Maybe Saquon Barkley’s running back is the best of all time, but the Philadelphia Eagles head coach isn’t likely to receive that kind of praise for his decisions. And the Eagles’ victory over the Jaguars doesn’t prove they’ll win the NFC East because Nick Sirianni needs to recover from the madness.
Sirianni’s crazy decision to go for two points late in the first half instead of taking a three-point lead into the locker room nearly cost his team the game in Sunday’s 28-23 win over the Jaguars.
The Eagles are in position to win the NFC East, but they can’t risk giving away games.
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni made some strange decisions
There’s a reason Dan Orlovsky hammered Sirianni. It’s because he deserved it. Orlovsky said he didn’t trust Sirianni on ESPN’s Get Up.
“I like the Philadelphia team, I don’t trust the coach,” Orlovsky said. “I think he’s the only legitimate playoff contender with a coach as a question mark. The coach is a question mark. No coach takes away more points than Nick Sirianni. This is unacceptable.
The Eagles were 0 for 2 on fourth down and 0 for 3 on 2-point conversions. And one of those conversion attempts came with the Eagles leading 16-0 with 22 seconds left in the half. If Sirianni continues to make these “reckless” decisions, as Orlovsky calls them, the Eagles will lose at least two games they shouldn’t lose. And that could be enough to keep them out of first place in the NFC East.
Another problem is the way Sirianni eliminates things. He has to say the decision is wrong and he won’t do it again. Instead, he said, according to nbcsportsphiladelphia.com: “You always think of everything.”
“You think about who you have,” Sirianni said. “You think about your past experiences with that product (and) you always look at the analytics on it. We were pretty good with those. Today they did a good job. And I will watch everything. Right now, I’m still doing what I think is best for the football team. Today it didn’t work. That’s how it happens. This is the hat I must wear. When we get a fourth down and we convert a fourth down, nothing is really said. If we don’t do this, I understand there will be questions.
Let’s analyze these comments. The decision was carefully considered. You look at the analytics. I always do what’s best for the football team. Today it didn’t work.
These are the comments of a man who probably thinks too highly of himself. Coaches make mistakes. Own it. Be a man. There is no universe where going for two with a 16-point lead at this stage of the game doesn’t make sense. It’s probably true that in no game, EVER, does this make sense. Perhaps an absurd scenario where the other team gets angry and goes into the locker room early, and the conversion works without a defender on the field. But it’s probably not even legal.
So if Sirianni doesn’t start coaching like an NFL head coach who wants to keep his job, the win over the Jaguars proves nothing about the Eagles’ ability to win the NFC East.
Here’s his take: “I have to be able to have the courage to really do that at the end of the day and say, ‘Am I doing everything I can to help us win the game?’ “In those moments, I thought I was, but I’m going to go back and see them again. I will always be hypercritical of myself. When it doesn’t work, I’ll definitely think about it some more.
Think harder, man.
The Eagles defense still has to prove it
Philadelphia let the Falcons wander down the field for a game-winning touchdown in the final minute of Week 2. The Eagles also made Baker Mayfield look like a star in Week 4. And then they almost melted against the Jaguars . If Trevor Lawrence hadn’t handed the Eagles a victory on a silver platter with a bad pass, it would have been a terrible ending for a team that led 22-0 in the second half.
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The stats favor the Eagles so far. They rank third in the NFL in yards allowed per game. They are #7 against the pass and #5 against the run. And they are in 9th place in points allowed per game. But they have played the easy end of their schedule so far. Still, give them credit for what they’ve accomplished so far, and let’s see how it goes from here.
Give Vic Fangio props for setting up linebacker Nakobe Dean for Sunday’s game-saving interception. Dean said the Jaguars I didn’t cheat on himaccording to philadelphiaeagles.com.
“It’s a play I knew they had,” Dean said. “They have good backs that can run good routes, I know Saquon scored on them earlier in the game. I was kind of waiting for it. It was the right moment. It was a high red zone. They knew what we were in, they knew 3×1 when we were at the end of the game, so they got it right and I just had to play.
Career interception No. 1 turned out to be a significant mistake for Dean. Sirianni liked it.
“It was the best play I’ve ever seen,” Sirianni said. “And I had no choice but to give it to him – I gave away game balls this year for special games. Obviously, Nakobe gets one. Ends the play with, I guess, would you call it a walk-off interception? I guess you would call it that. Even if you have to get down on three knees. They should allow you to go to the next room.
Another strength of the Eagles is the linebacker position. Against the Jaguars, Zack Baun had 10 tackles, one interception, two passes defended and one tackle for loss.
