Nick Sirianni, Shane Steichen Keeping Offense Fun with various Wrinkles

For a head coach who just turned 40 last summer in Nick Sirianni and a 36-year-old offensive coordinator, Shane Steichen, the Eagles offense sure has shown some wrinkles lately, huh?

Cornerback Darius Slay as a wide receiver vs. Washington in Week 15.

“That was a play we've ran throughout the year,” said Steichen on Tuesday afternoon. “It's been a good play for us, so Slay in that situation, he was just a little eye candy for us. He actually drew a ton of attention.

"If you go back and watch the play, the guy was man to man. He ran with them and pulled another guy and it just opened up that huge lane that we hit on Miles (Sanders), so it was awesome to see.”

DeVonta Smith in a three-point stance next to Jordan Mailata, making him look an extremely undersized tight end, also vs. Washington.

“That’s the first time in an actual game,” said Smith, “(though) we repped it in practice a couple times. I just always got down in a 3-point stance, trying to be funny.”

Then, the cherry on top, Lane Johnson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to help bury the New York Giants on Sunday.

“I think those (offensive wrinkles) are talked about throughout the week,” said Steichen, “those situations to put those guys in the game. Obviously, there are certain looks on tape that we see that can get us those, and obviously, there is a look on tape when you got down in there tight for Lane to get that touchdown.

“It was an awesome job by everyone, the execution. It was so great to see Lane get that touchdown. He's been working tail off all year, and he deserved that touchdown, so we're super excited for him.”

What’s next Jordan Mailata up the middle on third-and-goal from the 2?

“We figure out these trick plays, and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, what about me?’” said Mailata after the Eagles moved above .500 at 8-7 with a 34-10 rout of New York. “Then I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll just play left tackle.’ It’s all good.”

Mailata added, “I’m not going to say the people want to see it, but I’m just going to do my job as a left tackle,” said the mammoth left tackle. “I still got a lot to work on.”

Yes, Jordan, the people want to see it. Trust me on that.

And why not?

This Eagles offense has been having some fun these past few months, so sure, why not jazz it up with some trickery?

The Eagles have scored 398 points this season which is tied for eight-most in their history with the 2006 team.

They have 22 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for fifth in the team’s record books with a team from 1953. They are right behind the 23 put up from the 1944 and 2003 teams, the 25 from 1949, and the 26 from 1945.

Notice a trend there?

Those teams, with the exception of 2003, were teams when football was played more on the ground and not in the air like it is today.

Since Week 8:

Converted 50 percent of their third downs (first in the NFL over that span)

Posted 87 explosive plays (first)

Own a scoring efficiency of 51.2 percent (first)

Averaged 203.9 rush yards per game (first).

Scored 29.9 points per game (second)

Averaged 380 total yards per game (third)

Back in Week 2 when the Eagles tried a trick play, using Greg Ward to try a pass on fourth-and-goal against the 49ers after getting inside the 10 on a 91-yard Jalen Hurts throw to Quez Watkins. Ward’s pass failed, and Sirianni was criticized for being too cute.

Cute is always more fun when a team is winning, and the Eagles have won six of their last eight to put themselves in playoff position.

MORE: Eagles Coordinators Could Generate Interest on NFL ...

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.