Those were all the consequences of Michigan football’s upset victory over Ohio State on Nov. 30, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State — who went on to win the 2024-25 College Football Playoff — entered the game with massive expectations, not only its national championship aspirations, but its hopes of avoiding a four-game losing streak to the Wolverines.

Those expectations are even bigger a season later, with the Wolverines in line to potentially make the Big Ten championship and CFP with a win in ‘The Game.’ Ryan Day and Co. may have won a national championship last season, but all Ohio State coaches are ultimately judged by how they fare against ‘That Team Up North.’

One year removed from that scene in Ohio Stadium, here’s what to remember of the brawl that immediately followed ‘The Game’ between Michigan and Ohio State:

Ohio State-Michigan brawl, revisited

Michigan entered the 2024 version of ‘The Game’ as a 19.5-point underdog vs. the Buckeyes, against whom they had won three straight games.

What was initially viewed as a likely beatdown for Ohio State quickly turned into a defensive struggle, with the Wolverines persevering and winning 13-10 with walk-off 21-yard field goal from kicker Dominic Zvada.

Following the field goal, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day and Michigan coach Sherrone Moore shook hands at midfield. Everything seemed like a calm, normal postgame — that is, until Wolverines players walked toward midfield to celebrate with multiple Michigan flags in hand.

After Wolverines players planted a flag at the midfield ‘O’ at the 50-yard line, a scuffle between both teams broke out involving multiple players, lasting about 30 seconds:

During the calm, a Michigan player carried the flag, parading it around the stadium, when Ohio State linebacker Jack Sawyer ripped it away to a loud cheer from the Buckeyes fans. This, naturally, led to more fights.

‘In videos and photos reviewed after the incident, a Michigan officer is seen directing pepper spray at OSU players, and then a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy sprayed into the air toward Michigan players. Players were told to get back.’

Following the fight — which lasted about four minutes — no charges were pressed and the usage of pepper spray was reviewed. The Big Ten fined both schools $100,000 for the fight.

Before the 2025 season, Moore said he had a discussion with his team and that the flags would not be planted in the future. The 2025 matchup takes place in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“There’ll be no more flag-planting,’ Moore said at Big Ten Media Days. ‘There’ll be no more grabbing the flag.”

Day said he has had discussions with his team as well about how to handle such a situation in the future.

Curiously, Michigan and Ohio State weren’t the only teams to have issues with flag-planting during Rivalry Week 2024. A similar situation broke out in Tallahassee, Florida, later that evening after Florida took down rival Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida defensive end George Gumbs Jr. planted the Gators’ flag on the Florida State logo at midfield, leading to a brawl.

FSU coach Mike Norvell grabbed the flag and tossed it on the ground after exchanging words with then-Florida coach Billy Napier. Fights also broke out after North Carolina-North Carolina State and at Arizona State and Arizona, for similar flag-planting incidents.

In December 2024, following last year’s Michigan incident, Ohio introduced a bill to make flag-planting illegal at Ohio State’s stadium. Though it will be another year before ‘The Game’ returns to Columbus, it will be interesting to see how Ohio State — and Michigan — players react should the Buckeyes win.

Texas’s win over Texas A&M will likely not be enough to secure a College Football Playoff spot due to earlier losses.
Mississippi has locked in a playoff berth after defeating Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.
Georgia’s victory against Georgia Tech secures them a spot in the SEC championship game.

It’s too little and too late for No. 16 Texas, which pulled out a 27-17 win against No. 3 Texas A&M but will very likely still be sidelined from the College Football Playoff because of losses to No. 1 Ohio State, Florida and Georgia.

With so many contenders for only so many at-large spots, the Longhorns’ losses will offset three outstanding wins against the Aggies, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 14 Vanderbilt.

How do the Longhorns make the cut? With absolute insanity involving all of the two-loss teams still in the playoff mix, led by No. 10 Alabama.

Possible, sure, but the odds are very low. In the end, the Longhorns will come up short because of the awful and avoidable loss to the Gators.

Now the Aggies wait to see if Auburn can knock off No. 10 Alabama in the Iron Bowl. If so, they’d have a chance to beat No. 4 Georgia and slide back into the top four of the final playoff rankings.

