The Eagles aren’t tuned in to their coordinators, the veteran captains, and certainly not their critics. The proof is a gruesome 1-4 December to remember highlighted by a last-minute 35-31 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, who arrived here Sunday with a lot of questions and a 3-12 record.

Leadership is needed, and there is at least one Eagles player who can supply it. In fact, he tried in Seattle and a few days later put himself back in his place. The Eagles have been regretting that.

Obviously, the guy we’re talking about is quarterback Jalen Hurts, wise and respectful beyond his years, yet when he steps up to the podium, duller than a waiting-room conversation about the weather.

Hurts surprised himself when in the wake of a pathetic loss to the Seahawks, the team’s third straight setback, he remarked that the Eagles weren’t “committed enough.”

Faster than you could say, “seriously?,” the debates began. While Hurts was 100 percent correct, he walked the phrase back days later. Too many players weren’t doing everything they could, and they deserved to be put on notice that more was required if they wanted to be here.

Since the “committed” quote, the Eagles have had two more opportunities to show they were all in. The first was a one-possession victory over the lowly New York Giants in which we had to await the resolution of a Hail Mary from Tyrod Taylor, who came out of the bullpen at halftime.

The other was Sunday’s four-point loss to the Cardinals, who marched up and down Lincoln Financial Field the way the Eagles did when they were committed.

Last year, the Eagles leaned on Hurts and the offense to control the football and keep the defense fresh to rush the passer. This year, the symbiotic relationship between those units has been a train wreck.

Changing defensive coordinators hasn’t helped, though don’t blame newbie Matt Patricia. The lack of experienced healthy players in the back end of the defense is ridiculous. Receivers have been open all season. If Mac Jones could throw, the New England Patriots would have prevailed in the opener.

The Eagles at least are trying to get better long-term by breaking in rookie defensive backs Sydney Brown, Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks. They can run, though the tackling leaves much to be desired. The bottom line is there are only so many productive snaps you can get out of DB old heads like Bradley Roby (scratched last week) and Kevin Byard (should be scratched).

But back to Hurts. The quarterback noticed something about his team when he was fighting an illness leading up to the Seattle trip. When Hurts said something about the lack of commitment, his apologists defended him by spinning his remarks as a team thing.

What’s wrong with transparency in a three-game skid? Hurts should have named names, positions and coaches in Seattle. Maybe then the people around him would have done something before it was too late.

While it is basically too late to get back to the Super Bowl this season, it’s not too early to set a committed tone for 2024.

Let’s be honest, this is Hurts’ team. He’s not going anywhere. It’s not too late for Hurts to assert himself. He doesn’t have to rip teammates or coaches, but he needs to be heard instead of silenced. Communication is key. The face of the franchise should not under any circumstances have to spend time explaining what he really meant to say.

In a football city like Philly, there is no way to walk back what you say without regretting it. So, don’t. Football fans here are a lot more sophisticated than what some players would like to believe. They can smell a coverup from the cheap seats.

Sirianni, for all his energy and focus, has been lost this season without last year’s coordinators, now Cardinals head coach Jonanthan Gannon and Colts head coach Shane Steichen. Gannon out-strategized Sirianni Sunday by turning that onside kick with the ultra-low success rate into a chance to get the ball back and go for the win. Steichen is fighting for a division pennant with Gardner Minshew as his quarterback, and he found a way to get the most out of Hurts, who looked like he was ready to take a next-level step at training camp.

Hurts’ numbers are a lot like last season. The Eagles again boast two 1,000-yard receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and a 1,000-yard rusher in D’Andre Swift. But going from 10-1 to 11-5 once the schedule got tough? Struggling down the homestretch against pitiful teams with little to play for?

Belichick would make a difference if say, Jeffrey Lurie wanted to go that way. Bill loves Hurts.

But Hurts was right, the Eagles aren’t committed enough. And right now it’s up to him to make the non-commits accountable.

To contact Bob Grotz, email rgrotz@delcotimes.com.

That is according to the probability tables of the always accurate Playoffstatus.com website. The Eagles have an 83 percent probability of finishing fifth, the Buccaneers a 75 percent chance of settling in with the No. 4 seed.

The Buccaneers (8-8) must defeat the Carolina Panthers (2-14) to win the NFC South division and the fourth sport, and the road-awful Dallas Cowboys (11-5) must prevail at Washington (4-12) to lock up the NFC East pennant.

The dilemma for the Eagles (11-5) is how to approach the regular season finale at the New York Giants (5-11).

The Eagles and Cowboys games Sunday both start at 4:25 p.m., so as not to allow either team an easy choice on resting regulars. Nonetheless, with nothing to gain if the Cowboys roll as expected, the Eagles haven’t ruled out resting players.

“We’re going to do whatever we need to do to win this game,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Monday. “But still, that’s a consideration. We understand we are at the mercy of another team to win the division, all those different things. So, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win this game. We’ve also got to get out of the rut that we’re in, and so I’m not saying to you yes, I’m not saying to you no. I’m saying to you that everything is discussed but there are some unknowns about the game, Dallas and Washington. And we’ve got to … play and coach good football, too. So, everything is on the table.”

The Eagles are 6.5-point favorites over the Giants at MetLife Stadium. The Cowboys, just 3-5 on the road, are 13.5-point favorites over the Commanders.

