Porter Martone started off with a bang last season, joining the Flyers at the end of March and scoring at over a point-per-game clip to help them to a once-improbable playoff berth. He was so steady and unfazed amid the Flyers’ run that it almost looked like he wasn’t going to have one of those “welcome to the league” moments.
On Wednesday night, in the Flyers’ 2026-27 opener, he had it.
After Ville Koivunen beat the Flyers, including Martone, on a bad line change, the latter sat for the final four-plus minutes of the first period. Martone was then assessed a cross-checking penalty, which quickly resulted in Pittsburgh’s third goal. He was later demoted to the fourth line, alongside Sean Couturier and Carl Grundström, in the team’s 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I just thought the first four or five shifts, he had a couple times to go through [Erik] Karlsson, and he let up, and you can’t do that,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “His game is something — he has to play that style, like a gritty style. He’s not going to go up the ice flying around.”
Martone had no shot attempts and four giveaways, tied for the most among the Flyers. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers had a team-low 2.64 expected-goals percentage with Martone on the ice at even-strength.
Tocchet said his line changes, including his decision to demote Martone, were the result of the overall poor offensive performance from the group.
Rick Tocchet was disappointed in his team’s defensive structure on Wednesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“To have offense, you have to have the puck,” Tocchet said. “We had chances to skate the puck in, and we’re throwing pucks in, and we just reset the puck to them. If you’re not battling, that means you’re not battling offensively. That means you’re not willing to take the puck.”
Martone, 19, was far from the only player to have a bad night. Tocchet said the team won “no battles” and that the defensive structure was the worst he’d seen it since he arrived in Philadelphia a year ago.
As bulletproof as Martone might have looked to start his NHL career — he was a preseason Calder Trophy favorite, and projected to be one of the Flyers’ most important players heading into this year — there were signs in the playoffs that there was still going to be an adjustment period. He endured a five-game scoreless streak before picking up two more assists in the final two games of the Flyers’ second-round playoff series loss to Carolina.
Tocchet said pregame that the Flyers are trying to “cocoon” Martone and all the young players from the outside attention, and to use the team environment to avoid overloading him in his rookie season.
But Wednesday’s opener is a reminder that, as even-keeled as Martone can be, there are still growing pains in becoming an NHL regular.
“I don’t think it’s an excuse, but I find younger players need longer,” Tocchet said. “You need a longer training camp. Veteran teams don’t. That’s not an excuse. That’s the way it is. Everybody lives in that world.”
Last October, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), the governing body of high school sports in the state, initiated a policy that would allow students attending faith-based private schools to play sports for their home public school district, if the faith-based private school they attend does not offer a particular sport that their home school district does.
Holy Ghost Prep, the newly minted member of the Philadelphia Catholic League this sports season, does not have a football program. So the new PIAA policy allows students to play football for their home school districts. Three HGP students have made that move: freshmen Connor Gear and Brennan McDonough, who both play for Bensalem High School, and senior Andy Lynch, who has made an immediate impact for Lower Moreland High as a two-way starter in his first year of playing football.
McDonough, who is 5-foot-11, 190-pounds, is a starting outside linebacker and a backup running back on varsity. Gear, at 5-8, 130-pounds, is the backup junior varsity quarterback. Lynch, at 6-3, 210 pounds, is a starting defensive tackle and tight end for a 4-1 Lower Moreland team that is ranked No. 4 in District 1 Class 4A.
It is a unique situation for the trio, more so for Lynch, who never played organized tackle football before this fall.
“I always thought about playing football,” said Lynch, who attended school in Lower Moreland district until eighth grade and is the manager of the HGP basketball team. “I was at my friend Cole’s house last November when my friend’s dad [Mike Zalewski], who is Lower Moreland’s offensive line coach suggested I try out. In early January, I started working out with the team once I found out this new [PIAA] rule was passed. We’re winning games, it’s pretty cool. Once I knew I was playing, I started lifting every day. I had a lot of learning to do. I’m still learning. … It’s been a great experience, reuniting with the guys I grew up with.”
Lynch reshaped his frame and had to be shown how to put on football pads for the first time in August. He’s learned fast. He has three sacks in four games (Lower Moreland beat Jenkintown by forfeit when Jenkintown ended its season due to low participation).
“Andy has been amazing,” Gregorio said. “He’s been doing an unbelievable job. He works hard. He is so raw, I think he could play at another level. He’s very athletic. He has one catch for 16 yards. We’re doing well and Andy has been a big part of that. We beat Tennent a few weeks back, which is the first time we’ve beaten a Suburban One team in decades.”
Gear and McDonough represent the future of a Suburban One League team that has struggled. Bensalem has not had a winning record since going 6-5 in 2004. Gear and McDonough are hoping to change that. The Owls have had a couple of years in 2024 and 2025 when they went 5-5. Bensalem is 1-4 this season.
“We’re in games,” said McDonough, whose father picks him up every day at 2:30 p.m. from HGP to Bensalem for 2:45 p.m. practice. “We should be 3-2. The mental aspect has been the biggest adjustment, being a freshman and starting on defense. Time management has been good. I get home at 6:30 every night. It is like going to two schools. I know everyone on my team, because I grew up with all these guys.”
Gear played football until the fifth grade before giving it up. Once he heard about the new PIAA rule, he wanted to try football again.
“It’s been an adjustment, learning all the plays and getting them in, but right now, I’m sitting in a good spot,” Gear said. “I’m also reading defenses, which is a challenge for me. I truly do like football. I jumped on the chance to play again. What I like most is how the coaches push us. The guys at Bensalem are really surprised that I go to Holy Ghost and I play for Bensalem. I tell them I love the game. The plan is to continue doing this the next three years.”