That’s the big fallout from a loss in Austin: A&M now faces the likelihood of coming up short of the top four and having to play in the opening round instead of breezing into the quarterfinals.

The one silver lining is that a playoff berth was guaranteed before Black Friday; the Aggies could even finish at No. 5, which would earn a matchup at home against the Group of Five’s playoff team.

That’s a helpful safety net and a nice way to take the sting out of a rivalry loss. But A&M would rather have two wins against Texas since the series was rekindled last season. Instead, the Aggies have lost both games, and this one will particularly sting with the missed opportunity of reaching their first SEC title games.

The Longhorns and Aggies lead the winners and losers from Black Friday’s college football action:

Winners

Mississippi

Half of the wait is over for No. 6 Mississippi. The Rebels are locked into the playoff after ending the regular season with a 38-19 win in the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. They’re slated to land an at-large berth and be one of the host teams in the opening round. Now, Ole Miss shifts to the wait for Lane Kiffin, who is expected to announce on Saturday whether he’s remaining with the program — such as he did amid Auburn’s interest three years ago — or leaving for an SEC rival in LSU.

Georgia

Combined with No. 3 Texas A&M losing to No. 16 Texas, beating No. 19 Georgia Tech 16-9 will secure No. 4 Georgia a spot in the SEC championship game opposite either Mississippi or No. 10 Alabama depending on what happens in the Iron Bowl. At a minimum, the Bulldogs were able to bolster a résumé worthy of the top four while also dealing the knockout blow to the Jackets’ playoff hopes. Georgia has won eight in a row, three against ranked competition, and is rounding into form defensively just in time to make a run at a third national championship under coach Kirby Smart. But the Gunner Stockton-led offense is struggling and has to clean things up before the postseason.

Utah

No. 14 Utah still has a slim path to the Big 12 championship game after riding a 21-point fourth quarter to a 31-21 win against Kansas. As in last week’s shoutout victory against Kansas State, Utah had to overcome a porous run defense that gave up 290 yards on 5.7 yards per play. From here, the Utes need one of No. 7 Texas Tech or No. 11 Brigham Young to be upset on Saturday by West Virginia or Central Florida, respectively. Even without playing for the conference crown, this represents a highly successful year for Utah coming off last season’s five-win finish and a major reboot on offense.

Iowa

The Hawkeyes’ big-brother bullying of Nebraska continued with a 40-16 road win in Lincoln that plainly illustrates the wide gap still separating these two programs. While each of the previous seven meetings in this series had been decided by a possession, this one was blown open in the second half: Iowa notched a safety early in the third quarter to lead 26-16 and then put the Cornhuskers away with another pair of touchdown drives. Narrow losses to Iowa State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 5 Oregon and No. 20 Southern California will end up defining this season, but blowing out Nebraska allows Iowa to end the year on a very high note.

North Texas

North Texas cruised past Temple 52-25 behind 366 yards and three scores from Drew Mestemaker and will meet No. 23 Tulane for the American championship, assuming the Green Wave beat Charlotte on Saturday. Though this won’t be guaranteed until Tuesday’s penultimate playoff rankings, the winner between the Mean Green and Green Wave is virtually assured of earning the Group of Five’s automatic berth. Coach Eric Morris will leave for Oklahoma State after this season but will coach through the playoff if North Texas makes the bracket.

Losers

Nebraska

Hey, at least Nebraska didn’t lose to Iowa on a late field goal. This was much, much worse. After hanging around Iowa early and getting the breaks they needed to finally notch a win against their rival, the Cornhuskers collapsed in the second half and were run off their home field in the low point of Matt Rhule’s three-year tenure. Amid more preseason hype and a strong start, Nebraska ends the regular season at 7-5, just one game better than last year. The Cornhuskers also went 1-3 after Rhule’s contract extension was announced.

Kansas

This feels like even more of a lost season than last year, when injuries played a bigger role in keeping the Jayhawks short of bowl eligibility. Once 4-2 after beating Central Florida in October, Kansas limped to the finish with five losses in six games. The defense cratered down the stretch, giving up at least 31 points four times in the second half, and the offense committed way too many turnovers — including a pick-six in the fourth quarter on Friday — to pick up the slack.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson celebrated a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles by taking off his shirt after his post-game speech in the locker room.
The Bears have won eight of their last nine games, a significant turnaround from the previous season.
Johnson deserves credit for rebuilding the team, particularly by strengthening the offensive line and instilling belief in the roster.

