Nick Sirianni defends his late-game clock management and offers updates on Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith
When asked to assess the performance of Sean Mannion and his offense through the first five weeks of the season, Sirianni said, “We all have to be better.”
Nick Sirianni was clear on Sunday afternoon that his decision to allow Jake Elliott to kick the ball to Ameer Abdullah with eight seconds left cost his team the game. A day later, after being able to review the game-ending situation that led to the Eagles’ third straight loss, Sirianni again admitted his mistake.
“Leading into that last play, I said what I said yesterday and I stand by that,” Sirianni told reporters over Zoom on Monday. “I did not make the decision that I wanted to make there in that particular case, and it cost us. There’s nothing else to be said.”
However, the Eagles’ ill-fated kickoff wasn’t the only questionable decision Sirianni had to clarify. The sixth-year head coach, who finds himself under .500 for the first time since his 2021 debut season, was asked Monday about the series of decisions that led up to Elliott’s go-ahead, 48-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining. Specifically, he was asked why the team wasn’t able to milk the clock even further on its final drive and leave no time for a potential comeback by the Jaguars.
» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni: ‘I cost us that game’ after coaching blunders waste a defensive gem in London
It’s a situation the team practices weekly — “every single Wednesday” to be exact — and to Sirianni, his decisions were all about maximizing his kicker’s chances.
“It’s a little more complicated than I think people understand,” Sirianni said of what he and his team call “two minute to four minute” in practice. “And my opinion is people stop trying. You get to around the 35 [-yard line], you’re in range, and people stop trying to kind of advance the ball forward. ... Because if you don’t make the kick, nothing else matters, right?”
The trouble started once the Eagles got into field-goal range with 25 seconds remaining. It was first-and-10 from the Jaguars’ 34-yard line, and Jacksonville had one timeout remaining. Instead of running on first down and forcing the Jaguars to use their final timeout, the Eagles dialed up a pass play and an incompletion by Jalen Hurts stopped the clock. On second down, they threw again, and although this one was a 7-yard completion to Makai Lemon, the rookie receiver was pushed out of bounds and the clocked stopped again with 17 seconds left. On third down, they finally handed the ball off, but Dameon Pierce was tripped up in the backfield for a 3-yard loss.
According to Sirianni, the team was more worried about gaining a few yards to ease the burden on Elliott rather than ensuring the Jaguars didn’t get the ball back. If either of those first two plays ended with the clock still running, the Eagles would’ve been able to wind the clock all the way down.
“In that situation, you’re trying to move the ball forward. