Nick Sirianni's Lack Of Faith In Eagles Offense Showing Up In Decision-Making

PHILADELPHIA – Nick Sirianni’s lack of faith in his offense was visible in Black Friday’s game against the Chicago Bears, but there was a moment earlier in the season, where that was on display as well. So, let’s start there:

Jalen Hurts got up and walked off the field after having been sacked as the second quarter ticked down from 25 seconds, and even though they were in a third-and-13 situation at their own 35 in a game the Eagles led 14-6, they had had enough.

That was more than a month ago, on Oct. 19, in Minnesota against the Vikings. They had run 25 plays, gained 117 yards, picked up five first downs, and scored seven points to that point. The other seven points came from a pick-six touchdown by outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt. So, Hurts headed for the sidelines, as his teammates remained on the field, looking like they didn’t know there would be no more plays until the third quarter.

It seemed a little out of character for an aggressive coach like Nick Sirianni not to do more with those final seconds rather than running up the white flag of surrender. The Eagles won 28-22, so there was no need to inquire about what had happened.

Another Clock-Draining Moment

Fast forward to Black Friday, and the situation was eerily similar, at least in terms of letting valuable late-in-the-half seconds evaporate. This time, it came north of the two-minute warning when Hurts completed a 1-yard, first-down throw to A.J. Brown on a play that began with 2:47 to go in the second quarter and the Eagles trailing, 10-3.

With three timeouts and the ball at their 36, Sirianni opted to let the final 37 seconds expire. Hurts stood away from his teammates, who were huddled up, with his hands on his hips. The crowd wasn’t happy and made its displeasure known. Because the Eagles lost, 24-15, Sirianni was asked about the situation this time.

“We were still pushing for points,” he said, then repeated it. “We were still pushing for points. We had three timeouts, ball at the (36). We had plenty of time to go and score a touchdown and be the last ones with the football, so we got the one yard on the completion with 2:37. Then took it to the two-minute warning, and we were going on the ball after that.”

Perhaps it was the right decision, given the way the offense – and defense – were playing at that point. It probably made sense to not give the Bears the ball back. Still, Sirianni is usually super-aggressive and it felt uncharacteristic of him to let time melt away, just as it did in Minnesota.

“That's normal to how we would play that with the end of a half, but we were still - again, when we got back to getting it off of second down on the two-minute warning, we would've been on the ball there and gone,” said the coach.

As it was, the Eagles’ second-and-nine became third-and-nine. After what looked to be a first-down catch by A.J. Brown, who was flagged for a dubious offensive pass interference, it became third-and-19, then a punt.

The Eagles ended the half with two first downs, three points, and 83 yards of offense.

So, who could blame Sirianni if he wanted those 37 seconds to be gone rather than look for a quick score, use his three timeouts on defense, and get the ball back to look for more points? His offense seemingly is unable to pull off that feat this season.

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