Pennridge is No. 1 again
Pennridge is riding a special motivation this season. The Rams are coming off a record-setting 2025 year when they won 13 games for the first time in program history, finishing 13-2 overall and reaching the PIAA District Class 6A championship before losing 21-14 to North Penn. Instead of taking their district silver medals home, the Rams hung them up in the school weight room, tangible reminders of just how close they came to capturing their first district championship.
For the second-straight year, the Rams have started 5-0. but this year, they only have 11 seniors. Pennridge coach Kyle Beller has done an impressive job of keeping the Rams on top after graduating a core group, including starting quarterback Noah Keating to Marist.
The Rams seem to be even better than they were a year ago, when they beat North Penn during the regular season for the first time since October 2012.
Only two years ago, the Rams were 4-7.
Pennridge head coach Kyle Beller has led his team to a 5-0 start for the second straight year.Michele C. Haddon / Bucks County
“No one expects to start a season 5-0, and the teams we beat were district playoff teams,” said Beller, who is in his fourth season. “We had a young team coming in, and this is a credit to the guys of playing to the standard of what we want.”
Junior Aiden Tetkowski has taken over at quarterback and junior Trevor Picciotti, the nephew of former CB West great Dustin Picciotti, is the Rams’ bull, rushing for 509 yards on 93 carries and averaging 101.8 yards rushing a game. Senior wide receiver Sean Leuthe averages 15.5 yards a catch, while senior linebacker Brody Blomgren and junior linebacker Blake Landherr lead the team in tackles.
Beller did not mention last year’s success to this team, even though the Rams are a combined 18-2 over these last two years, the best record in District 1 Class 6A.
“The message was to trust our process. We spoke about playing to our standard and playing with grit,” Beller said. “A lot of freshmen and sophomores got playing time last year. The biggest surprise of this group has been learning to grow up faster. The senior group that graduated did take a lot of lumps (going 7-15 their sophomore and junior years). It’s why we won a lot of close games last year. This group is very even keeled. They just keep playing.”
Right now, it’s a Pennridge team that looks like it could keep playing into deep November.
The secret behind Great Valley’s emergence
Great Valley was a combined 6-14 over the previous two years. The Patriots may be one of the biggest surprises in the area this season, beginning 5-0 and rising to a No. 3 rank in PIAA District 1 Class 5A. The team has been buoyed by the play of 5-10, 185-pound junior tailback Beau Kosmalski, who has scored 17 times, including two five-touchdown games this season, and rushed for 933 yards overall.
Patriots coach Gary Phillips is in his second year of his second stint at Great Valley and 19th overall, after his previous tenure from 1992-2010.
“I knew the kids and what they could be this year,” Phillips said. “What we focused on was the weight room. They bought in. We started lifting a week after the season ended last year. They worked and worked, and the kids invested into it. Across the board we added 10 to 20 pounds of weight to each player’s lift. It’s reduced injuries, added size, and we have a small number of seniors. This junior class played as sophomores and gained valuable experience. I put in the defense last year and the kids know it. They move faster. The real leap has come on offense.
Kosmalski already holds the Great Valley single-season and career rushing touchdown records (32). Last year he rushed for 945 yards in 10 games. He is just 13 yards from exceeding that this year on a team with 10 seniors on a 45-man roster. Great Valley may be small in numbers, but is large up front with Alan Johnson, a 6-2, 250-pound junior center, 6-3, 290-pound junior right tackle Dean Hickman, who has fully recovered from a broken leg suffered last fall, and 6-2, 270 senior right guard Najee Dorsey.
Another victory by Great Valley, which will host West Chester Henderson at 7 p.m. on Friday night, would equal the combined number of victories the Pats had the previous two years.
Kosmalski distinctly remembers the down years. He still lugs the bricks from those 3-7 seasons.
“The culture here has changed, and everyone knows it,” said Kosmalski, who is 15 pounds heavier than he was last year and is getting Ivy League attention. “Everyone is committed. When everyone wants it, it’s unbelievable. And everyone on this team wants to win. We have a bunch of guys on this team who want to be physically dominant. I’ll admit it, we have a chip on our shoulders. There was a lot of chirping on social media at us last year, a lot of teams laughed at us; not so much this year. We feel we can beat any team we face.”
During an interview in March conducted while Iloski was serving in a hybrid role under former Union manager Bradley Carnell, both the coach and player confirmed that his role was essentially meant to be the glue, the bridge between the opposition’s final third and the goal.
But what did that message mean to Iloski’s subconscious?
Milan, you’ll still get your opportunities, but they’ll be fewer in your new role as the support system we believe we need offensively right now.
“For me, I love playing next to someone up top and I like scoring goals,” he told The Inquirer. “But also, I can be that creative player who can come inside or can float underneath the strikers. So, for me, I’m open to anything that can help the team. And I’m totally bought in. So whatever the staff needs from me is what I’ll try and provide.”
How diplomatic of him, knowing now that he was miserable.
Not miserable enough that he couldn’t still score a team high seven goals by the time the Union limped into the FIFA World Cup break. But enough to know that this role was not sustainable, even if he was taking advantage of his fleeting moments in front of goal.
But since the team’s return to the pitch, while much of the spotlight has gone to the Union’s young guns, the limelight has been Iloski’s to the tune of 16 goals, finishing that run with a hat trick against Orlando City on Saturday to head into a weeklong break for FIFA’s international window.
