Jason Kelce reacts to the Eagles’ questionable late-game decision on ‘New Heights’
The Eagles decided to go for it on fourth-and-6 from Green Bay’s 35-yard line. “Still don’t really fully understand it, to be honest with you,” Kelce said.
The Eagles may not be perfect, but they still find a way to win.
The Monday Night Football matchup with the Green Bay Packers was just another example of that. After a scoreless first half, the Eagles did just enough to escape Lambeau Field with a 10-7 win.
The game came down to the last 30 seconds when Nick Sirianni made the controversial decision to go for it on fourth-and-6 from Green Bay’s 35-yard line. A deep shot from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown failed and Green Bay got the ball back with a chance to get into field-goal range. Fortunately, the Eagles defense stepped up — again. However, Sirianni’s decision was surprising to many.
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“They’re winning 10-7 and this is the big decision that everyone wants to talk about, right? Eagles elect to go for it on fourth down,” Jason Kelce said on the New Heights podcast. “At this moment, before they come out on the field, I’m like ‘OK, are they going to kick a field goal or are they going to punt?’ Even when they put the offense out there, I thought punt because you don’t want to give too good a field position here to Green Bay.
“But the Eagles put their offense on the field. I’m like ‘OK, they’re probably just going to take a delay of game so it’s an easier distance for the punter to kind of put it up in the air and let it come down inside the 20.’ And then they snap the ball and I’m like ‘Oh, [expletive]. They’re actually running a play.’”
Plenty of viewers, including former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil, were confused by the decision to go for it instead of punting or going for a long field goal.
“Still don’t really fully understand it, to be honest with you,” Kelce said. “I think the Eagles in general are one of the most aggressive teams, right? And Nick has been this way his whole career and it’s allowed us to win a lot of football games. I know it was cold. Typically punting, though, I wouldn’t think that like affects that. I mean, I know it affects the punter a lot. But, you’re not going for distance. You’re just trying to kick this thing up there and get a little bit of field position. … Thankfully, the defense showed up and got a stop when they needed it.”
Throughout the night, the Eagles defense held off the Packers, and their latest addition, Jaelan Phillips, had an immediate impact, including making a pivotal fourth-down stop late in the game.
“For the Eagles, this might be the greatest thing that’s happened this season so far — getting Jaelan Phillips,” Kelce said. “What an amazing maiden voyage for the veteran defensive end, outside linebacker, whatever you want to call him, edge defender. He made his presence felt early and often. He was phenomenal all game long. We knew he was a great player. He picked up right away and came up huge for the Eagles.”
‘New Heights’ tailgate at the Linc
The Eagles’ next three opponents will be the Detroit Lions, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Chicago Bears. During the Black Friday game against the Bears on Nov. 28, Kelce announced they will be hosting a New Heights tailgate starting at 11 a.m. in Lot K.
Although Travis Kelce won’t be in attendance, Jason said he “probably” will make an appearance. There will be food, merchandise, giveaways, a photo booth, a DJ, a field-goal competition, cornhole games, and more. The tailgate is free and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.