• • •

Don’t expect wide receiver DeVonta Smith to play against the Giants due to a sprained ankle.

While Sirianni wouldn’t rule Smith out, the coach said his guy was on crutches Monday with a boot on the ankle.

“He’s tough as anybody we have on this team,” Sirianni said. “This guy, he’s a warrior. He’ll do everything he possibly can to get himself back on that field as fast as he possibly can. And what he means to this football team is not only the play-making ability that he has to change the game with the ball in his hands, but also just his toughness is contagious. I think his toughness is super contagious.”

Elsewhere in the injury department, cornerback Darius Slay still is working his way back from arthroscopic knee surgery. Nickel back Avonte Maddox may have re-injured a pectoral muscle that cost him 13 games this year.

• • •

If you’re keeping count, Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown again blew off reporters seeking comment Sunday, explaining that it wasn’t personal.

The previous week, following a win over the Giants, he declined comment saying he didn’t have anything nice to say, so he wouldn’t say anything.

Clearly Brown is frustrated over his role. Late in the 35-31 loss to the Cardinals, the Eagles took their foot off the accelerator to angle for the go-ahead field goal. Kyler Murray promptly marched the Cardinals 70 yards for the triumphant touchdown.

Rest assured, Brown wanted the Eagles to be aggressive and go for the end zone rather than play it safe and take three points.

“I don’t want to speak for him,” Sirianni said. “But you know, obviously when you have a dynamic playmaker like A.J., he’s going to want to change the game at all times and he’s capable of doing that at all times. We’re all frustrated right now, especially coming off that loss yesterday.

“I know this, and I said this to you guys on the record, off the record, everything. There’s nobody that is as good of a teammate. There is nobody that’s as good of a person as A.J. and shoot, he’s one of our very best players and one of our best players since I’ve been here in the past three years. I can’t say enough good things about him. We’re all frustrated, I think.”

• • •

Speaking of frustrated, Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick is in a sacks drought that began when Matt Patricia began calling the defensive plays.

Reddick has lately dropped into coverage more, which is not his forte. Reddick had 2.0 sacks against Dallas, giving him 11.0 on the season, when Sean Desai last called the defensive signals. In the last three games, he has zero sacks, one tackle for loss and four quarterback hits.

“We know he gets paid to rush the passer, and he’s really good at it,” Sirianni said. “But again, it’s the predictability. The quarterback is going to get it out even quicker if he knows exactly what’s happening. So, again, there’s some games, he’s going to drop a little more than other games. But make no mistake about it. You know what, I think he dropped six times maybe.”

Unfortunately, the recent detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) at a private Northumberland County game farm has prompted the PGC to adjust and somewhat curtail its late season pheasant stockings in order to help safeguard the agency’s pheasant program and better ensure it will continue next year in the 2024-25 hunting seasons.

That means in the next two weeks the PGC will release fewer pheasants statewide than initially planned. And here in our eastern part of the state, pheasant releases will occur only this week and not next, with properties that receive birds essentially seeing their final two releases of the year combined as one.

These relatively minor adjustments, however, could significantly reduce the risk of an HPAI outbreak with potentially devastating impacts for pheasant hunters. Here’s how.

Last week, the state Department of Agriculture announced the recent detection of HPAI at Martz’s Game Farm in Northumberland County. While the pheasants released by the Game Commission originate from a different facility, Mahantongo Game Farm, where HPAI has not been detected nor suspected, that facility also is in Northumberland County.

The proximity of HPAI to the facility represents a concern. If there was an HPAI outbreak there, agricultural regulations would require euthanasia of many or all of the breeding pheasants that provide stock for the Game Commission’s program, jeopardizing the program’s future.

In response the PGC is taking some precautionary measures. First, the agency will hold onto all of the hen pheasants, and about 5% of the roosters, that had been slated for release in the final two pheasant releases of 2023-24. Then, if HPAI remains undetected through continued testing of birds at Mahantongo Game Farm, pheasants there will be temporarily transferred to the Game Commission’s Loyalsock Game Farm. That’s why the counties served by Loyalsock will get their final two releases all at once this week. The pheasants to be released need to be cleared out to make room for those coming in.

Loyalsock Game Farm serves the following counties to be stocked this week: Adams, Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Centre, Columbia, Cumberland, Franklin (State Game Lands 235 only), Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montgomery, Northumberland, Perry, Pike, Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Union, Wayne, Wyoming and York.

The remaining counties are served by the Southwest Game Farm, and rooster-only pheasant releases in those counties will continue as scheduled in each of the next two weeks.

“This wasn’t a decision the Game Commission took lightly, because we know that pheasant hunters have been looking forward to the late small game season pheasant releases and will be inconvenienced by our making these adjustments on short notice,” said Ian Gregg, Wildlife Operations Division Chief. “However, we believe this precautionary approach is the right thing to do because it will significantly reduce the risk of disease impacts that would be far more devastating to pheasant hunting in the long run.”

For pheasant fans here in the southeast corner of the state, the PGC’s planned winter stockings of pheasants consisted of 6,900 cockbirds and 1,340 hens. Unaffected stocking sites here in our neck of Penn’s Woods include the Chester Water Authority, Struble Lake, French Creek State Park, and State Game Lands 43. The only nearby stocking sites restricted to a single stocking is State Game Lands 234 outside of Pottstown and Blue Marsh Lake in Berks County.

