PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — From Nick Sirianni’s early struggles as a rookie head coach to the Phillies’ imminent demise, Philly sports are anything but boring — albeit, rather agonizing.
If you can’t bear another potential defeat, turn the channel to college football instead.
Here are the top five games to watch over the next week:
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday at 1 p.m.
It’s been a rough week and a half for Sirianni. His play-calling has been questioned after two losses in a row — one in which the Eagles infamously ran the ball only 12 times, and just two by running back Miles Sanders, one of the best players on the team.
“I do need to do a better job running the football,” Sirianni said two days after getting embarrassed by the Dallas Cowboys, 41-21. “There’s no question about that. We need to be able to do that to help us be a balanced team and help us win football games.”
Andy Reid’s Chiefs haven’t faced the Eagles since the 2017 season at Arrowhead Stadium. Reid became 2-0 against his old club during that game — though the Eagles got the last laugh by winning the Super Bowl.
This will be the former Eagles head coach’s second trip back to Lincoln Financial Field since joining Kansas City in 2013. This time around, his quarterback is superstar Patrick Mahomes, who the Eagles have never faced before.
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The Chiefs are favored to win Sunday with their high-powered, explosive offense.
But just like the Eagles, the Chiefs are on a two-game losing streak. An angry Kansas City team may be a bad thing for Sirianni’s squad, or maybe they’re catching the struggling Chiefs at just the right time.
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves, Thursday at 7:20 p.m.
It’s going to take an unlikely comeback by the Phils and an epic choke job by the Atlanta Braves for the Phillies’ nine-year playoff drought to avoid increasing to 10.
After dropping the first two games of their crucial series in Atlanta this week, the Phillies will play the finale of the three-game set this evening at Truist Park with right-handed starting pitcher Kyle Gibson countering Ian Anderson, who’s no slouch.
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The Braves’ magic number to clinch their fourth consecutive National League East title is one. So, if they beat the Phillies Thursday night, they’ll be celebrating right in front of Philadelphia’s inconsistent and super frustrating baseball team.
In order for the Phillies to force a play-in tiebreaker with Atlanta, they need to win their last four games while the Braves lose their last five, starting Thursday. If the Phils can salvage the series, they need to sweep the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park, a place they’ve struggled in, while hoping the already-eliminated New York Mets sweep the Braves in Atlanta this weekend.
Then if that happens, the also already-eliminated Colorado Rockies need to travel cross-country for a makeup game in Atlanta on Monday. The odds of them winning that are not in the Phils’ favor.
But, if the above keeps breaking the Phillies’ way, then the ensuing games against Miami — as well as Atlanta’s final regular-season matchups — will certainly be something to watch.
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Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Indiana Hoosiers, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The Nittany Lions put their 4-0 record up against Indiana at Beaver Stadium in the big Saturday night nationally televised game.
Temple Owls vs. Memphis Tigers, Saturday at noon
The 2-2 Owls host 3-1 Memphis, looking to build off of their 41-7 drubbing of Wagner from the week before. It's Temple’s third home game in a row — plus the first matchup in the American Conference play — as well as homecoming weekend.
Philadelphia Union vs. Columbus Crew, Sunday at 4 p.m.
The Union have eight matches left on their regular-season schedule. On Saturday, they host the Columbus Crew. Heading into the weekend, the Union are fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with 39 points, right behind New York City FC.