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USATSI

Good morning to everyone but especially to...

THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

The Eagles are the league's only undefeated team, and their front office keeps racking up wins, too. Philadelphia acquired pass rusher Robert Quinn from the Bears in exchange for a fourth-round pick Wednesday.

  • Quinn, 32, has just one sack this season but had 18.5 last year -- second in the NFL behind T.J. Watt. He has 102 sacks for his career, which is tied with Aaron Donald for 35th on the official leaderboard (since 1982).
  • The Eagles have been good but not great in the pass rush department this season: tied for 10th in sacks, 12th in sack rate and 12th in pressure rate.
  • The Bears will pick up most of the remaining salary on Quinn's contract, which runs through 2025.
  • Chicago star linebacker Roquan Smith got emotional when discussing Quinn's departure.

I love that the Eagles are loading up in what is an eminently winnable NFC. Preseason favorites like the Rams, Buccaneers and Packers have, simply, not looked very good. Bigger picture, this is another win for GM Howie Roseman, as he still has impressive draft capital thanks to several shrewd moves.

Remember, over the offseason, the Eagles and Saints pulled off a huge trade pick swap. Philadelphia then used the 2023 first-round pick from that trade to acquire star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Oh, and Philly also has the Saints' 2024 first-round selection, which is currently the No. 4 overall pick.

Back to this latest trade specifically, the Eagles earned an A- in our NFL guru Jordan Dajani's trade grades.

  • Dajani: "Remember how the Rams added Von Miller at the trade deadline last year? Not that Quinn is Miller, but this move is similar. It could be something that further sparks a talented defense to be even better as Philly hits the ground ready to run following its bye week. Quinn ain't a spring chicken, but he showed last year he's still an impactful player."

Here's our NFL trade tracker.

Honorable mentions

And not such a good morning for...

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THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS

The Magic, the Kings and the Lakers. A team that's never won a title, a team with the NBA's longest playoff drought ever and a team whose 17 titles are tied for most ever. A team starting its rebuild, a team perpetually rebuilding and a team that's somehow in a worse spot than either of them.

Those are the three winless teams this season.

Los Angeles lost to Denver last night, 110-99, to fall to 0-4 on the season. Our NBA columnist Bill Reiter says this nightmare isn't ending any time soon.

  • Reiter: "It's the future -- distant though it seems for L.A. through the haze of fatigue, angst, awfulness, pessimism and mockery unfolding this season -- that's potentially most distressing. You're supposed to be bad post-LeBron, not while he's still on your roster. ... Yes, this Lakers season is off to a bad start in what is likely to be a bad year. But this may just be the beginning. Winning with LeBron has, until now, been the norm. But losing without him is even more of a guarantee."

I don't have much to add here. Like last year's disaster, the Lakers' supporting cast can't shoot, Russell Westbrook (who didn't play last night) doesn't fit well, and Anthony Davis is up-and-down. The result? A bad, directionless team, just like Bill said.

Not so honorable mentions

TNF preview: Ravens, Buccaneers still seeking consistency 🏈

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USATSI

Normally a primetime matchup featuring Lamar Jackson and Tom Brady would feature plenty of points. But this year has seemingly been anything but normal as the two stars lead the Ravens and Buccaneers, respectively, into an important Thursday Night Football matchup.

The Ravens have led all seven of their games by double-digits, but they are only 4-3 so far. They've been outscored by 46 points in the fourth quarter, worst in the NFL, and Jackson's four fourth-quarter interceptions are tied for second-most in the NFL.

But at least the Ravens' offense isn't struggling all game long, like the Buccaneers'. Tampa Bay (3-4) is coming off a measly three points in an embarrassing loss to the Panthers and is scoring just 17.7 points per game this season, 26th in the league. As such, NFL betting expert Tyler Sullivan likes the under in this one.

  • Sullivan: "While Tampa Bay has struggled to run the ball, that could be their best chance of attacking this Ravens defense. ... Naturally, a ground attack would lower the overall scoring ceiling of a team that has only gone over 20 points in a game twice through seven weeks. As for the Ravens, their offense has hovered around that 20-point marker as well over the last month. ... Key trend: The Under is 6-1 in Tampa Bay's last seven games."

UEFA Champions League recap: VAR causes drama in pair of controversial matches ⚽

Ask any group of soccer fans how they feel about the video assistant referee (VAR), and one-third of them will say they like it, one-third will say they hate it and one-third will say it depends on if it helps their favorite team or not. That's just the nature of the beast, and that beast reared its head in two UEFA Champions League matches Wednesday.

Let's start in Madrid, where a frantic finish between Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen concluded in a 2-2 draw.

  • Atletico Madrid, needing a victory to stay alive, sent everyone up for a corner kick late in stoppage time. It was cleared away, and the game was seemingly over.
  • However, the referee consulted VAR and determined there was a handball in the box.
  • Following the review, Lukas Hradecky saved Yannick Carraso's penalty kick, Saul's follow-up header hit the crossbar, and Reinildo Mandava saw his attempt deflect over the bar. Here's the video.
  • The result guarantees that Porto will join Club Brugge in advancing from Group B.

In London, Tottenham and Sporting finished 1-1 after Harry Kane saw his last-minute winner disallowed by VAR. Tottenham manager Antonio Conte received a red card for arguing and Tottenham still has work to do to get through to the Round of 16. Here's that video.

In a much less dramatic scene, Barcelona went out with barely a whimper as Inter Milan thumped Viktoria Plzen 4-0. Barca lost to Bayern Munich 3-0 in a game that didn't matter much, as both Bayern and Inter had clinched Round of 16 spots.

Here are all of Wednesday's scores:

  • Inter Milan 4, Viktoria Plzen 0
  • Club Brugge 0, FC Porto 4
  • Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Olympique de Marseille 1
  • Barcelona 0, Bayern Munich 3
  • Ajax 0, Liverpool 3
  • Atletico Madrid 2, Bayer Leverkusen 2
  • Tottenham Hotspur 1, Sporting CP 1
  • Napoli 3, Rangers 0

You can see the standings with one Group Stage match left here.

Introducing Wemby Watch: Updates on the teenage French phenom 🏀

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"If you've ever thought to yourself, Sure, Kevin Durant is pretty good, but imagine if he was like half a foot taller."

That's how our basketball experts Sam Quinn and Kyle Boon describe 18-year-old Victor Wembanyama in their first Wemby Watch of the seasonNow, what will Wemby Watch be, exactly? It's both checking in on Wembanyama, currently playing for Metropolitans 92 in France, and checking in on the teams in play to get him in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Why is Wembanyama getting this sort of treatment? Well, if the first sentence of this section didn't intrigue you enough, consider this: In two games against G League Ignite earlier this month, Wembanyama averaged 36.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks while totaling nine 3-pointers made. Oh, and did we mention he's 7'3" and 18 years old? He's regarded as the best prospect since LeBron James, and James has raved about him.

Wembanyama has played well back overseas, and as for his future NBA team, Sam ranked the seven teams most likely to win the race to the bottom. Wemby Watch will be fascinating all season from both the player and team perspectives, and the first edition does not disappoint.

What we're watching Thursday 📺

🏈 Virginia Tech at No. 24 NC State, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Mavericks at Nets, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Ravens at Buccaneers, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 Heat at Warriors, 10 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 No. 14 Utah at Washington State, 10 p.m. on FS1