team in football, both in total penalties and penalty yards. That's going to cost them in a game against a team as good as the Eagles."

From USA Today: Too close to call

"Philly is riding a seven-game winning streak into Week 13, and Baltimore bounced back from a Week 11 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers with Monday night’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

"Given the peaks we’ve seen from each team this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either as the last standing from their respective conferences when the Super Bowl rolls around.

"Oddsmakers expect the Eagles-Ravens clash to be as close as you would expect. The Ravens are 2.5-point favorites over the visiting Eagles at BetMGM. And with it being a matchup of two of the three leading MVP candidates — Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley — it could really go either way."

Give Paul George credit for this: He’s got a set.

George signed a four-year, $212 million contract in July. He was 34 years old entering his 15th NBA season, having played 867 games.

Giving a player with that many miles on the odometer that much guaranteed money only made sense if he was the last piece to a championship puzzle. As we all know now, he’s not.

We’re going to drop these two X posts back to back because reading them in tandem really makes you wonder whether we’ve lost our goddamn minds.

These posts hit within 20 minutes of each other. Yeah, we know, George’s comment was released well before the X post quoting him. The optics are still horrific.

And you will have to forgive our skepticism around anything George has to say about the Sixers right now. George was signed at least in part to bring veteran leadership and some accountability to a team that is sorely lacking both qualities.

Being on time is helpful, except when you’re open-mouthed yawning in street clothes on the bench.

The funny thing is, George might actually be right. The Sixers might actually win enough games to sneak into one of the play-in spots. If they’re healthy in April, they could win a series or even two. If they’re healthy.

It’s just…not now, Paul, with the optimism and the “it’s all gonna be OK.” Not now. Not as you and Embiid are sitting out tonight against the 12-6 Rockets (who are favored by 5.5 on the road).

Please put the takes on ice until you’re playing again. If you play again.

A stopped clock is right twice a day. They also serve those who merely stand and wait. Patience is a virtue. Slow and steady wins the race.

Normally this sort of observation is offered by the least ambitious, lowest capacity member of the group. Penn State, however, took the foregoing aphorisms and are spinning them into NCAA College Football Playoff gold.

James Franklin’s uncanny inability to beat any really good teams during his time at Penn State has been discussed at length.

That’s been a problem for Penn State in past seasons, because there were only four playoff teams. Losing to Michigan and Ohio State on the regular was essentially an annual death sentence for playoff purposes.

This season, though? With 12 teams making the cut? Penn State has accumulated ten wins (only one against a ranked team), lost to Ohio State…and they’re sitting pretty in the playoff seeding.

Does this mean Penn State is the fourth-best team in the country? Nittany Lions fans would say so. It’s difficult to imagine impartial people saying the same.

Most likely they are emboldened by the path that Penn State might get if the remaining games scheduled play out as expected.

That’s an awfully cushy setup, especially considering the teams immediately behind Penn State in the rankings.

Notre Dame is ranked fifth. Like Penn State, they’re 10-1, but the Fighting Irish have won nine in a row and have four wins over ranked teams.

Georgia and Tennessee are sixth and seventh respectively. They’re both SEC schools. Georgia has wins over three ranked teams, including Texas when the Longhorns were ranked #1. Tennessee also has wins over three ranked teams, including a win over Alabama, and one of the Volunteers’ losses was to Georgia.

We don’t have betting lines on Penn State against any of those three teams yet, but we can read the wind.

Yeah, you have to hand it to Penn State and James Franklin. Sometimes, and especially this season, just racking up wins against weak teams is enough.

The 2024 Nittany Lions, slow and steady, have been served up a speed pass to a prime playoff seed for merely standing and waiting.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

Thanksgiving fell on November 27 in 2008. And the Eagles gave fans a game to be thankful for.

📊 Poll

Results from Tuesday:

🔗 Links

• ⚖️ Conor McGregor cannot stop losing, and as usual it’s of his own doing.

• ✈️ Aaron Rodgers doesn’t know if he’s playing in 2025 but has not ruled out returning to the Jets.

• 🚨Tyreek Hill had his traffic citations dismissed when the arresting officers did not show for a Monday court hearing.

• ⚾️ The Dodgers’ quest to repeat as World Series champions was bolstered by signing Blake Snell.

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

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

• Flyers at Predators, 8:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia+)

Friday, November 29, 2024

• Rangers at Flyers, 1:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Saturday, November 30, 2024

• Flyers at Blues, 7:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

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

Sunday, December 1, 2024

• Eagles at Ravens, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

Thanks for reading. Happy Thanksgiving! We’ll be back with you Monday morning.

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