November 26, 2024
It's a holiday week and while Philadelphia sports fans are "busy" slacking off at work in preparation for turkey dinners and pumpkin pie, the Eagles are 9-2. The Eagles alone are cause for celebration right now, but in keeping with the festive approach, there are a lot of things to be thankful for in this city's overall sports scene. Here are five that should be on the minds of everyone across the Delaware Valley:
Is this not the coolest thing ever?
SAQUON BARKLEY IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/UtCENDw6no
Saquon Barkley is the best running back in football and the best Eagles back I've ever seen. He's on pace to break single-season NFL records in both rushing yards and yards from scrimmage. He is absolutely a bonafide MVP candidate. He's doing things on a weekly basis that no one in Midnight (nor Kelly) Green has done previously.Â
He's real. He's spectacular. He's Philadelphia's own now. Thank a Giants fan in your life for him.Â
The leader in points among NHL rookies this year? Matvei Michkov. The leader in goals among NHL rookies this year? Matvei Michkov. The leader in shifting the trajectory of the Flyers' future? Also Matvei Michkov.Â
Michkov has been everything that the Flyers could've hoped for during his young first season with the Orange and Black. It's a rebuild. Things will not drastically change overnight, but Michkov is spearheading this new era.Â
Oh, yeah. Michkov had an overtime game-winning goal against Chicago on Saturday:
🔥 MICHKOVERTIME WINNER. 🔥#CHIvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/isxUApJahp
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 23, 2024
That will certainly not be his last game-winner for this franchise. The organization has been starved for an engrossing young phenom, a futuristic player that has nothing to do with the archaic hockey attitude that's clouded the Flyers for far too long.Â
In his five seasons in red pinstripes, Zack Wheeler has a 2.94 ERA in 829.1 innings of work while striking out 9.8 batters per nine innings. He has two top-two Cy Young finishes for the Phillies in that span. Wheeler had a great case in 2024, but lost out to Atlanta's Chris Sale. He was more so robbed in 2021 when he had the same amount of first-place votes as Milwaukee's Corbin Burnes, but came up short.Â
Maybe 2025 will be the year that Wheeler finally brings home some deserved hardware and etches himself into franchise history alongside Doc, Lefty and other Phils greats.Â
The Eagles' defense is allowing the fewest total yards and the fewest net yards per pass attempt in the NFL this season. They're surrendering the third-fewest passing yards. The Birds have an elite pass defense. Even with some spirited moments under both Jonathan Gannon and Jim Schwartz, that has not actually felt like the case since the Jim Johnson defensive heydays.Â
It's true though. Thank new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Thank new passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Christian Parker. Even so, the guys out on the field are exceeding expectations, particularly rookie rising stars Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.Â
DeJean shut down Rams All-Pro Cooper Kupp in Sunday's win and Mitchell is just taking opposing No. 1 wideouts out of the game week in and week out now.
It's an unfamiliar feeling.
Eagles fans, think about how many terrible cornerbacks you've watched over the last 15 years. Unless I wanted to write the Philly sports version of "Infinite Jest," it would take far too long to list them all.Â
Now they have two rookies at corner who are poised to lead this defense for years to come.Â
I thought long and hard about eschewing anything to be thankful for when it comes to the Sixers. They are a disastrous 3-13. Their entire brand can be chalked up as "loathsome." Their MVP, one of the greatest big men the game has ever seen, is slowly losing the faith of the fan base. I cut my teeth in sports writing blogging about the team in the Process era and even I let out a groan when I see that the Sixers are playing on a given night.Â
Even so, to keep with the holiday spirit, I'll give them some backhanded love. It's all due to rookie standout Jared McCain keeping this season so far to just a dumpster fire rather than a full-on harbinger of the apocalypse. McCain is averaging 16.6 points per night while shooting 40.0 percent from deep. In the six games since he's entered the Sixers' starting lineup, he's averaging 25.2 points per game. He wasn't even expected to be in Nick Nurse's rotation this season and now he's the single most exciting element the franchise has going for it. He was the 16th overall draft pick and is already the odds-on favorite for Rookie of the Year.
The Process was always right, but the Sixers have hit on All-Star Tyrese Maxey and now the sweet-shooting McCain outside of the lottery. Would Sixers fans prefer to wipe the slate clean and just roll with Maxey and McCain as The Guys going forward? Maybe!
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