“When [interim coach Ryan] Richter came in and the new staff, it was really clear what we were going to do with me, and it was to switch me back into what I’ve been used to, and I was super happy to hear that,” Iloski said. “So really comfortable, really happy. And I feel like I’m impacting games, which is really important.”
Proof of that came by way of the smile Iloski flashed when talking about the freedom he has under Richter. He’s the club’s target man again.
“I mean, that’s what I was brought here to do and the position I was brought into to play,” Iloski said. “It’s where I’ve had all the success in my career really.
Milan Iloski (center) celebrates with defender Kai Wagner (right) and Quinn Sullivan in the Union’s 4-2 win against Orlando City last Saturday.Courtesy / Philadelphia Unio
The “fun” he had last Saturday led to an MLS Man of the Matchday Award alongside teammate Indiana Vassilev, who had a goal of his own and two assists in their 4-2 win. The team, now producing goals at a feverish rate, recently set the club record for an unbeaten streak at 12 games, and tied an MLS record for having taken the most points (32) from any 12-game span in league history.
Over those 12 games, you can credit Iloski with nine goals in that time. He’s also been sharing a good deal of the responsibilities with fellow striker Bruno Damiani, who has also turned it on as of late to the tune of five goals in the last five matches, including a hat trick of his own in the club’s 5-0 rout of FC Cincinnati on Sept. 9.
“Me and Bruno have a great connection up there and really work well together,” Iloski said. ”It’s been a lot of fun and a guy I’ve been pushing to play alongside for a while. When [coach] Richter came in and the new staff, it was made really clear that that was what we were going to do, and I was super happy to hear that.”
Iloski and the Union aren’t resting on these good vibes even though they were afforded a weeklong respite from MLS action due to the break for the latest FIFA international window. He noted that the job is not over and that there’s still plenty of work to be done.
The difference is, for the first time in quite some time, he did it with what felt like an all-knowing smile across his face.
Milan Iloski’s 16 goals ranks tied for third-best in Major League Soccer. Courtesy / Philadelphia Unio
“It’s important that we don’t allow ourselves to get too wrapped up in the moment,” Iloski said. “I mean you saw it in this [last] game [against Orlando] … it’s easy to lose a little bit of focus there when you’re up 4-0. We know what we want and how we all want this season to end. All of this doesn’t matter if at the end of the day we’re not in a good position to chase what every other team is chasing, so we just need to get out there and finish the job.”
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter has a hairline fracture in his right wrist, NFL sources told The Inquirer.
Carter suffered the injury in the Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders and has played with a soft cast in the last two games.
He was an estimated full participant in Wednesday’s walkthrough ahead of Sunday’s game vs. the Rams.
Carter’s playing time has decreased since the injury. He played 66 snaps in the opener (94%), 41 snaps vs. the Titans in Week 2 (77%), and 51 snaps (71%) in Monday night’s 27-7 loss at the Bears.
The 25-year-old declined to go into detail about his wrist injury when it first popped up on the injury report two weeks ago.
While he has made a few splash plays in the last two games, Carter hasn’t been as productive as usual. He has yet to record a sack and has just one quarterback hit. The Eagles defense, as a whole, has just three sacks and has yet to force a turnover.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked how effective Carter can be playing with the injury on Wednesday.
“It’s a negative,” Fangio said. “There’s no way it can’t be, but to be honest with you, he’s done better than I thought he would with it.”
Carter played through shoulder injuries last season. He struggled in last November’s loss to the Bears and underwent procedures on both shoulders and missed four of the next five games.
The former first-round draft pick signed a four-year, $152 million extension in July ahead of training camp that made him the highest-paid interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
ATLANTA — Alec Bohm sat behind a microphone for what could have been the last time as a Phillie on Wednesday morning, and he reflected on his 6½ seasons in the majors as a Phillie, supporting rosters dotted with future Hall of Famers. He will be a free agent this winter, and his inconsistent play combined with his occasional truculence have led to assumptions that he will be moving on.
Then, five hours later, Bohm, hitting in the No. 4 spot, rocked the winning home run in the 10th inning of Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Braves. The Phillies took a 4-3 lead, which held up in the bottom of the inning as rookie Andrew Painter dealt the third of his three scoreless innings, and the season was saved.
With it, Bohm might have saved his future in Philadelphia and erased some of the less jubilant moments of his past.
The Phillies have tried to platoon him, they’ve benched him in the playoffs, they’ve shoved him from the cleanup spot to the bottom of the order, and they’ve put him on the trading block so often he might as well have been a bale of beaver pelts in the Old West. He never much cared, it seemed, until now.
Once a Philly hater, he now desperately wants to be a Phillie for life.
“I would love nothing more than to stay,” he said afterward. “I mean, if you think about it, like, not that often does a guy get to play his whole career in one place.”
“Yeah. You got to show up when it matters,” he said. “I think that’s a big part of it.”
The hit was Bohm’s second of the game, his third of the playoffs, and, with an earlier walk, it marked the fourth time he’d reached base in his nine plate appearances. He also drove in a run in Game 1.
That’s what he does. He doesn’t hit many home runs, but, hitting behind Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner, he has averaged just over 82 RBIs the past five seasons.
Alec Bohm celebrates with teammate Bryson Stott after Bohm hit a go-ahead 10th-inning homer.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“Seems like with Alec, everybody is always looking for more, for more,” interim manager Don Mattingly said before the game. “And he always ends up driving in around 90 runs, gets key hits.”
He has played among veterans his whole career, and he’s played like a veteran lately, to be sure. He’s a rare right-handed bat who plays first and third base and produces runs.
