Despite Result, Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni Doubles Down On His Decision-Making

PHILADELPHIA - Good decisions never guarantee good results.

Nick Sirianni understood that his decision to rest most of his key starters with the Eagles still having an opportunity to earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC could result in blowback because outcomes involve one’s choices and external factors, making the process more important than any single result.

On Sunday, two things had to happen for Philadelphia to jump to the second seed, the same starting block last January when the 2024-25 Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LIX.

The Eagles had to beat Washington, and the Detroit Lions had to upset the Chicago Bears.

Almost in concert late on Sunday afternoon, the Eagles were deadlocked with the Commanders 17-17, just as the Bears came back from a 16-0 deficit to tie the Lions 16-16 at Soldier Field.

From there, things went south for Sirianni. Josh Johnson cashed in from a yard out against many of the Eagles' backups with 2:32 left in Philadelphia to lift the Commanders to a 24-17 win, and out in the Windy City, the Lions recovered to drain the clock before a 42-yard Jake Bates walk-off field goal to upset the Bears.

The outcome was the worst-case scenario for Sirianni, but the Eagles head coach had no regrets.

Worst-Case Scenario

Jan 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Detroit Lions place kicker Jake Bates (39) celebrates with teammates after kicking a game-winning field goal against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. | David Banks-Imagn Images

“You go through your process, you make what you think is the best decision for the football team, and that's what we did,” Sirianni said. “I knew this was an outcome, that these things could happen.

“Like I said to you guys, one thing I could guarantee was giving [the starters] rest. I couldn't guarantee anything else. Us being healthy and going into the playoffs healthy is a big deal for us and that's served us well in the past. Again, I know there'll be debate on that, but I have to do what I think's best for the football team moving forward, and that's what I did.”

A sound decision with a bad outcome (like carrying an umbrella when it's supposed to rain and doesn't) can highlight the idea randomness, while a poor decision with a positive outcome (like winning a bet) can mask flawed reasoning and give a false sense that another poor decision might end well.

The goal for good decision-makers is to focus on refining the decision-making process for long-term improvement. In other words, the more good decisions you stack, the more positive outcomes you will have as the sample size increases.

Sirianni was also questioned on the opportunity for the Eagles to shift late in the game to the starters that were dressed but did not play, which was never seriously considered.

From a health and wellness standpoint, inserting “cold players” who warmed up at 4 ET before shutting it down to watch in freezing temperatures would leave them susceptible to soft-tissue injuries.

The only consideration given to that was emergency situations. Right guard Tyler Steen was reinserted once Brett Toth was ruled out with a concussion, and Sirianni noted that safety Reed Blankenship was in next-man-up mode after Brndon Johnson was ruled out with an ankle injury.

“I think my mindset more was all the good things that have happened as we've rested guys,” Sirianni said. “I didn't really think too much about the negatives of it. You think through everything, but I thought more about when we have had an opportunity to get a bye, that [has] served us well here in the past.”

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