PHILADELPHIA – If Ben Johnson wasn’t yet beloved in all of Chicago, the Bears’ head coach might be by next Tuesday. 

Following his team’s 24-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday, Johnson performed the increasingly popular “good, better, best … never let it rest … until your good gets better … and your better gets best” refrain that goes viral with every Bears win, which is becoming more common as the team has won eight of its last nine and five in a row. 

This time, though, amid the borderline-rageful excitement he typically exhibits, Johnson ripped off his shirt – coming through on a bet with famous Chicago hot-dog establishment “The Wiener’s Circle” that said it would give away free hot dogs the Tuesday after a victory if Johnson popped his top. (The eatery also gave away free hot dogs earlier this season when Caleb Williams threw four touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys). 

“He’s a man of the people,” Williams said. “Let’s say that.”

He’s also the man who is most responsible for the Bears’ turnaround. One year ago this week, the team suffered an embarrassing Thanksgiving Day loss and fired former coach Matt Eberflus. In 2025, they knocked off the defending Super Bowl champions with 281 rushing yards and a stout defensive performance. 

“I think it’s the same message we’ve been sending every week that we’re just going to compete our tails off for 60 minutes,” Johnson said after the game. “I think that’s what I know about our group. They have a lot of belief in what we’re doing. They have a lot of belief in themselves. They have a lot of belief in this coaching staff. And so that confidence just starts to develop and continues to bubble over. So, I think we have a really confident group right now and we’re excited for these next five games.”

Shirts will start coming off throughout the Windy City if the Bears keep playing like they did in Philadelphia.

Before Friday’s victory, the Bears could have been considered a cute story. Maybe they’re still outside of serious Super-Bowl contender status. But any wise team would treat them as such. Just ask the Eagles, who shut down the Detroit Lions’ backfield duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in prime time less than two weeks ago.

Johnson has created this team in his image. He had an elite offensive line during his time as the Lions’ offensive coordinator and replicated that in Year 1 with the Bears by bringing in veteran interior linemen into the picture; the team traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and signed center Drew Dalman.

Eagles defensive lineman Jordan Davis credited that trio and their explosive lateral movement specifically for affecting the run game Friday. 

“Capturing shoulders, very savvy players,” Davis explained. “It kind of throws us fits because we have to adjust the way we play blocks, take on blocks.”

Add in a second-year quarterback who did not have his most efficient game thanks to some unsuitable (windy) conditions, a defense that leads the league in takeaways and helped the Bears win the turnover battle against the cautious Eagles, and Johnson has plenty to work with. 

Of course, he’s given his players the ultimate tools a staff can bestow upon its players – trust, belief, confidence, all those buzzy terms that people use when things are going well. 

Expectations are for people outside of Halas Hall, Williams said. For the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, it’s who the Bears have been all season. Critics emerged following the 0-2 start to the season. The adulators are around amid the 9-1 stretch. 

“We understand where we are. We understand who we are. We understand where we’re going to be as a team, and you focus on that,” Williams said. “You focus on the betterment of the team as a group, and you come out with these wins week to week and you don’t let the noise, the outside noise, negative moments, shine too bright within us.” 

Williams truly believes the Bears’ best ball is ahead of them. That they’re still winning games is what excites him. 

“We haven’t hit our pinnacle yet,” he said. 

When he watches the film, Williams sees the small details he missed or the explosive plays left on the table.  

“In the moment, you want to hit those, you want to have these moments and just hit on all cylinders,” he said. “So that’s coming and we’re going to show our best ball here soon.”

The Bears are definitely good. They’re definitely better than they were last season, or even the start of 2025. But best? Well, that’s for them to decide now. Their coach has already laid out the path. 

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin had a postgame encounter with a Mississippi reporter following the Rebels’ 38-19 Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State on Friday, Nov. 28.

It appears the Ole Miss coach took issue with Garrett using a derogatory term on a podcast to describe Kiffin weighing his options on his coaching future. That has included entertaining offers from outside Ole Miss, most notably LSU.

Ole Miss picked up its 11th win of the season on Friday, the first time the Rebels have accomplished that feat in program history. The Rebels will now wait to learn whether they can make the SEC championship game next week or begin preparing immediately for a likely College Football Playoff berth.

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Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll in the NBA Cup and the league.

The Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 129-119 for their sixth consecutive win and they improved to 4-0 in the NBA Cup to win West Group B. The Lakers will have home-court advantage when they take on the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 10 in the quarterfinals.

Doncic picked up his fourth consecutive double-double with 35 points and 11 assists in the win. The league’s leading scorer has scored at least 33 points in each of the last five games.

Austin Reaves had a game-high 38 points as the Lakers improved to 14-4.

The game marked the return of Anthony Davis, who was making his first appearance at Crypto.com Arena since he went to Dallas in February’s Doncic trade. He had 12 points in his first game back from a calf injury. P.J. Washington led the Mavericks with 22 points.

The Mavericks, who led at the half, have lost five of their last six games, including the last three games.

USA TODAY provided live updates on the game. Here are game highlights:

Lakers vs. Mavericks highlights

NBA Cup quarterfinal matchups set

All times p.m. ET

Dec. 9

Miami at Orlando, 6

New York at Toronto, 8:30

Dec. 10

Phoenix at Oklahoma City, 7:30

San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 10

The semifinals will be on Dec. 13 and the final on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas.

Final score: Lakers 129, Mavericks 119

The Lakers are undefeated so far in the NBA Cup and are heading to the quarterfinals. Luka Doncic had his fourth consecutive double-double, with 35 points and 11 assists against his former team.

2 minutes left

Lakers lead 127-117 after a LeBron James 3-pointer.

Less than 5 minutes left

Lakers lead by eight, 119-111.

Lakers extend lead

Rui Hachimura hits a 3-pointer. The Lakers have an 8-0 run and a 117-110 lead.

Mavericks take lead but Lakers respond

Anthony Davis scores over LeBron James for a 110-109 lead, but the Lakers come back and retake the lead.

Mavericks pull within one

Anthony Davis makes a big block and Ryan Nembhard hits a 3-pointer to cut the Mavericks’ deficit to 109-108.

Fourth quarter underway

Lakers lead by four as they look to extend their five-game winning streak.

End of third quarter: Lakers 98, Mavericks 94

Naji Marshall recovers from a blocked shot to help pull Dallas within four points heading into the fourth quarter. He has 12 points off the bench. P.J. Washington leads the Mavericks with 16 points.

The Lakers’ Luka Doncic is having a big night with 30 points and eight assists.

Luka Doncic points tonight

He’s up to 30 points late in the third quarter, hitting a three-pointer to extend the Lakers’ lead after the Mavericks pulled closer.

Lakers pulling away

It’s 84-77 as the Lakers are on a 22-8 run. LeBron has five points in the run. He goes to the bench.

Lakers take lead

It’s 74-73 after a 12-4 Lakers run. Then LeBron James makes it 76-73 with a driving layup.

Austin Reaves rubbing jaw

He’s sore after a collision with Cooper Flagg but stays in the game.

Third quarter underway

Mavericks have a two-point lead as they look to end their two-game losing streak.

End of first half: Mavericks 62, Lakers 60

Dallas takes the lead late in the second quarter and builds it two points after some back-and-forth action. Cooper Flagg scored some key points. P.J. Washington and Max Christie lead the Mavericks with 11 points each. Former Laker Anthony Davis has six points.

Austin Reaves leads the Lakers with 19 points and Luka Doncic is right behind him with 18, despite being double-teamed. LeBron James has been limited to two points but has six assists and three rebounds.

Mavericks take lead

It’s 48-47 Dallas.

Lakers up by one

Los Angeles leads 39-38. Austin Reaves now leads the Lakers with 12 points. Doncic is back in the game.

Second quarter underway

Luka Doncic on the bench to start the quarter after playing the entire first quarter.

End of first quarter: Lakers 28, Mavericks 22

Luka Doncic is putting on a good show against his former team. He has a game-high 10 points, plus three assists. Anthony Davis has been limited to two points. Max Christie leads the Mavericks with six points.

Lakers up by a point

Los Angeles leads 17-16. Luka Doncic is tied for the team lead with five points. Anthony Davis has two points for Dallas.

Lakers lead 10-7

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd calls a timeout after Austin Reaves put the Lakers up 10-7.