The question: If Bohm moves on, can the Phillies adequately replace him?
And, if so, how much will it cost … and how much will he cost?
Bohm is a homegrown first-round pick, drafted third overall in 2018. He turned 30 in August. He’s a productive everyday player.
He started slowly this season, but there were mitigating circumstances. He was in a contract year. He was suing his parents for mismanaging his money (that has been settled).
Harper stressed that the situation with his family clearly affected Bohm more than anyone let on.
“Man, I’m proud of him,” Harper said. “He’s been through the wringer this year, you know, on and off the field. No person, or player, or anybody should have to go through those situations.”
Philadelphia Phillies Trea Turner doubles against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies Trea Turner celebrates in the dugout after scoring in the first inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies Bryce Harper hits a RBI single in the first inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez throws in the first inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez throws in the first inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerAtlanta Braves pitcher Tyler Mahle throws against the Philadelphia Phillies in game 2.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford singles in the fourth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham (right) talks with Cristopher Sanchez with the bases loaded for the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez reacts after getting out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (right) looks on as Atlanta Braves Sean Murphy was safe at second in the seventh inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies Bryce Harper couldn’t catch a ball off the bat of Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin in the seventh inning of game 2 of the National League Wild Card series in Atlanta, Ga. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (right) prepares to exit the game after the Atlanta Braves scored two runs in the seventh inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies Bryce Harper pauses in right field during a pitching change in the seventh inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber hits a solo homer in the eighth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies Bryce Harper hits a solo homer in the eighth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies Edmundo Sosa leaves the game in the ninth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner drops his bat and helmet after popping up for the third out in the ninth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm celebrates his solo homer in the tenth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies Andrew Painter pitches against the Atlanta Braves in the tenth inning.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto celebrates their win.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm celebrates his solo homer in the tenth inning against the Atlanta Braves in game 2 of the National League Wild Card series in Atlanta, Ga. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. Phillies win 4-3.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
It all has worn on Bohm, both over the years and over the past few months.
“It’s just been a long road, with a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot. I’ve made a lot of really close friends along the way. I’ve had a lot of people to lean on.”
He was an All-Star two years ago, but, really, he’s never been a better player than he is today.
From Aug. 2 to the end of the regular season, Bohm hit .308 with an .818 OPS, destroying lefties in particular.
“I don’t think there was a specific adjustment that I made,” Bohm said before the game. “I kind of just started seeing the ball a little better and got more comfortable.”
Bohm sure is comfortable. He has been as big a part of the Phillies’ late-season surge as anyone. He is entering his prime. There is no reason to end this relationship, now that it’s just heating up.
In 2022, the Phillies planned to either replace Bohm at third base or platoon him with Bryson Stott, but injuries squelched those plans. Still, as Bohm struggled early that season, he was caught on camera on the home field saying, “I [bleeping] hate this place.”
Phillies fans gave Alec Bohm an ovation after making a routine play at third 😅
Bohm apologized for that moment. He’s a kid from Nebraska who played college ball in Kansas, so he had to learn how to survive in a big city. He got better at third base. He moved to first base this year at the trade deadline when the Phillies acquired second baseman Luis Arraez, and there he has shined: He made two fine plays Wednesday.
Certainly, it wasn’t all Bohm on Wednesday.
Cristopher Sánchez delivered 6⅔ innings, allowed three runs, and threw a career-high 116 pitches, helping Mattingly avoid a beleaguered bullpen.
Painter, the fifth starter, made his playoff debut with three scoreless innings of relief — the eighth, ninth, and 10th — the first time he’s ever pitched in relief in those innings.
And, of course, there was Lightning and Thunder.
Bryce Harper’s eighth-inning homer tied the game at 3.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
With their season in peril, Schwarber and Harper hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning and tied the game at 3. That took Sánchez off the hook.
They also absolved Harper and Bohm of defensive miscues in the seventh that gave the Braves two runs and a 3-1 lead.
More than anything, they forced extra innings in a must-win game whose loss not only would have given the Braves a 2-0 series sweep but, considering how disappointing the Phillies have been the past three postseasons, might have ended this era. It almost certainly would have ended Mattingly’s tenure.
Instead, they play Game 3 on Thursday. Bohm will be in the four-hole.
It’s hard to overstate, fairly or not, the low regard the organization has shown Bohm.
The Phillies spent $100 million on Nick Castellanos to serve as their right-handed cleanup hitter from 2022-26, but they released him this offseason after he’d failed in the role. They spent $10 million on his replacement, Adolis García, but he hit just .195 before injury ended his season in June. They traded for Arraez at the deadline and let him hit fourth until he sprained his ankle last week. Stott batted cleanup in the season finale Sunday.
But it’s been Bohm’s spot the past two games, and he has shown up, to the delight of the fans who have ridden him harder than any Phillie in the past six years.
Alec Bohm battled cleanup on Wednesday and will do so again for Thursday’s decisive Game 3.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
He’s a hero tonight, even in Harper’s eyes. Harp is a good and nurturing teammate, but, as a future Hall of Fame No. 3 hitter, in spring training he was disappointed that the Phillies failed to better fortify the No. 4 spot in the offseason.
“I think the numbers in the four-spot weren’t very good last year for our whole team,” Harper said. “Whoever is in that four-spot is going to have a big job to do.”
Bohm got the job done Wednesday, and Harper acknowledged it.
“Today, he’s one of the best players, and probably one of the favorites, in Philadelphia right now,” Harper said.
