Eagles’ Nick Sirianni wins one for Frank Reich, in spite of his decision-making

INDIANAPOLIS — As Nick Sirianni walked off the field following his Eagles’ 17-16 comeback victory over the Colts on Sunday, he yelled to no one in particular, but maybe loud enough so Jim Irsay in the owner’s box could hear, “That’s for Frank!”

Two weeks after his mentor Frank Reich was fired, Sirianni returned to face his former team, looking first and foremost for the Eagles’ next win, but also perhaps to enact some vengeance for the former Colts coach.

“I’m emotional because I love Frank Reich. I really do,” Sirianni said afterward. “He’s one of the best damn football coaches I’ve ever been around. I was hoping that him and I would be able to coach against each other in this game.

“He’s one of my biggest mentors. … You don’t want to know what I think if he should be here or not.”

Sirianni was red-faced as he walked through the tunnel and toward the visitors’ locker room at Lucas Oil Stadium. Awaiting him was general manager Howie Roseman and they embraced. And with tears in his eyes, he was greeted with cheers from his players and then the game ball from quarterback Jalen Hurts.

“I know as he walked off the field he got a little emotional,” Hurts said. “I guess I didn’t help when I tossed him the ball. Coach doesn’t get enough credit for what he does for us.”

The Eagles are 9-1 — the only NFL team remaining with one loss — largely because of Sirianni. But Sunday’s game wasn’t one of his best. Maybe coming back here amid the controversy over Reich’s departure, and following the first defeat of the season, played some part in the coach’s questionable decision-making.

Or maybe it was just another week when the Eagles played down to their competition and the Colts played up. But for the first time this season Sirianni’s offense looked out of whack for most of the 60 minutes.

And a lot of it had to with dubious choices the coach made in regards to fourth downs, timeouts, and play-calling.

“I’ve got to stick with my — I don’t want to say gut — I’ve got to stick with my conviction when I make a decision,” Sirianni said, “and live with it.”

Sirianni, Hurts, and the offense delivered when it ultimately mattered, however, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to rally from 10- and six-point deficits. Trailing 13-3 in the third quarter, the coach went to his key players with a message.

“He was just telling me to be who I am,” Hurts said. “I said, ‘I got you.’”

And Hurts, much as he has all season as he continues to build a case as the league’s most valuable player, got it done in the clutch with his arm and legs. But mostly it was his running that vaulted the Eagles past the Colts.

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Some of it was improvisational. But much of it was designed as Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen kept dialing up quarterback keepers. Hurts, overall, rushed 16 times for 86 yards. Four were draws for 30 yards — the last a 7-yard game-winner through a parted sea of Colts.

“You put the ball in your players’ hands that you trust to make the plays at that time. … Jalen is special with the ball in his hands,” Sirianni said. “That thing opened up. I was looking at the play and then I kind of looked over at [pass game coordinator] Kevin Patullo and Kevin’s going crazy because I kind of put my head down for a second.”

It might have been warranted for Sirianni and the Eagles to drop their heads through a mistake-filled first three quarters. While the defense settled down after allowing the Colts to score a touchdown on their opening drive, the offense couldn’t seem to get out of its own way.

Four penalties — three of which came on consecutive plays — marred the first two possessions. On the third drive, center Jason Kelce’s high snap at the 2-yard line reversed the Eagles and forced them to settle for a 22-yard field goal.

Sirianni passed up a fourth down at the 4-yard line, which was a toss-up based on one analytical model. But he conservatively didn’t use a timeout on the Colts’ last series of the first half when the Eagles still had three and time to score again.

“I didn’t feel great about how we were moving it. … And I didn’t want to help them out anymore with the timeouts,” Sirianni said. “Hey, if we lost that game and I didn’t do it, I would have probably said, ‘Hey, I shouldn’t have done that.’”

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After the break, the Eagles drew up a shot play. But blocking assignments were off and Colts defensive end Yannick Ngakoue easily got around running back Miles Sanders and strip-sacked Hurts from behind.

A drive later, the Eagles advanced into Colts territory again. But they stalled at the 39. Sirianni went for it on fourth-and-10, though, instead of trotting Jake Elliott out for a 57-yard field goal on indoor turf.

“Did I feel great about kicking that right there? I didn’t,” Sirianni said. “And I wanted to see if we could get a first down there, and we didn’t.”

There were other puzzling game-management moments. The Eagles let the third-quarter clock run out even though they were behind 10 points and needed time. Sirianni inexplicably burned a timeout before a field goal that extended the Colts’ lead to 16-10 with just under five minutes left.

And he used another after the two-minute warning when he tried to lure the Colts offside with a fake speed sneak on fourth-and-2. Sirianni declined to go into detail about his thinking there, citing “strategy.”

But Sirianni wisely called Hurts’ number after the timeout with a straight power run and the quarterback picked up 3 yards. The Eagles ran the ball on 10 straight plays on the game-winning scourge. Hurts was dropped for a 3-yard loss on the ninth. He saw nothing but space and the blue end zone on his final carry, though.

“We rep’d that play a lot last week,” Kelce said.

Hurts didn’t get off to a strong start, either. He took a sack that moved the Eagles out of field-goal range. He made a few questionable reads in the zone-read game as running backs were stopped for no gain on two short third downs.

But like his coach, he came through in crunch time.

“We had those penalties on one drive and we still almost got the first down,” Hurts said. “That’s crazy thinking about that. What I take away from that is eliminate the self-inflicted wounds and let’s see who can play our best football.

“I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of that.”

The Eagles escaped, and while the sloppiness on offense could be a harbinger for how the final two months will proceed, they found a way to deliver a win for their coach along with receiver Zach Pascal and assistants Sirianni brought with him who worked for the Colts.

“It’s sweet to come here, especially with what happened with this organization the last couple of weeks and get the win,” Sirianni said, referencing the controversial firing of Reich, who won a Super Bowl with the Eagles as offensive coordinator. “We’re leaving Indianapolis with a win.”

A win for the Eagles, but a moral victory for their coach.