LeBron James dunk

Luka Doncic lobs to LeBron James for a dunk and a 5-0 Lakers lead.

Game underway

Lakers and Mavericks in the final game of the NBA Cup first round.

What TV channel is Lakers vs Mavericks on today?

TV: N/A
Streaming: Amazon Prime

Lakers vs Mavericks time today

Date: Friday, Nov. 28
Time: 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT)
Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles)

The Lakers and the Mavericks are scheduled to tip off from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).

Lakers starters

Mavericks’ starting lineup

Anthony Davis will get the start and see his first action since Oct. 29, when he suffered a calf strain.

Anthony Davis will play

Anthony Davis arrives

This would be his first game against the Lakers in Los Angeles since the trade.

Anthony Davis injury update

Davis plans to play against the Lakers, according to ESPN’s Charania. He reported that Davis would sit out Saturday’s game against the Clippers.

Anthony Davis injury update

Davis is listed as questionable for the Mavericks’ NBA Cup game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Nov. 28 and could make his return to the court after missing nearly a month of action with a calf strain.Davis practiced with the team on Wednesday and indicated the team’s plan is for him to play in one of the Mavericks’ next two games. Dallas coach Jason Kidd told reporters the team would decide if Davis could play against either the Lakers or Saturday against the Clippers, but that Davis had already been ruled out of appearing in both games on back-to-back nights.

Is Texas football … back?

If you base that answer on a dominant second-half performance from Arch Manning and Co. against No. 3 Texas A&M (No. 3 in College Football Playoff rankings) then the answer may be a resounding yes.

Regardless, the second half performance from Manning and the Longhorns handed Texas one of its biggest wins of the season for its College Football Playoff picture, a 27-17 win over Texas A&M at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

It’s the third top-15 ranked win of the season for Steve Sarkisian’s squad, and their sixth win in their last seventh games.

Manning was magnificent in the second half for the Longhorns, as he threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo and broke off for a 35-yard rushing score of his own in the half alone. He completed 14 of 29 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown, adding seven rushes for 53 yards and another score.

With its win, Texas has now won back-to-back games against its in-state foe in the last two seasons, and eliminates Texas A&M from contention for the SEC championship game

It also poses the question of whether the Longhorns can sneak into the College Football Playoff. Here’s what to know on what the Longhorns’ win over the Aggies does to their CFP picture:

Texas football rankings: Can Longhorns make CFP after Texas A&M win?

Though it might be a long shot, especially since Texas is knocked out of the SEC championship game, the Longhorns making the CFP is not completely out of consideration.

The reason is for the type of wins that Texas has on its resume, and two of its three losses came in Week 1 against now-top-ranked Ohio State and No. 4 Georgia. Of their nine wins, three of them have come against teams that were ranked in the top 15 of the US LBM Coaches Poll at the time of the contest: No. 6 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, No. 11 Vanderbilt in Week 11 and No. 3 Texas A&M.

The only ‘bad’ loss for Texas came on the road against Florida back in September.

The real telling moment of whether Sarkisian’s squad can make the CFP is on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. ET, when the CFP selection committee unveils its fifth CFP top 25 rankings. Texas came in at No. 16 in the fourth CFP rankings and likely will be in the top 12 of this week’s rankings with the win over Texas A&M. Whether that’s enough to avoid being jumped by a conference champion after Week 15 remains to be seen.

The committee did reward Oregon for its top-25 ranked win at home in Week 13 against USC by bumping the Ducks a spot ahead of Ole Miss in this week’s rankings. The Longhorns now have two top-15-ranked wins at home.

Despite all that, history doesn’t side well with Texas as a three-loss team. Using last year’s 12-team CFP bracket and final CFP top 25 rankings, there was just one three-loss team that made the field: Clemson, because it won the ACC championship game. If the Tigers had not beaten SMU in the ACC title game, they would not have made the field.

Most notably, Alabama was left out of the field as a three-loss team last year, though the Crimson Tide’s three losses last season were a bit different than the Longhorns’ losses. Two of Alabama’s losses last season came against unranked opponents in Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, with the latter being the knife in the coffin for Kalen DeBoer’s squad.