The Eagles fell to 2-1 Monday night after a disappointing 27-7 loss in Chicago, one that raised many questions about the state of the team through three games.
Here are a few of the big picture issues to consider: Is Vic Fangio’s defense much worse than we originally thought? Is Sean Mannion comfortable calling and sequencing games yet? Does the offense have an identity?
The answers need clarity fast, and maybe they’ll come as soon as Sunday, when the Los Angeles Rams come to town for a 1 p.m. game at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles are entering the meat of their schedule. Next is a Rams team that has Super Bowl aspirations, and after them is a trip to London to face a Jaguars team that just beat the defending AFC champions by almost 30 points.
Here’s a look at some numbers to know ahead of a highly anticipated Eagles-Rams game:
32.9%
Brandon Graham, now away from football and in the podcasting world, got some traction last week after the Eagles’ Week 2 win when he said he thought Jalen Hurts was playing freely and not having to force the ball to certain players.
Maybe he meant the way the offense is designed gives Hurts more answers, or maybe he was referring to Hurts not having to force the ball to A.J. Brown.
Either way, the numbers tell a different story. Because DeVonta Smith is seeing a lot … a lot … of action.
Through three games, 32.9% of Eagles pass attempts have gone toward Smith, the second-highest rate in the NFL behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba (37.9%).
If Smith’s target share number holds up, he would have the highest single-season target share of any Eagles player since at least 2000, according to Next Gen Stats.
There’s some context and curiosity to unpack here. The new Eagles offense asks Hurts to go through pure progression reads rather than the previous iteration that had him diagnose coverages before the snap.
Is Hurts not getting to his second read often enough? Dontayvion Wicks has better separation metrics than Smith through three games, but his 14 targets lag way behind Smith’s 27. Makai Lemon, meanwhile, has nine targets. Dallas Goedert’s injury also eliminated a trusted pass catcher from the equation.
Hurts’ pass protection has been shaky, but he’s also not yet been able to spread the ball around effectively.
Eagles linebackers Zack Baun (left) and Jihaad Campbell tackle Bears tight end Colston Loveland on Monday night.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
15
That’s how many intermediate level throws the Eagles have allowed through three games, according to Next Gen, which classifies an intermediate throw as one that travels 10-to-19 air yards. Five per game doesn’t sound like a lot, but they’re already almost a third of the way to the 49 intermediate throws they allowed in all of 2025.
Then there’s this from Next Gen: their completion percentage allowed in that area is at 65.2%, seventh-highest in the NFL and nearly 20 percentage points higher than their league-low rate of 42.6% in 2025.
What’s going on?
Cooper DeJean hasn’t looked like the All-Pro he was last season, Jihaad Campbell has had some struggles, and the safeties aren’t playing well enough. DeJean and Zack Baun have already been charged with allowing four intermediate catches this year, according to Next Gen, after allowing eight and three, respectively, all of last season.
It’s not going to get much easier. Here comes Puka Nacua (potentially), who has topped 100 receiving yards in each of his last two regular season matchups vs. the Eagles.
Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell could be charged again with slowing Puka Nacua on Sunday, if Nacua returns from injury. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
6.1
Rams coach Sean McVay sounded optimistic Nacua would return this week from his groin injury.
It would be a big boost to a 1-2 Rams team that is much better with him on the field than off it.
According to Next Gen, entering Week 3 and dating back to 2023 when Nacua was drafted, the Rams have averaged a full yard per play more with him on the field (6.1) than with him on the sideline (5.1).
Will better success on first down lead to more play action for the Eagles?Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
4
What if we told you three weeks ago, before the season started, that the Eagles would be averaging four under center play action plays per game?
After all the talk about the new dynamic offense Mannion was going to bring to the Eagles, one that would put Hurts under center and marry the run and pass games, you’d think we were crazy, right?
That’s where they are right now. Their 15 total play action passes are the fewest in the NFL, and they’re not very good when they’re running play action, ranking in the bottom six in the NFL in expected points added (EPA) per play.
What gives? It’s hard to threaten to run the ball when you’re so often behind the sticks. It’s hard to get into favorable play action situations when you’re struggling to run the ball.
The Eagles need to stop taking penalties and getting negative plays, and they need to build on the first-half running performance from Monday in Chicago.
Nick Sirianni (center) and Sean McVay (left) have both won Super Bowls, but McVay has yet to beat Sirianni. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
4-0
Nick Sirianni has never lost to McVay. He’s 4-0 against the Rams coach, including a postseason victory.
The Big East field hockey tournament will come to Temple Sports Complex in November, but whether Temple will be playing in it remains up to the Owls.
After narrowly missing the four-team field last season, Temple entered this fall knowing exactly where it wanted to be by November. Entering Friday’s matchup against Delaware, the Owls are 5-4 and 1-1 in conference play.
For coach Michelle Vittese, having the conference tournament on Temple’s home field has made the pursuit of reaching the postseason difficult to ignore.
“Definitely a little fire, definitely a little bit of anxiety,” Vittese said. “There’s a pressure element to that.”
Vittese has tried to keep that pressure from becoming the Owls’ focus. Rather than measuring each result against whether Temple will qualify in November, she wants her team focused on improving enough to prove it belongs there.
“It’s about, can we provide an experience?” Vittese said. “Can we get to a place at which we hopefully prove that we deserve to be in?”
Temple recently won three straight games, which included a victory over Georgetown in its Big East opener, before Villanova ended the Owls’ streak on Sept. 25. The Owls sit fourth in the Big East standings.