A list of properties scheduled to be stocked with pheasants in the next two weeks can be found on the 2023 Pheasant Allocation page at www.pgc.pa.gov.

2024 PA FISHING LICENSES NOW ON SALE

While the 2023-24 Pennsylvania hunting licenses remain valid until July 1, 2024, our Pennsylvania fishing licenses run concurrent with the calendar year. If you have plans to do any fishing here in the Commonwealth anytime soon, you’ll need to purchase a brand new 2024 PA fishing license. Here’s wishing all of our readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Tom Tatum is the outdoors columnist for the MediaNews Group. You can reach him at tatumt2@yahoo.com.

The game was tied, and the Eagles wanted the Chiefs to score to give Jalen Hurts and the offense a shot at winning it. Instead, the Chiefs ran down the clock and kicked the field goal for a 38-35 win. Guess what? The Eagles were victimized by the same strategy in a stunning 35-31 loss to the Cardinals Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

First-year Cardinals head coach and former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who presided over the Philly D in the Super Bowl ordered an onside kick immediately after his squad tied the game at 28 with 5:26 remaining. Heavily criticized by many for being too bold of a move, the strategy turned out to be a stroke of brilliance.

The Eagles recovered but could get only a 43-yard field goal from Jake Elliott to take a 31-28 lead with 2:33 remaining.

Kyler Murray then marched the Cardinals 70 yards for the winning points, James Conner capping a 128-yard rushing effort with a two-yard run with 32 ticks left. The Eagles then couldn’t get past their 49-yard line, the game ending when Joey Blount intercepted Hurts in the end zone.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, a close friend of Gannon’s, echoed to boos. Gannon was left to describe why he rolled with the onside kick.

“It worked,” Gannon said. “That’s what we talked about. That’s what I’m talking about. The reason for that is you don’t want to get bled out. That team is too good. I trust the defense to get a stop right there and make them kick a field goal, which is what they did, but with five minutes left, what they’ve shown is they are not going to give you the ball back. And I wanted to make sure at all costs (that) Kyler had the ball in his hand at the end of the game. So, it’s just funny how it came up, but no, I thought the defense did excellent.”

The defeat damaged the Eagles (11-5), who thus ceded the top seed in the NFC to the San Francisco 49ers, and have their fingers crossed that they beat the Giants next Sunday at the Meadowlands and the Cowboys lose next week in Landover, Md. to the Commanders. That would make the Eagles NFC East champions and guarantee a home game. Otherwise, the Birds start the playoffs on the road.

The Giants, you may recall, pushed the Eagles to the last play of the game before succumbing last week. Something has to change in a hurry for the Eagles to get through the lull in which they finished 1-4 in December, which is supposed to be their money month. Switching the defensive playcalling from coordinator-in-name-only Sean Desai to de facto coordinator Matt Patricia hasn’t seemed to matter.

“We just didn’t play well defensively,” veteran cornerback James Bradberry said. “I feel like we had the game. I think it was 21-6. And we didn’t make stops when we needed to as a defense. I would say it’s frustrating. We knew at the end of the day before they made a (coordinator) change, it was on us as players. We’ve got to go out there and make a difference. And it’s still on us as players. We’ve got to figure this out.”

For much of the game so did the Eagles, who like last season got the lead and made the Arizona Cardinals play catch-up. Then, in the time it takes to say Jets, Seattle and we’re not committed enough, the Eagles came tumbling back to earth in a 35-31 loss to the Cardinals at Lincoln Financial Field. The game ended when a Jalen Hurts Hail Mary pass was intercepted in the end zone.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, who wanted to stick it to Jonathan Gannon, the defensive coordinator who ditched him to become head coach of the Cardinals, was left shaking his head as he and his players exited the field to a chorus of boos. The locker room was like a morgue.

“When we’ve got a chance to bury people, we’ve got to bury them,” Eagles veteran Brandon Graham said. “I know it’s going to happen. I know it’s going to start clicking. We’ve got to go finish the season off right. It’s going to be a week to week thing. We’ve got to put everything we’ve got into it.”

With the loss and the San Francisco 49ers’ victory over the Washington Commanders, the Eagles (11-5) are eliminated from a shot at the top seed and the bye in the NFC. Worse, if the Dallas Cowboys (11-5) defeat the Commanders next week they win the NFC East based on a better record against common opponents.

Just like that the Eagles are on the verge of opening the playoffs on the road. Barring major good fortune they could end up playing in Tampa or New Orleans.

“It is what it is,” cornerback James Bradberry said. “We put ourselves in this position. We’ve got to look forward, we can’t look backwards.”

Considering the ineptitude of the Cardinals (4-11), who have difficulty getting out of their own way and are vying for the top pick in the NFL draft, the decision had the odor of a soon-to-be swan song, as oppposed to Swan Lake.

Particularly alarming was the manner in which the Eagles blew several leads, including a 21-6 edge at the intermission, how they were stopped by their old coordinator on a Tush Push and how they had to endure booing for their poor tackling and even for being indecisive and taking a timeout before a third and nine at the 14-yard line of the Cardinals in the fourth quarter. They didn’t convert.