Texas football schedule 2025

Here’s a look at Texas’ 2025 schedule, including past scores:

Saturday, Aug. 30: No. 3 Ohio State 14, Texas 7
Saturday, Sept. 6: Texas 38, San Jose State 7
Saturday, Sept. 13: Texas 27, UTEP 10
Saturday, Sept. 20: Texas 55, Sam Houston 0
Saturday, Sept. 27: BYE
Saturday, Oct. 4: Florida 29, Texas 21 *
Saturday, Oct. 11: Texas 23, No. 6 Oklahoma 6 *
Saturday, Oct. 18: Texas 16, Kentucky 13 (OT) *
Saturday, Oct. 25: Texas 45, Mississippi State 38 (OT) *
Saturday, Nov. 1: Texas 34, No. 9 Vanderbilt 31 *
Saturday, Nov. 8: BYE
Saturday, Nov. 15: No. 5 Georgia 35. Texas 10 *
Saturday, Nov. 22: Texas 52, Arkansas 37 *
Friday, Nov. 28: Texas XX, No. 3 Texas A&M XX *

* Denotes SEC game

The road to MLS Cup 2025 has reached its final four.

Here’s what’s on tap:

Inter Miami vs. New York City FC — Saturday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. ET (Apple TV)
San Diego FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps — Saturday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. ET (Apple TV)

In the Eastern Conference final, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami host the biggest underdog left in what has been a very chalk MLS Cup Playoffs, New York City FC. NYCFC — the conference’s No. 5 seed — has upset Charlotte FC and the Supporters’ Shield-winning Philadelphia Union en route to Saturday’s showdown in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Messi and Miami would host MLS Cup on Saturday, Dec. 6 with a win. 

In the Western Conference final, San Diego FC is on a quest to complete the greatest expansion season in league history. Standing in their way on Saturday are the Vancouver Whitecaps. In their 15-season MLS existence, this is the furthest in the playoffs that the Whitecaps have progressed.

Here’s how USA TODAY Network soccer experts see how conference finals of the MLS playoffs will play out, including bonus picks for MLS Cup:

MLS playoff predictions, picks for conference finals

Inter Miami vs. New York City FC

Jim Reineking: Inter Miami
Jacob Shames: Inter Miami
Seth Vertelney: Inter Miami
James Weber: Inter Miami

San Diego FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Jim Reineking: Vancouver Whitecaps
Jacob Shames: Vancouver Whitecaps
Seth Vertelney: San Diego FC
James Weber: San Diego FC

MLS Cup 2025

Jim Reineking: Inter Miami over Vancouver Whitecaps
Jacob Shames: Inter Miami over Vancouver Whitecaps
Seth Vertelney: Inter Miami over San Diego FC
James Weber: Inter Miami over San Diego FC

USA TODAY Sports’ 48-page special edition commemorates 30 years of Major League Soccer, from its best players to key milestones and championship dynasties to what exciting steps are next with the World Cup ahead. Order your copy today!

The Philadelphia Eagles lost 24-15 to the Chicago Bears, marking another disappointing offensive performance.
Head coach Nick Sirianni stated he will not change offensive play-callers but will evaluate everything during the team’s layoff.
Philadelphia’s offense struggled to establish a running game, while their defense allowed the Bears to rush for 281 yards.

PHILADELPHIA – A lot can change in 10 days, the length of the layoff between the Philadelphia Eagles’ 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears on Nov. 28 and their next game, against the Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” on Dec. 8. 

So when Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni says that he’s not taking play-calling duties away from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, much to the dismay of a disgruntled fanbase that played into its reputation for booing the home team, it’s important to take his word – but not to be believed blindly. Continuing to do the same thing over and over again with an expectation of changing the results is sometimes defined as insanity. 

Sirianni repeated his refrain of recent weeks: the Eagles’ issues on offense extend beyond one person. Later in his postgame news conference, he was asked directly about reassigning the first-year coordinator. 

“We’re not changing the play caller, but we will evaluate everything,” Sirianni said. “This weekend, we’ll have another little mini-bye, another short week that leads to a long weekend where we’ll evaluate everything.” 

Eagles’ inability to get ground game going paints them into a corner

Philadelphia was thoroughly outplayed in the ground game, with the Bears rushing for 281 yards with both running backs, D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, rushing for more than 100 yards – quite physically – and a touchdown apiece. 