Vittese said her team is still searching for consistency, which has led her staff to tinker with the Owls’ approach. Temple has shifted players between the forward and midfield line, altered its defensive penalty-corner setup, and emphasized increasing its work rate.
Michelle Vittese wants her team to “focus on ourselves” rather than standings or results in the Big East.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer
Some of those changes came after Temple allowed Lafayette to score on three of its five penalty corners in a 4-3 loss on Sept. 4.
“We were constantly making adjustments every day,” Vittese said. “Every practice, every day, depending on the opposition, we [were] also make in-game adjustments based on what we’re seeing.”
Temple has also changed how it measures effort. The Owls previously reviewed data from their GPS tracking system after games, but the coaching staff has begun using the system during training to receive immediate feedback on players’ work rates.
“It’s a real-time information feedback system,” Vittese said. “It’s a lie detector. Like, are you working hard or are you not? And so you can say you are, but the numbers really tell a story.”
Goalkeeper Alex Lepore sees another area that needs improvement: how the Owls start games.
Lepore said Temple has often played its best field hockey after halftime.
“We’re very much a third-quarter, second-half team, which is great,” Lepore said. “We get back for the game, but we really need just to come out a little stronger, set the tone, and set the pace of the game early on.”
Vittese has emphasized the importance of connection and trust in practice, including how players react when a teammate makes a mistake. After noticing an instance when a struggling player received little encouragement during a game, Vittese challenged the Owls to become more deliberate about picking each other up.
“How relentlessly positive and empowering of our own teammates can we be?” Vittese said. “That’s actually been a practice point.”
Temple finished 3-4 in Big East play last season, the same conference record as Villanova, but the Wildcats claimed the fourth and final tournament spot.
Last year’s results have only motivated the Owls in 2026, says sophomore midfielder Lucia Magro.
“We always can do better,” Magrobut. “But we’re [feeling] really confident.”
Temple still has five Big East games remaining, including matchups against UConn, which is first in the conference’s standings, Old Dominion, and defending conference champion Liberty, before the tournament arrives at its home field.
And Vittese does not want her players consumed with where they could be in November.
“Thinking about anything other than what we can do excellently to be successful is a waste of time,” Vittese said. “We need to focus on ourselves.”
Black and red mats stretched out underneath dozens of students pivoting across the floor on the balls of their feet as they found the rhythm to strike the bag in front of them. On one side of the room, several flags hung on the wall, representing each nationality of students. Across from that, 33-year-old Christina Massie trained beside 69-year-old Don Spector.
Every Monday, students walk into Fight Club Philadelphia on Girard Avenue, take off their sneakers, and prepare to participate in the gym’s fight fitness classes — hitting a bag for 20 minutes, followed by weightlifting for another 20 minutes with a five-minute cooldown.
“We truly transcend sports,” said 57-year-old Michael Sulit. “I’ve had Croatian fighters train next to Russian fighters. As sick as the world is, there’s no barriers, no borders. We have 69-year-old men training with 24-year-old women. There’s no boundaries.”
Video: The father-daughter duo is steering away from a ‘traditional’ martial arts gym
The martial arts gym with a focus on striking has made it its mission to create a more inclusive community in combat sports and welcomes students of all levels. And father-daughter duo Michael and Shea Sulit are leading the charge.
“It’s such a tight-knit community, and that’s something me and my dad really take pride in because the gym is somewhere that can be intimidating for a lot of people, and that’s the last thing we want our space to feel like,” said Shea, 31. “Fighting is something that’s intimidating, and some gyms can really put a lot of pressure on you to fit into the mold. But we like to take the everyday person and give them somewhere where they feel strong and empowered.”
Fighting has been in Michael’s blood since his childhood in the Philippines. Martial arts was part of students’ daily schedules at Central Philippine University, an American-based school.
“We didn’t have football or basketball or baseball,” Michael said. “We had martial arts. So, when I was a kid in school, gym for us wasn’t like dodgeball or duck, duck, goose. It’s martial arts. And if you’re good at it, your gym teacher calls your dad and goes, ‘Yeah, this kid’s going to need fight camp.’”
Michael went to a fight academy at age 7. Six months later, he was taking fights that adults would gamble on. At 10 years old, he moved to Philadelphia, where his love for combat sports grew with the rise of the UFC.
Michael was working in corporate sales for a food distributor for 20 years — but it wasn’t enough. That’s when he came up with the idea for Fight Club Philadelphia.
“It was a passion project,” Michael said. “It was crazy; it was full-on insanity. Everyone in my whole family said, ‘You’re freaking insane; you’re nuts.’”
The gym opened in March 2018 on Market Street. Nearly two years later, Shea joined the business, coaching a number of classes at the gym.
”Some days are good. Some days are bad,” Michael said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a blessing. She tells me when I’m wrong; she tells me when I’m out of line. And I’m blessed. I see her every day. Who can say that, you know?”
Michael Sulit (right) and his daughter, Shea, run Fight Club Philadelphia together.
‘Everybody should be able to protect themselves’
Michael followed the violence in the city closely as he raised two daughters, Shea and Arden, who attended Temple. A year before he opened his gym, a Temple student, Jenna Burleigh, was murdered after meeting a man at a bar.
Seeing something like this happen so close to home made Michael realize he wanted to find a way to help the community.
“Being a girl dad played a big part in this,” Michael said. “I think that everybody should be able to protect themselves and be empowered, especially women.”
Unlike most MMA gyms, Fight Club Philadelphia has a majority female members, and several compete regionally.
