After starting off their season with a dismal 4-14 record, the Hornets have turned things around, going 23-17 since then. The play of rookies Kon Knueppel and Ryan Kalkbrenner has been a big part of that.
Allen was perhaps an option at shortstop for Atlanta coming into 2025, but not the option. The highly-regarded defender provided the team insurance up the middle for the struggling Arcia and the returning-from-injury second baseman Ozzie Albies. If Atlanta had upgraded the shortstop position prior to Spring Training, it was possible Allen would have been squeezed off the roster. However, he was expected to fill an end-of-the-bench role while providing exceptional defense when on the field.
Phillips paced all Eagles edge players with 52 snaps and racked up seven pressures, six tackles, two quarterback hits and a fumble recovery. His stuff on 4th-and-1 with 1:30 remaining led to a Josh Jacobs fumble that sealed the win. "This whole week we've been telling him we trust him, when we get out there we're all as one," defensive tackle Jalen Carter said. "He came out, showed out, he got the fumble, he got some pressures, and he had a hell of a game."