Embiid tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 8, joining several other Sixers players who were already in the league’s health and safety protocols. Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle and Isaiah Joe all missed time due to the virus, but Embiid’s absence has been felt the most as the team’s anchor on both ends of the floor. While Embiid’s been recovering from COVID-19, the Sixers have gone just 2-6 in his absence, and sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. They face the Warriors on Wednesday night with their big man sidelined.
Getting Embiid back will be huge for a Sixers team that has been banged up over the past couple weeks. Seth Curry is currently day-to-day with a back injury, which has already caused him to miss one game. Danny Green is dealing with a hamstring injury, Harris returned from his COVID-19 bout only to then get slowed down by a hip injury. Then there’s still the Ben Simmons saga which has come no closer to any resolution.
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But despite all those injuries, the Sixers are still treading water with a 10-8 record, thanks to an 8-2 start to the season. Before Embiid was sidelined, the Sixers boasted the NBA‘s top offense, and were shooting a league-leading 39.4 percent from deep.
However, when Embiid returns, he’ll be coming back to a team that hasn’t fared well without him, as the offense dropped to 15th in the league in his absence. But his production this season (21.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, four assists), will undoubtedly give Philadelphia a much-needed boost on both sides of the floor.
Perfect starts by Texas and Oklahoma have set up the 43rd meeting between the Red River rivals where both teams will be ranked with potentially much more on the line.
The Cowboys looked elite again in a 38-3 pounding of the Patriots. Now comes the hard part: A trip to San Francisco to avenge last season’s playoff loss.
The San Francisco 49ers remain undefeated after the first month of the regular season.
And while their team is obviously stacked on both sides of the field, star RB Christian McCaffrey has been their best offensive player by a significant margin.
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That’s why OT Trent Williams believes he has a legitimate shot to become the first non-quarterback to win MVP honors since Adrian Peterson did it in 2012, via Around The NFL.
“Hey, all them streaks come to an end eventually, right?” Williams said, via ESPN. “This might be the year. I can see it.”
Peterson needed to rush for more than 2,000 yards to get the nod, and CMC will have plenty of competition, including his own teammate, Brock Purdy, who’s still undefeated as a starter.
It’s hard to ignore McCaffrey’s video-game-like production.
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He had 106 yards on 20 carries and three rush touchdowns, all while hauling in seven passes for 71 receiving yards and another score.
That performance put him right by Jerry Rice as the only player with 150+ scrimmage yards and four+ TD in a game in franchise history.
It was also a career-best performance from a touchdown perspective, and the second-most scrimmage touchdowns in team history.
On top of that, the former Carolina Panther is now the seventh player to score at least one touchdown in 13+ straight games — including playoff — passing Rice for team history.
As of now, he just trails a plethora of legends and Hall of Famers, such as Emmitt Smith (14), O.J. Simpson, John Riggins, and Lenny Moore (15 each).
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As of now, he has the most rushing yards (459) in the league and is tied for most rushing touchdowns as well (six), and has a grand total of 600 scrimmage yards through four games, which is also the highest number in the league.