“Learning self-defense as a woman in general was extremely important for me, and then also living in an urban setting furthered that,” Shea said. “So it’s something I really wanted to take seriously, but then I just fell in love with it and turned it more into a passion.
“It’s an incredibly male-dominated field — most sports are. Men are supposed to be masculine, women are not. We’re not supposed to be seen in that light, and I really just wanted to change that. I wanted to give women the opportunity to step into that space and be ‘masculine’ if they want to.”
Fight Club Philadelphia has a majority female clientele.
‘It’s not a traditional gym’
Fight Club Philadelphia offers a range of classes for beginners and experts, including Thai Pads, Next Level Team, and its most popular class, Fight Fitness.
“People come here to get fit and learn how to fight and lift and get in shape,” Michael said. “It’s not a gym; it’s a family. It’s a third space, and you can really make some good relationships.”
Diana Mousetis, a 36-year-old Philadelphia native, has been a member of the gym since 2018. After watching a fight on TV at the bar, she decided to give it a shot and has never left.
“It’s a wonderful community here. It’s what keeps me coming back,” Mousetis said. “Knowing how to defend yourself is really important, especially as a woman. It’s definitely come in handy for me, unfortunately. … When you have nothing else on hand, you’ve got your two fists, and you’ve got feet, knees, and elbows, too. So learn how to use them.”
In the aftermath of Monday night’s loss to the Chicago Bears, Jalen Hurts said he posed a question to the Eagles.
“‘Who are we?’” Hurts recalled on Wednesday. “‘Ask yourself that question because that’s a choice you can make, and being deliberate and intentional on how we move forward, so we can continue to improve.’”
The Eagles showed in their first loss of the season that they’re still figuring out their identity. The offense took strides in the run game in the first half — especially on their outside zone runs — but that progress dissipated in the second as they got behind the sticks with negative plays and penalties.
Chicago held them scoreless in the second half, part of a larger trend that is becoming a burgeoning concern for the Eagles offense. They’ve scored 20 of their 55 points this season in the second half. The Eagles have averaged 4.27 yards per play in the second half, which ranks 30th in the NFL.
Still, the Eagles offense is just three games into the season under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. Hurts seemed to express an understanding that the growing pains are part of learning a new offense.
“We want to win, and I think us onboarding new things and us learning new things, a lot of that is just part of the process of us becoming who we are,” Hurts said. “So I’ve talked about continuity and building that continuity, building that chemistry. Us coming together, staying together, and finding our flow, finding out what this team this year is going to be.”
To Hurts, losing provides an opportunity to learn, even if it stings momentarily.
“I hate it more than anything in this world,” Jalen Hurts said on Wednesday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“I hate it more than anything in this world,” Hurts said. “At the same time, we need it, and it’s something that is natural and a part of the process of winning. To win, you have to lose. You have to build resilience and character within that, reflecting on it, choosing to learn from it.”
The Eagles have plenty to learn from their loss, but they don’t have much time to dwell on the past. Coming off a Monday night game, they have a short week to prepare for their next opponent: The 1-2 Los Angeles Rams, whose record doesn’t reflect their talent.
It’s still early in the season, but the Eagles have just 14 more guaranteed opportunities in the form of regular-season games to establish an identity. While Hurts acknowledged that the teaching moments are part of the process, he also voiced a sense of urgency as they seek to collectively answer the question he posed to the team.
“I would like it to come as soon as possible,” Hurts said. “Competitively, it’s like, let’s do [it] by any means necessary. Let’s find a way to win. At the same time, it’s a process, and you know it’s not just one individual. I think it’s a team.
“It’s a team, and I think expectations are sometimes surrounding one thing when in reality, all these are moving parts, and we’ve all got to work collectively to find the results that we want.”
Against the Bears, Hurts said the Eagles put a collective emphasis on establishing the run, especially given its struggles in the first two games of the season.
The run game showed flashes, as Saquon Barkley amassed 73 yards on 11 carries in the first half alone. Against the Washington Commanders and the Tennessee Titans, the passing game had its moments, highlighted by the explosive and clutch plays orchestrated by Hurts.
Can the Eagles put together a well-rounded showing in both facets of the offense, all while protecting the football and staying disciplined?
“As we continue to put an emphasis on different streams of our game, we’ve got to be able to put it all together, right?” Hurts said. “We’ve been a team that protects the ball traditionally. None of that should change. Protecting the ball has a lot to do with understanding, our thinking, everything being second nature, just going out there and flowing.”
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense have 20 second-half points this season.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
At the same time, though, Hurts said he doesn’t care how the Eagles look, so long as the team wins. The opportunities have been there. He said the Eagles need to stop leaving “meat on the bone,” especially in the second halves of games.
Ultimately, for Hurts, the Eagles’ progress is about looking inward and focusing on nailing down the aspects of the offense that are within their control.
“Not worried about anybody else necessarily,” Hurts said. “Just us trying to master our stuff, coming together and do things the way we want to do them, and have some confidence in that.”
Alec Bohm delivered the game-winning shot. He’ll be a free agent this winter, but is this season-saving blast enough to keep this former Philly hater in town?
The Flyers, who entered the season with increased expectations, were quickly humbled in front of the Xfinity Mobile Arena crowd Wednesday. They laid an egg in a 7-0 loss to the Penguins that equaled their largest ever defeat in a season opener.
Before the disappointing loss, the Flyers rolled out the orange carpet for player walk-ins, a fan fest was held at Stateside Live!, and Charles Barkley made an appearance.
Next: The Flyers hit the road to face the New Jersey Devils for their first road trip of the season tonight (7 p.m., ESPN+, Hulu).
