Eagles' Nick Sirianni Offers Hints That Point Toward Rest In Week 18

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles are weighing whether or not to play their starters in Sunday’s Week 18 regular-season finale against the moribund Washington Commanders.

Philadelphia still has a chance to earn the No. 2 seed, which is the same starting block it was in last season when the Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LIX.

To do so, the Eagles would have to beat the Commanders, coupled with NFC North champion Chicago losing to Detroit in the Windy City.

“We’re still thinking through that,” was the party line coming from head coach Nick Sirianni during his weekly post-game-day video conference call with beat reporters, including Eagles On SI.

"There’s still things up in the air as far as seeding goes. It’s pretty similar to where we were last week,” Sirianni explained. “What you end up going through is obviously we’ve done it both ways. We’ve had opportunities to rest, we’ve had opportunities to continue to get a better seed and play.

“You go through your process, you go through all those different things, but every season is a little bit different. Every team is a little bit different. We’ll end up doing what we think is best for the team as we go through our process.”

While Sirianni did not commit to anything, he did offer up some hints that point to resting at least some of the Eagles’ key players, noting the landscape after the team’s last two Super Bowl appearances in 2022 and 2024 included resting players.

“We've had different scenarios,” Sirianni said. “... If I look back and how beneficial some of the byes that we've had have been, that's part of the reason why you think through it. It's a marathon of a season. You give your guys some rest, you get some time to think through some different things, even though you're preparing for an opponent as you go. Both times that I've been here that we've been to the Super Bowl, we've had that opportunity for a bye, and that's '22 and obviously '24. In '21, we created ourselves a bye as well. You have the opportunity to do that.”

Scoreboard Watching

Dec 20, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) leaves the field after the game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The closest comparison to what’s going on for the Eagles right now is the 2023 season when Philadelphia played its starters in a scoreboard-watching scenario with Dallas.

Had the Eagles beaten the New York Giants, and the Cowboys lost to Washington, Philadelphia would have won the NFC East.

Dallas routed the Commanders 38-10 and was up 21-0 by halftime. Before the Eagles could remove their starters, they lost A.J. Brown and Reed Blankenship to injury in the game and for the subsequent playoff loss at Tampa Bay.

“{in 2023], we played a little bit in that aspect,” said Sirianni. “You have a bunch of different scenarios, and yes, your seeding's not locked down yet, but you are thinking, 'Hey, can I put ourselves in the best position seeding wise?' But also, you're thinking to yourself how important byes are and creating them if you don't earn the right for the first-round bye.

“Those are all things you've got to think through and go through because I think a lot of guys would say, last year, that that was a big deal of being able to have a bye last year to set us up for what we ultimately did last year.”

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