“It’s the NFL. You give them a little inch, and people start running miles,” Graham said. “We should have buried them that first drive coming out. Wedidn’t get it done. They scored again. Those are the moments on defense we’re supposed to live for.”

The Cardinals rushed for 221 yards, outgained the Eagles in total yardage (449-275), in plays (72-47) and first downs (32-17). The momentum turned when running back James Conner, who rushed for 128 yards and a TD, made a one-handed grab of a Kyler Murray throw with 2:01 left in the third quarter. Murray threw a two-point pass to knot the score at 21.

Gannon appeared to be a bit too aggressive as he tried an onside kick that the Eagles recovered with 5:26 left. Then again, the Cardinals hadn’t been able to stop the Eagles and the coach would later say he did it purposely to be sure his smooth operating offense would have time to tie the game, or go ahead.

“You don’t want to get bled out,” Gannon said. “That team’s too good.”

In the first half the Eagles played bend-but-don’t-break defense and finally got a big play, rookie Sydney Jones going 99 yards for a pick-six to produce a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

What was troubling was the Eagles’ abject failure to get off the field against an inferior offense except in the red zone. The Cardinals receivers generally were open and veteran running back Conner was a load in the first half as he rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries, including an 11-yard run on second-and-11. The Eagles’ tackling was hit or miss.

In the two-minute offense late in the half the Eagles got tricky when Kenneth Gainwell completed a 17-yard pass to DeVonta Smith, and Hurts, scrambling out of the pocket, threw a 22-yard scoring pass to Jones. It was the second TD of the afternoon for the 34-year-old Jones, who maintained focus despite the ball getting tipped.

That gave the Eagles a 21-6 lead at the intermission. At that point the Eagles were dominating on the scoreboard but not any of the offensive categories. It was an ominous sign of a second-half to come.

“Offensively we didn’t play good enough,” Eagles center Jason Kelce said. “Defensively we didn’t play good enough. A really, really frustrating loss. I think that we’ve got a lot of things to clean up.”

No one was paying much attention to Gov Mifflin product Nick Singleton, despite him gaining 147 all-purpose yards, scoring one touchdown and catching a two-point conversion pass in the Nittany Lions’ 38-25 loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.

“It hurts losing a game like this,” Singleton said. “We have to look in the mirror, fix what went wrong and learn from it. We gotta bounce back. We were ready to play, but we made too many mistakes.”

He played superbly. He rushed eight times for 50 yards, caught four passes for 86 yards and one touchdown and returned a kickoff 11 yards. He averaged more than 11 yards on 13 touches.

“I was just really playing,” Singleton said. “The coaches put me in a great position. I was just trying to gain yards and help my team win.”

Late in the second quarter, backup quarterback Beau Pribula entered the game on first down from the Ole Miss 48 with starting quarterback Drew Allar split to the left.

Pribula faked a handoff and found Singleton alone downfield. He caught the pass, turned and sprinted into the end zone to cut the Rebels’ lead to 20-17 at the half.

“We’ve been repping that play forever,” Singleton said. “We ran it in the game and it worked. Beau threw a good ball. I just started running.”

He didn’t do much running despite averaging 6.2 yards a carry. He ran for a 1-yard loss inside the 5 on the first play of the second quarter and carried it just once, for 6 yards, the next two quarters.

“I don’t know,” he said when asked why he didn’t get more runs. “It’s hard to tell. It depends on where the ball was and the down. We can’t blame the coaches.”

Social media antics: An X account called WEARE_PennSt made a post that caused a stir in the days leading up to the Peach Bowl.

The post included a quote that it attributed to Lions linebacker Kobe King, who hadn’t done an interview since November.

“Ole Miss will wish they never had to play us after we do what we came here to do,” the post read. “They can have that belt (awarded to the team who wins off-the-field contests during Peach Bowl week). We’ll embarrass them on the field.”

Rebels coach Lane Kiffin reposted it several times and admitted after the Peach Bowl that one of his student assistants created the account and posed the phony King quote.

“I thought it was pretty funny actually,” Kiffin said. “They discovered it was Fisher Ray, one of our assistants. So Fisher is now kind of famous. I thought it was really cool last night when he showed it to me.

“He’s like those Penn State fans now. They’re into this. It was all in good fun.”

King wasn’t laughing, but he shrugged it off.

“I found out last night,” he said. “One of my teammates sent it to me. It didn’t really matter. I didn’t pay much attention to it. They did what they did. It’s disappointing.”

Cephas missing: Penn State’s Dante Cephas, the transfer from Kent State, was not among the six wide receivers who played Saturday.

“Everything’s an open competition every week,” Lions coach James Franklin said, “and the depth chart reflects that. When you’re in a bowl situation and you’ve got three weeks, there’s a lot of movement that can occur.”

Cephas caught 22 passes in the regular season for 246 yards and two touchdowns, both against Maryland.

Trey Wallace returned to action Saturday after missing the last four games with an upper-body injury. He had four catches for 67 yards and a 14-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter. Liam Clifford had three receptions for 25 yards and was the only other Penn State wideout with a catch.

“You may not get an opportunity early in the game,” Franklin said, “but whenever those opportunities come you’ve got to maximize them. We have not done that consistently enough this year.”

