The Eagles grabbed a big win on Sunday, the 76ers capped off a 5-0 start with a thrilling buzzer-beater win in Portland on Saturday night and the Flyers continued their inconsistent start during a slower week in Philly-area sports.
Eagles
The Eagles jumped ahead early against the Chicago Bears on Sunday and stayed there, holding off a late comeback attempt for a 22-14 win. Jordan Howard ran for 82 yards and a touchdown on the day to lead the charge against his former team.
This was a promising game for an Eagles team that has underachieved so far this season. The offense moved the ball almost at will against one of the top defenses in the league, and the defense held the Bears to under 165 yards of offense for the game. That said, there were some issues.
The offensive line allowed four sacks, Jake Elliott missed an extra point and going 8-18 on third-down-conversions is a bit underwhelming. Either way, the win allowed them to keep pace with the Cowboys, who crushed the Giants on Monday night.
Tom Brady and the Patriots await after the bye week.
Up next: Bye week
Penn State
The off-week came at a perfect time for the Nittany Lions. Well rested and well prepared, they now head to Minneapolis to take on the #13 Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Earlier in the season, this would be a worrying matchup for Penn State fans, but now with big wins over Iowa and Michigan under their belt, it might be overlooked with a big Ohio State game looming.
Which is exactly why this should be a worrying game for Penn State fans.
Minnesota will be fired up coming into this game because a win puts them in the drivers’ seat in the Big Ten West. If the Lions come out flat and get caught looking ahead, they will get run over. If they do come out ready to play, expect them to get it done, and all that will stand between them and a Big Ten Championship game berth will be Justin Fields and the Buckeyes.
Up next: 11/9 @ #13 Minnesota, 12:00 p.m./ABC
76ers
The Sixers are red hot to start the year. After a 2-0 week to open the 2019-’20 campaign, Philly survived a tough road tilt with the upstart Atlanta Hawks, beat up on the Timberwolves at home (literally) and split the first half of a tough west coast road trip.
This team is looking the part of a title contender, albeit very early in the season. They took care of business against a young, explosive Atlanta team and survived a matchup with Damian Lillard’s Trail Blazers on a late Furkan Korkmaz three-pointer.
The latter of the two came without big man Joel Embiid, as he is currently suspended for four games following his brawl with Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns last week.
They may not have been the most convincing wins of all time, but finding ways to win in tough road games is what carries into the playoffs.
Up next: 11/6 @ Utah, 9:00 p.m./NBCS Philly
11/8 @ Denver, 9:00 p.m./NBCS Philly
11/10 vs. Charlotte, 7:00 p.m./ NBCS Philly
Flyers
The Flyers have been the most confusing team in the NHL through the first three weeks of the season.
They win the first two games of the year… then lose four straight. Runoff a three-game winning streak… then lose three out of four including a 7-1 blowout from their archrival Pittsburgh Penguins.
If that trend is anything to go by, the Flyers are due for a pretty good week. Friendly home matchups with Carolina and Montreal definitely help their case for such, but they have a tough weekend looming with road games against the Bruins and Maple Leafs.
Going 2-2 over that stretch might be a best-case scenario.
Up next: 11/5 vs. Carolina, 7:00 p.m./NBCS Philly
11/7 vs. Montreal, 7:00 p.m./NBCS Philly
11/9 @ Toronto, 7:00 p.m./NBCS Philly
11/10 @ Boston, 7:00 p.m./NBCS Philly
Temple
The Owls had a week to rest up and recover after a blowout loss to UCF, and now look to bounce back against a middling South Florida squad on Thursday night in Tampa.
Up next: 11/7 @ USF, 8:00 p.m./ESPN
The Good, The Bad and the Weird
Good – Washington Nationals
The Nationals made history last Wednesday when they finished off a 6-2 win in game seven of the World Series to clinch their first title in franchise history.
They also became the first team to win four road games in a seven-game playoff series in MLB history, as this was the first seven-game series in any major sport ever in which the road team won all seven games.
Max Scherzer is probably still celebrating as you read this.
Bad – New York Jets
They lost to the Dolphins… I need not say more.
Weird – Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins finally won a game!…
… And then they promptly lost their starting running back to a four-game suspension and their top receiver for the season to a torn ACL. You can’t win them all, but the Dolphins are losing on and off the field.
At least they’re not the 2017 Browns (went 0-16).