Once again, the Eagles could not get their own stud running back, Saquon Barkley, going behind a beleaguered offensive line that is a shell of itself compared to the one that paved the way for a 2,000-yard rusher a year ago. Barkley, held to 56 yards on 13 carries in a game the Eagles trailed from the first quarter on, was left searching for answers. 

“We keep talking about it. We keep saying it. We’re addressing it,” he said. “It’s just not clicking right now. That’s just the truth. I hate to say it. We just got to figure it out, and we got to figure it out pretty soon, to be honest.” 

Wide receiver A.J. Brown, not afraid to give his opinions about his own production within the unit, said running the ball is something Philadelphia simply has to do to be a successful offense. 

“(Defenses are) making it extremely tough to run the ball,” said Brown, who had 10 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. “And we have to run the ball. We have to. That’s how you get the game going. I think today was a unique situation because we got down and the time was running (we were) forced to throw the ball.” 

Perhaps the most telling moment after the Eagles’ game was when tight end Dallas Goedert was asked point blank how often he feels like the offense has a strategic advantage over the opposing defense. 

Five seconds passed. 

“Tough question,” he said. “I don’t know if I have an answer for that.” 

Philly’s offense lacks breathing room to overcome mistakes

Even if his stats aren’t gaudy, quarterback Jalen Hurts’ ability to protect the ball let the Eagles at least rely on their defense. But an interception and a fumble – on the tush push, no less – reversed that narrative. 

“That’s been a direct correlation with success for us, being able to protect the ball (and winning),” Hurts said, “and so that really, really killed us.”

An early third down play with eight yards to go in the second quarter on the border of the red zone was an example of how out-of-sync the Eagles can look at times. DeVonta Smith, arguably Smith’s most reliable target, broke open on a slant across the middle with plenty of room to run (Goedert was also wide open running up the opposite seam). Hurts thought Smith would sit down past the sticks for a first down.  

“It was two guys on two different pages and that’s a bit of the issues that we’ve kind of been having,” the quarterback said. “We weren’t detailed enough in that, I wasn’t detailed enough in instructing him on what to do as we prepared and making myself clear on that, and so I’m trying to find as many particulars as I can when it comes to the level of execution we have, and that’s a group effort that has to be there.

“It’s not ideal. It’s not something that you desire, but going off of how the flow this year is going, it’s kind of similar to my response last week and saying ‘no’ of any surprises of where we are. It’s just a matter of picking ourselves up, and continuing to press forward, and staying together in it, and being committed to it.”

Inside the Eagles’ locker room after the game, Hurts and Patullo huddled for a private conversation at the quarterback’s locker. The theme of the talk, according to Hurts, was moving forward. 

“That’s it. Going out there and trying to find ways to move the offense down the field, put points on the board and I’m always encouraging of sitting in an identity,” he said, “and so we’ve all got work we’ve got to do.

“I have confidence in him. I have confidence in this team. I have confidence in us when we’re collaborative. I have a lot of confidence when we have an identity, so I think that’s the first thing that we have to establish that we’ve talked about.”

New York Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri was down on the ice in pain during the second period on Friday, Nov. 28 after he fell when getting tangled up with Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale.

It took a while for him to stand and he skated slowly to the bench as the puck went to the other end of the ice. But the puck came back in the Flyers’ zone and Palmieri, still skating slowly, had the wherewithal to strip it from a Flyers player who was skating backward.

Palmieri passed to Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin, who fed Emil Heineman. Heineman scored to cut the Flyers’ lead to 3-1.

Palmieri couldn’t celebrate the goal or his assist. He was busy heading to the dressing room with assistance and stayed there while the Islanders rallied to tie the game.

‘What a gutsy effort for him on that,’ captain Anders Lee said after the game. ‘Going through a lot of pain, he’s one of the toughest teammates that I know. Takes a lot for him to feel pain and get keeled over, but you can also see how strong he is to battle through and make a huge play.’

The Islanders later announced that Palmieri wouldn’t return to the game because of a lower-body injury.

The Flyers won 4-3 in a shootout.

Kyle Palmieri injury update

Islanders coach Patrick Roy had no update on Palmieri after the game, saying the forward would see a doctor on Saturday.

‘I think everybody knows it doesn’t look very good,’ he told reporters.