But the 10th-ranked Nittany Lions wound up playing without four All-Big Ten selections, three on defense and one on offense. Their glaring absences led to a 38-25 loss to the 11th-ranked Rebels before 71,230 Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“There were a lot of changes, but we’re not making excuses,” Penn State running back Nick Singleton said. “Everybody has to step up. Coach (Ty) Howle and Coach (Ja’Juan) Seider did a heck of a job (as co-offensive coordinators).

“We have no excuses. Ole Miss was a good team. They came ready to play. We just have to figure it out.”

Ole Miss (11-2) successfully attacked sophomore Cam Miller and freshman Zion Tracy, who saw extensive action in place of opt-out cornerbacks Kalen King and Johnny Dixon. Jaxson Dart passed for 379 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another for the Rebels, who won 11 games for the first time in school history.

“It’s tough as a freshman,” safety Jaylen Reed said. “Cam’s not a freshman but he’s still young. It’s hard going out there in a bowl game without as many reps as the older guys get. It’s a hard thing to do. They can learn from their mistakes and get better.”

Tight end Cade Prieskorn caught 10 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and wide receiver Tre Harris made seven catches for 134 yards against Penn State (10-3), which also played without end Chop Robinson, a projected first-round pick who also opted out.

Two hours before the game, the Big Ten availability report revealed that King and All-American left tackle Olu Fashanu, who were expected to see limited action, would not play.

Without Fashanu, Ole Miss often pressured quarterback Drew Allar and hampered the Penn State passing game. Allar finished 19-for-39 for 295 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and a lost fumble.

“Their D-line did a great job of getting a hand on the ball,” Allar said. “And I missed some throws that would have been easy completions for us to get the ball on the perimeter.”

In addition to playing without Fashanu, Robinson, King and Dixon, Penn State had other changes in the last several weeks. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz resigned to become head coach at Duke and was replaced on an interim basis by safeties coach Anthony Poindexter and analyst Robb Smith.

“We just had too many moving parts with the staff and the players against a good team,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “We had too many moving parts to have the type of success that we wanted to have today.”

The Rebels rolled up 540 yards and became the first team to top 500 against the Lions since Michigan gained 563 in a 41-17 win in Ann Arbor last year. Quinshon Judkins rushed 34 times for 106 yards for Ole Miss.

Penn State had held 17 consecutive opponents to 30 points or less before Ole Miss ended that streak. The loss prevented the Lions from posting their fifth 11-win season in eight years.

“They were very good,” Penn State cornerback Daequan Hardy said. “They have a well-oiled offense. I have nothing but respect for them.”

Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin standout, was the Lions’ best player. He rushed eight times for 50 yards and caught four passes for 86 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown throw from backup quarterback Beau Pribula in the second quarter. He also caught a pass for a two-point conversion.

Tight end Tyler Warren caught five passes for 127 yards for the Lions, who finished with a deceiving 510 total yards.

“We’ve been great all year in the third quarter,” Franklin said. “Starting the third quarter today with two three-and-outs when the game was still very, very competitive was significant.”

In the first half, Dart completed 15-of-24 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns.

The Lions, though, opened the scoring when Alex Felkins capped a 64-yard drive with a 26-yard field goal after Singleton and Kaytron Allen rushed five times for 62 yards.

The Rebels, with their fast-paced offense, responded by driving to the Penn State 18 but had to settle for Caden Davis’ 36-yard field goal and a 3-3 tie. Then Dart began going to Prieskorn, who caught a 6-yard toss for a touchdown and a 10-3 lead late in the first quarter.

Penn State moved into scoring position on a strange play. Allar was forced out of the pocket and threw back over the middle to Warren, who made a one-handed catch. He rambled 75 yards to the Ole Miss 5.

“Our tight ends make plays happen, like the one to Tyler,” Allar said. “It was tipped and he made a really nice adjustment on it and broke a tackle.”

Allar finished the drive when he threw a 2-yard TD pass to Theo Johnson, another tight end, for a 10-10 tie early in the second quarter.

The Rebels went to Harris, their leading receiver, twice for 34 yards, which helped set up Davis’ 45-yard field goal that made it 13-10.

On Penn State’s next series, defensive end Jared Ivey, who was disruptive all afternoon, hit Allar as he threw a deep pass that Daijahn Anthony intercepted at the Ole Miss 17. It was just Allar’s second interception of the season.

“I just forced it,” Allar said. “Stupid mistake. Should have eaten it or gotten it to an outlet.”

The Rebels marched 83 yards behind Dart, who completed a 37-yard pass to the wide-open Prieskorn for a TD and a 20-10 advantage.

The Lions, however, made it close at the half. Pribula, who rarely passes, found Singleton open downfield. Singleton then cut across the field for a touchdown, which trimmed it to 20-17 at the half.

But it wasn’t enough to overcome the losses of Fashanu, Robinson, Kalen King and Dixon. In addition, three NFL-bound players sat out the second half: Johnson, defensive end Adisa Isaac and offensive tackle Caedan Wallace.

“Every loss is tough for me,” Allar said. “We have a lot of great leaders on our side of the ball and it was their last game. It was their last opportunity to put on the Penn State uniform, and it just sucks that we couldn’t end it on a higher note for them.”

“I’m not going to make a week-to-week change,” Daboll said when asked why he named Tommy DeVito as the starter for Christmas Day against the Eagles immediately after the Giants had a dreary 24-6 loss to the Saints on Dec. 17, without even reviewing the film. “He’s earned it. It’s not always going to be perfect, but he’s earned the opportunity to play.”

That seemed to imply that the Giants were going to ride out the season with DeVito under center, partly because he has the tools to help them win and partly because it made more sense to evaluate the undrafted rookie for next season as opposed to a veteran on an expiring contract.

Yet imperfection was insufficient after 30 minutes of football in Philadelphia. Daboll yanked DeVito from the game at halftime and inserted Tyrod Taylor, simply stating afterward that he was trying to spark the team.

That obviously put to rest any talks that the Giants (5-10) were subtlety tanking by playing the less-experienced DeVito in the first place, but what was so egregious about his performance against the Eagles that made Daboll backtrack on the notion that he wasn’t going to make a “week-to-week change”?

DeVito only completed 9 of 16 passes for 55 yards in the first half, which was obviously not nearly good enough. But he also didn’t turn the ball over for the fifth straight game. That wasn’t enough to let him battle through some adversity?

The only plausible explanation is that Daboll realized that he misevaluated DeVito as the quarterback who gives the Giants the best chance to win. Taylor threw for 133 yards in the second half including a beautifully thrown 69-yard touchdown to Darius Slayton that eclipsed DeVito’s total yardage. So, naturally, Daboll announced Wednesday that Taylor will start this Sunday’s home game against the playoff-contending Los Angeles Rams (8-7).

“I thought Ty did some good things in the second half of Philly, so he earned the right to start this game,” Daboll said.

Ultimately that is the correct call, but the Giants waited too long to make Taylor the starter again because now they are out of playoff contention.

He played well enough during Weeks 6-8 that he never should’ve lost the job when he missed four games with a rib cage injury. It was obvious that his mobility, pocket presence and willingness to air it out downfield made him one of the NFL’s top backups. The fact that there was even debate over whether Taylor was a better fit for the Giants as presently constructed than 40-million-dollar man Daniel Jones, who is out with a torn ACL, said it all.

“I think it’s a lot that he does,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said when asked what Taylor’s strengths are. “Not just on the field but as a leader, as a good teammate. I think Tyrod does a hell of a job, in the huddle, getting guys organized, so there’s a lot of things that he does just outside of playing the quarterback position that makes him special.”

Even the man of few words also complimented Taylor as a good person who has navigated through a lot in his 13-year career.

“He’s the model of a true professional, how he takes care of himself, how he prepares, how he is with his teammates,” Daboll said. “That’s why he’s been in the league for so long. So, I think all the stuff that he does, whether it’s (being) in really early, lifting in the weight room, how he is in the meetings, how he is with guys in the huddle, it’s kind of been built over the years, but I really think that’s who he is as a person and how he was raised. Incredible human being.”

It’s just hard to fathom how the Giants got so caught up in DeVitoMania that they lost sight of what made Taylor one of the NFL’s highest-paid backups in the first place.

No offense to DeVito, but beating Washington and New England only proved that he belongs in the NFL — not that he should be starting for the Giants. Taylor would likely have feasted on Green Bay’s weak pass defense as well, and then the Giants scored only six points in New Orleans. There was no reason to expect a good game from DeVito against the division-leading Eagles.

If Daboll simply wanted to ride the hot hand and not mess with positive mojo — the Giants had won two in a row when Taylor came off of injured reserve and then beat the Packers in primetime — that’s fine.

But the offense’s abysmal outing of only 193 total yards in New Orleans should have ended DeVito’s run. Yet Daboll doubled down in his postgame presser, which made his decision to bench the undrafted rookie at halftime one week later all the more confusing.

Regardless, Taylor seems ready to embrace what will likely be two more starts with the Giants before hitting free agency in the offseason.

“It means everything to me,” Taylor said. “Obviously the work that you put in week in and week out. I’ve been playing this game for a long time and anytime I get a chance to lace up the cleats and go out and compete means the world to me. That’s where I’m the happiest, and it’s what I love to do, to be able to go out and not only show your peers but prove to yourself what you could do.”

Giants Gameday

The Game: Rams (8-7) at Giants (5-10), MetLife Stadium, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Line: Los Angeles by 5.5

History: The Rams lead the all-time series, 29-17, and have won three in a row. The last two in the Meadowlands came in dominant fashion: 38-11 in 2021 and 51-17 in 2017. The Giants last beat the Rams at home in 2011.

Key Matchups:

Giants offensive line vs. Rams DT Aaron Donald: The future Hall of Famer actually has only two sacks and six QB hits in five career games against the Giants, but this still sizes up as a huge mismatch for the Giants’ offensive line.

Giants WR Darius Slayton vs. Rams secondary: Slayton picked up his chemistry with Tyrod Taylor where they left off in last Monday’s loss to the Eagles as they connected for a 69-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Rams rank 22nd with 231.3 passing yards allowed per game.

Giants CB Cor’Dale Flott vs. Rams WR Cooper Kupp: Puka Nacua is questionable, so the former Super Bowl MVP could get even more targets. Kupp has battled lower body injuries this season but still has 55 catches for 710 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games.

Giants run defense vs. Rams WR Kyren Williams: Williams ranks sixth in the NFL with 5.1 yards per carry, and he’s gone over 100 yards in five of his last six games. The Giants are allowing the fourth-most rushing yards per game (134.2).

Injury Report:

Giants: DOUBTFUL: TE Lawrence Cager (groin); QUESTIONABLE: DE Deonte Banks (shoulder), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (quad).

Rams: OUT: DB Tre Tomlinson (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: OL Joe Noteboom (foot), WR Puka Nacua (hip), OL Alaric Jackson (thigh).

Giant Facts: Rams special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn played linebacker for the Giants from 2005-12. … The Giants’ defense has the NFL’s sixth-highest opponent fourth-down conversion percentage (58.82). … Between their three quarterbacks this season, the Giants are averaging the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt (6.1).

The Prediction: Giants 24, Rams 20

Third as a sophomore in 2021 then finishing second last year, Staub claimed first place in his final try at the tournament hosted in his home gym, winning the 147-pound title with a 5-0 decision over Harriton’s Nadav Nafshi.

“There was definitely pressure but I just had to stick to what I know, I mean I’ve been doing it since I was five,” Staub said. “So it’s the same thing, same warmup. I mean, it was tough competition, state qualifier in Nadav, he’s a great wrestler but I wanted it. This is my hometown, I needed this win as a senior and it felt great.”

Staub was one of two Hatboro-Horsham wrestlers to win their weight class – freshman Dominick Morrison taking gold at 109 – while Central Bucks East and Central Bucks West also came away with a pair of first-place finishes.

“I put a lot of work in in the offseason,” said Staub, who improved to 12-2. “I worked a lot on neutral. I think that’s the start of the match, you score first, you take someone down, you’re in great position so I put a lot of work in in neutral to help me stay in these close matches. And if I can take down a state qualifier, I can wrestle with anyone.”

Pennsbury, which matched Pottsville with three tournament champions, finished atop the team standings with 189.0 points. Neshaminy was second (172.5), West Chester Henderson third (145.5) and Hatboro-Horsham fourth (143.0).

CB West sophomore Chris Dennis, who placed sixth in 114 at the PIAA Championships last season after winning the South East Regional title, picked up his second Wetzel title with a 16-0 tech fall over SCH Academy’s Sean Brett in the 135 final.

“Regional title’s good and that was a great season I had last year but job’s not finished,” Dennis said. “State championship, I just want to be the first state champion in Central Bucks West history and that’s my goal.”

Dennis capped off his tournament with consecutive tech falls. He bested Henderson’s Angus Whitaker in the semis 19-4 in 5:14 then in the final against Brett jumped out to an 11-0 lead after the first period on a takedown and four near falls.

“The biggest thing I’ve been working on in the offseason is my attacks,” said Dennis, now 12-0 this year. “I don’t really shoot that much but I tried to shoot more this time. Usually do slide-bys but I want to be more offensive because when I look at the best college wrestlers and Division I-level wrestlers, they’re very offensive, like Spencer Lee, Matt Ramos, all those guys and I just want to be like that.”

Dennis’ teammate Patrick Kelly followed with a win in the 141 final, the West junior earning a second Wetzel gold – he won as a freshman in 2021 – with a 13-2 major decision over Alife Overton of West Chester Henderson.

CB East senior Regan McCullough won 217 with a 17-1 tech fall over Carlisle’s Bradyn Jumper in 3:28. Patriots senior Joe Collins, last year’s regional champ at 285, captured a Wetzel title for the second straight season with a 16-1 tech fall over Roman Catholic’s Devin Johnson at 4:39 in the 287 final.

Morrison secured the 109 title for the hosts by pinning Pennsbury’s Brett Kean in 1:47. Morrison topped Lenape’s Eric LaGrotta in the semis by tech fall 19-3 in 3:08.

Last year, Staub reached regionals at 139 after taking first at District 1-3A South. He lost in the quarterfinals then bounced back with two wins in consolations to have two shots at advancing to states. Staub, however, lost both matches to place sixth and ended his junior campaign at 33-10.

“Ever since I was a kid I always wanted to be a state qualifier and I’ve always fell a little bit short,” Staub said. “Pressure was definitely on. I had two chances to win, I had a chance to win and I lost to (Central Bucks South’s) Jake Neill, and I had a chance to win blood round against an Owen J. Roberts kid (Mason) Karkoska and I lost again. And I think the pressure got to me there.

“So that’s just something, this is just a sport, you know – it’s fun. I just got to let loose a little more. It matters but just go and wrestling, you know – if you just leave it all out on the mat, whatever happens, happens and you just got to keep running.”

Staub reached Friday’s 147 final with a 19-2 tech fall win over Roman Catholic’s Rocco Trivelli in 3:22. Against Nafshi — who at 2023 regionals took fourth at 133 — Staub grabbed a 4-0 lead with a takedown in each of the first two periods.

“When you’re wrestling tough opponents like that, every little thing matters,” Staub said. “You have to make sure everything’s perfect. If you make a mistake, they’re going to score on that mistake. You just got to wrestle through position and that’s the biggest thing Trent (Mongillo), my coach Trent is always saying, wrestle through position, never stop wrestling.

“Even when we wrestle in neutral – I mean I think neutral and top won me that match. I was able to take him down and he wasn’t able to get up on bottom.”

