Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I shouldn’t be shocked, but I’m astonished that Iowa-Nebraska was higher-scoring than Giants-Patriots.
In today’s SI:AM:
🦅 No Super Bowl hangover for the Eagles
🚀 Rocket science and football
If you're reading this on SI.com, you can sign up to get this free newsletter in your inbox each weekday at SI.com/newsletters.
Head and shoulders above the rest
As the calendar flips to December, one NFL team stands unrivaled above the rest.
With a 37–34 overtime win over the Bills yesterday, the Eagles became the first team to reach 10 wins this season. No other team in the league is better than 8–3.
Philadelphia is 10–1 not because it has consistently steamrolled teams, but because it has knuckled down in key moments to win tough games. That was the case last Monday when the Eagles came from behind to beat the Chiefs on the road, and it was the case again yesterday against Buffalo. The Eagles struggled in the first half, managing only one touchdown, but turned it on in the second half, scoring points on five of their final six possessions.
Sure, there was some luck involved. Converting a 59-yard field goal through the rain to force overtime (as Philadelphia kicker Jake Elliott did on a slicing line-drive kick with 20 seconds left) is no guarantee, and the Eagles were fortunate that Gabe Davis and Josh Allen had a miscommunication on what could have been a winning touchdown for the Bills on the opening possession of overtime.
But the game wasn’t handed to the Eagles. They stepped up and made the plays necessary to win. Philadelphia’s game-winning drive was a breeze. It marched 75 yards in nine plays, facing only one third down, culminating in a 12-yard touchdown run by Jalen Hurts.
After going 14–3 last year and losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the Eagles have picked up right where they left off this season in a way that few other Super Bowl losers have. It’s no secret that teams that lose the Super Bowl have struggled to bounce back the following year. As Conor Orr points out, only eight losing teams have returned to the Super Bowl the next year in the game’s 57-year history, but the Eagles are the best team in the NFC and poised to be the ninth. And it isn’t as though Philadelphia hasn’t been challenged after losing the Super Bowl, Orr writes:
Kelce decided to come back. So did Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, who set a record Sunday for most games played as an Eagle. A few months ago it felt like The Office right after Michael Scott’s departure, nothing more than a celebrity-studded cash grab destined to get posterized on Rotten Tomatoes. They’d have to pay Jalen Hurts now. Someone (anyone?) would figure out how to stop the Tush Push. This offensive line would start to show its age. Losing both coordinators to head coaching jobs and replacing the architect of the defense with someone who wasn’t even coaching in Philadelphia in 2022 would cause a hiccup. There would be some pinhole opening through which the curse could emerge and then metastasize.
The wins over the Chiefs and Bills were a big statement for the Eagles as they begin a difficult stretch following their bye week. They’ll face the 49ers at home Dec. 10 and then the Cowboys on the road on Sunday Night Football.
As for the Bills, the loss will force them to scratch and claw to make the playoffs. At 6–6, Buffalo is currently in 10th place in the AFC. (Seven teams make the playoffs in each conference.) The Bills have a bye this week before continuing this brutal stretch of their schedule with games against the Chiefs and Cowboys. Yesterday’s game showed that Buffalo, despite its struggles this season, is still capable of hanging with the league’s best. But if the Bills want to make the playoffs, they’ll have to make those big plays with the game on the line.
The best of Sports Illustrated
Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
- Joshua Dobbs’s background as an aerospace engineer has gotten plenty of attention during his sudden rise with the Vikings, so Greg Bishop spoke to one of the quarterback’s former professors about how rocket science can help football players.
- The Broncos’ excellent defense leads Albert Breer’s takeaways from Week 12 in the NFL.
- Conor Orr makes the case that what Colts coach Shane Steichen has done in his first year is even more impressive than what DeMeco Ryans has done with the Texans.
- Texas A&M is hiring Duke’s Mike Elko as its next football coach, Pat Forde reports.
- Forde also wrote about Michigan’s big win over Ohio State and what’s becoming a true crisis for the Buckeyes.
- The Panthers fired coach Frank Reich before letting him complete his first season.
- A strange scene unfolded on the NFL RedZone channel as the studio was evacuated due to a fire alarm.
The top five...
… things I saw yesterday:
5. Nuggets rookie Jalen Pickett’s reaction to shaking Victor Wembanyama’s hand.
4. Former Premier League goalie Petr Čech’s debut as a pro hockey goalie.
3. Ludacris performing at the Falcons game while being lowered from the ceiling.
2. Alejandro Garnacho’s stunning bicycle kick goal for Manchester United.
1. Michigan high schooler Adrian Walker Jr.’s unreal interception in the state championship game.
SIQ
On this day in 1971, players from which team fell to the ground simultaneously, allowing the opposing team to score so that they could get the ball back and have their quarterback pursue the NCAA passing yardage record?
- Florida
- USC
- Boston College
- Oklahoma
Friday’s SIQ: NFL games on Fridays (like last week’s meeting between the Dolphins and Jets) are exceedingly rare. The last two were in 2020 and ’09, when Christmas fell on a Friday. Before that, the Chiefs and Dolphins met on a Friday in ’05 in a game that was hastily rescheduled for what reason?
- A snowstorm
- A hurricane
- A water main break in the stadium
- Mechanical issues with the team plane
The Chiefs had to cancel their planned practice Friday to pack up and leave for Miami, arriving just six hours before the game started. The hectic travel schedule didn’t bother the Chiefs at all, though. They came away with a 30–20 victory.
