Former coach, others rip Nick Sirianni’s decision to rest Eagles’ starters: ‘Makes no sense’
Meanwhile, a pair of ex-players believe it was the smart — and safe — decision, despite the No. 2 seed being at stake.
The No. 2 seed in the NFC was on the line on Sunday during the late window — but Nick Sirianni and the Eagles instead chose to rest their starters against Washington. The Birds needed the Bears to lose to have a shot at it, but the two games were unfolding simultaneously.
Instead of playing for the win and hoping for a Bears loss, the Birds looked forward to the playoffs. But some other former NFL coaches didn’t understand that decision, including Rex Ryan.
“If we had a chance for the two seed? Hell yeah, you’re playing the whole game, we’ll rest in the offseason,” Ryan said of the Eagles’ opportunity to guarantee themselves a second home playoff game if they advance past the San Francisco 49ers.
“One thing I know about Philly?” Ryan added. “They are hard as hell to beat in the playoffs at home.”
» READ MORE: Eagles have a tough playoff road, as few No. 3 seeds have made it to the Super Bowl
The Birds earned the No. 2 seed in 2024, and had home-field advantage until the Super Bowl thanks to last year’s No. 1 seed, the Detroit Lions, losing in the divisional round. This year, the third-seeded Eagles could potentially get just one home game, Sunday’s wild-card round game against San Francisco.
“I don’t understand Nick Sirianni not playing for the 2 seed Sunday,“ Peter King wrote in his newsletter. ”Makes no sense. If you’re the 2 seed and you win the Wild Card game, you’re home for two playoff games. If you’re the 3 seed and the 2 seed wins the Wild Card game, you’re home for only one playoff game. Seems like a missed opportunity to me, sitting so many of your guys in a game you’d likely win. Sirianni said he opted for resting guys who needed it. We’ll see if impacts the next two weeks."
Chad Johnson, however, disagreed. The former wide receiver said giving the players the week off and not concerning themselves with the results of the other teams was the best path forward, to make sure everyone was good to go for the games that matter.
“Honestly, I like it, especially with the way they’ve looked,” Johnson said on Nightcap. “They’ve been up and down all season long. It’s one game or go home. It doesn’t matter where we’re seeded. We still have to play the game.”
» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni didn’t rest Kevin Patullo and the Eagles offense still looked inadequate
Former Eagles defensive end Chris Long agreed that due to the injuries along the offensive line, it was best to just rest everyone to avoid anyone else getting hurt ahead of the playoffs. After the previous game against the Commanders ended in a scuffle, Long believes it was also the safest outcome.
“It’s a bit of a rockhead take, but if Jalen Hurts were playing in that game, [Commanders LB Frankie] Luvu would have done some crazy [expletive] to him,” Long said on his Green Light podcast. “Dudes were head hunting. … You had to rest the offensive line. That’s the crux of it. That offensive line is hanging on by a thread. Jalen out there without that offensive line, it’s going to be terrible.”
Hurts — and the rest of the Eagles starters — will be back out on the field Sunday when they host the Niners at 4:30 p.m.
» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni did the smart thing by resting his starters. Now the Eagles have to show he was right. | Mike Sielski