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio took responsibility for not having his players in position to execute on Monday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Vic Fangio didn’t want to point a finger at any one player for the third-quarter Chicago Bears touchdown Monday night that put the Eagles in a two-score hole during their eventual 27-7 defeat, but he did take the blame for the overall effort.
And the veteran defensive coordinator confirmed that the team’s safety rotation will continue for Sunday’s game against the Rams.
After Monday’s costly interception, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni affirmed that he “has faith” in his backup quarterbacks.
And on the most recent episode of unCovering the Birds, The Inquirer’s Eagles podcast, Jeff McLane and Jeff Neiburg break down Monday’s loss.
Next: The Birds are back at the Linc on Sunday to face the Rams (1 p.m., Fox29).
Jaylen Brown practices on Wednesday at the Sixers’ practice facility in Camden.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
After spending his first 10 seasons with Boston, Jaylen Brown was traded to a Sixers team he was “trained to hate, probably.” So Tyrese Maxey has plenty of experience facing Brown. Now, though, they’re teammates. So what’s that like?
Mark McKenzie is returning to the Union in early 2027.Jonathan Tannenwald
On Wednesday, Mark McKenzie’s professional career came full circle when the Union announced that he will join the team on Jan. 1.
So what brought him back to Chester?
It was a combination of factors, but now he brings a wealth of experience from playing in various European clubs and leagues back home — a home on and off the pitch.
Next: The Union are off for the FIFA break but return on Oct. 10 to face Real Salt Lake (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).
We asked: What’s your most painful sports memory and why? Among your responses:
For Philadelphia sports fans, painful memories sometimes seem like a rite of passage. An untimely penalty at the end of Super Bowl LVII for the Eagles, a Joe Carter home run to seal the 1993 World Series for the Phillies, or a narrow miss at a blocked punt attempt from ND Kalu in the 2002 NFC Championship Game against the Rams.
But for me — nothing will ever quite erase the sting of the 2003 NFC Championship Game loss 27–10 to the Buccaneers a year later. It wasn’t just the final Eagles Game ever at Veterans Stadium — it was yet another chance at the Super Bowl for only the second time in franchise history. A seventy-yard kickoff return to open the game by Brian Mitchell, an early Duce Staley touchdown run, and then an Eagles interception seemed to make the win all but complete. But the next three quarters were dominated by Tampa Bay who would go on to win the Super Bowl. —Michael L.
My most painful memory is the year the Tampa Bay Bucs came to Philly on a cold day for the NFC Championship Game and they upset the Eagles. I was in the stands with my 20 year old son. After Brian Mitchell returned the opening kickoff into Bucs territory and Duce Staley scored a touchdown only a few plays later we were ecstatic and I was screaming “We’re going to the Super Bowl Son!” as I had been chosen in the Eagles season ticket holders drawing and had purchased 2 Super Bowl tickets through the Eagles organization. Our flight to San Diego was booked and our hotel room was reserved. We were ready to go and thought for sure we would soon be on our way. Unfortunately it didn’t quite work out that way. — Bob A.
Losing the NFC championship to the Bucs in the last game played at the Vet. Finally, “our time” had arrived, or so it seemed. A hot start to the game gave way to misery that wouldn’t be salved until Super Bowl 52. — Dave K.
I’m old enough to remember a double disappointment in the 1964 pennant races. Growing up in Baltimore, I was twelve years old then, and primed for an Orioles-Phillies World Series. The Orioles led the American League through the first half of September, and then stumbled while the White Sox and Yankees got hot, so there went that hope. And I need not recount the last handful of games for the Phillies. So that hurt big time to have to watch the Cardinals and Yankees in the Series that year.
Every bit as painful — and far more acute since it was a single eventthat occurred over a matter of a few seconds — was Leon Stickel’s completely wrong missed offsides call against the Islanders in 1980. How he could miss Butch Goring as much as eight to ten feet offsides is beyond me. That blown call could be argued as the point of departure that cost the Flyers the 1980 Stanley Cup.
Then there was game 7 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals: the Flyers held a tenuous lead on the road in Edmonton after two periods, and unlike other painful memories, nothing untoward happened. They simply gave until there was nothing left, and Edmonton had a tiny bit in reserve: just enough to put the Oilers over the top.
There are other grim memories also in the hunt: Mitch Williams’ pitch in the 1993 Series that wound up in the seats; Donovan McNabb’s problems in the Super Bowl; the Flyers’ offense drying up in the spring of 1997; Patrick Kane’s overtime goal in Game 6 of the 2010 Cup finals … you get the idea. — John B.
Naturally your first memory of painful Philly losses has to be the 1964 Phillies collapse, but as all Philly sports fans know we have more than our share of such. For me one of the most painful losses was the 1980 Dick Vermeil’s 12-4 NFC Champion Eagles losing to the Oakland Raiders 10-27 in a game we all thought for sure they would win. — Everett S.
The most painful sports memory in my lifetime will always be the 1964 Phillies losing 10 straight to blow a 6 and a half game lead with 12 to play. There were so many happy memories that year and they had the pennant won — but then they didn’t. That was a long time ago, but it is something that unfortunately I will never forget. — Tom E.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Lochlahn March, Scott Lauber, Marcus Hayes, Jackie Spiegel, Ryan Novozinsky, Jeff McLane, Jeff Neiburg, Ariel Simpson, Gina Mizell, Mike Livingston, Chris Hine, Kerith Gabriel, Conor Smith, and Mia Messina.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Thanks for reading along! Kerith will be back in your inboxes tomorrow — as will the Phillies. — Maria