Hatboro-Horsham also had two second-place finishes from Tyler Pagano and Ryan Allgeier. Pagano lost 14-10 to Appoquinimink’s Roman Kubler in the 116 final while Allgeier dropped a 9-2 decision to Pennsbury’s Kyle Von Schmidt at 123.

Cheltenham’s Rah’Miere Sanders and Corey Bradley each earned second in their respective weights. Sanders was pinned by Pennsbury’s John Luchansky at 3:02 in the 129 final while Bradley was edged 5-4 by Pottsville’s Terrell McFaland at 174.

Cardinal O’Hara’s Brigidanne Donohue, making just her second career start, hit the biggest shot of Friday’s game against Germantown Academy but only after hitting the game’s two other biggest shots on the previous two possessions. Donohue’s back-to-back-to-back threes were part of a 10-point fourth quarter by the freshman and tilted a close game between two quality teams.

The Lions ended their holiday tournament with a win, fending off GA 42-37 on Friday to remain unbeaten on the year.

“The refs were letting us play and that’s what it came down to,” O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan said. “I told the girls you get into them a little bit and be a little more physical. It was a good game, they have a lot of seniors, we have a lot of seniors, so it was a good way to test the maturity of the team.”

Donahue and junior Molly Rullo tied for the Lions’ (9-0) lead with 13 points each. Sophomore Megan Rullo added nine points, four rebounds and six assists while senior Carly Coleman notched seven points for the Lions, who only got scoring from four players but contributions from all eight who saw minutes.

Germantown Academy (9-2) was paced by 18 from senior Isabella Casey, who added nine rebounds. Junior Gabby Bowes added nine and junior Jess Kolecki had six for GA, which saw an eight-game win streak snapped and dropped to 9-2 on the year.

Playing O’Hara at O’Hara was a definite test and first year coach Lauren Power believes it’s one her team will benefit from.

“My message to my team was just that I was really proud of their effort and their intensity,” Power said. “We knew it was going to come down to the defensive end and they made a couple plays. I was proud of the way that we played and I think the things that didn’t go well for us are easily fixable, so I feel good about that.”

Overall, the game was very well-played and at a pretty quick pace. Neither side was whistled for many fouls, the Patriots only getting there when they had to start putting Cardinal O’Hara on the line in the fourth quarter and both teams stayed within a few possessions the entire way.

Kolecki had a layup to beat the first quarter horn for a 10-10 tie, the Lions responding when Molly Rullo hit Megan Rullo for a go-ahead layup in the waning seconds of the first half. O’Hara, boosted by Donohue’s first score of the game, took a 26-20 lead in the third, but GA cut back to within 28-26 going to the final stanza when Casey scored off a nifty find by Kolecki ahead of the horn.

“This is one of the toughest environments you can have to play in,” Power said. “It’s a road game in the Catholic League, you’d have to look hard to find a tougher opponent than O’Hara and all things considered, you never want to walk out with an ‘L’ but I think you learn more in the losses and this game’s going to come back to really help us.”

GA pulled in front early in the fourth when Bowes drained a three off a Jess Aponik assist. That 31-28 lead held for about three minutes with defense reigning for both sides.

Then it would be the Donohue show. The freshman is only starting due to an injury to O’Hara senior Joanie Quinn, the La Salle recruit stepping in pregame to make sure her understudy knew the whole team was behind her.

“Joanie just said to her ‘you’re ready, this is your time’” Doogan said. “I think it was fun for everybody, the crowd, her family was here, to kind of see her have that moment.”

Megan Rullo got the shot-making display going, the sophomore saving a tipped pass under the hoop and kicking to Donohue in the corner for the tying three in front of the Lions bench. After a stop, Rullo Donohue connected again, this time off a baseline inbound with a screen flaring Donohue open on the opposite wing for the go-ahead three.

One more stop and one more inbound play, this one helped by an extra pass from Molly Rullo, got Donohue a look from straight on that she of course sank for nine points in about 70 seconds.

“Shooter’s gotta shoot,” Doogan said. “She missed her first couple then nailed her last three. She’s a confident kid, I’ve seen her play since she was in fifth or sixth grade and nothing fazes her.

“It’s the same face, you’d never know if anything’s bothering her. For her to step in and have that confidence was awesome.”

The Patriots took the shots, then almost immediately cut the lead back to just two at 37-35. O’Hara’s defense really buckled in, the Lions not caring if it was a five-second call, a tip or deflection, a steal or just a rebound off a miss, and put together enough stops over the final two minutes to lock in their 10th win of the season.

“We’ll look at this closely and see what could we fix, what could we do better but O’Hara is so disciplined and so poise and that’s something down the stretch we need to continue to play together,” Power said. “We had a couple miscommunications, we knew Brigidanne was a player and a good shooter, we had a couple breakdowns and left her open.”

Cardinal O’Hara 42, Germantown Academy 37
Germantown Academy 10 8 8 11 – 37
Cardinal O’Hara 10 9 9 14 – 42
Germantown Academy: Isabella Casey 18, Gabby Bowes 9, Jess Kolecki 6, Jess Aponik 2, Jenna Aponik 2.
Cardinal O’Hara: Molly Rullo 13, Brigidanne Donohue 13, Megan Rullo 9, Carly Coleman 7.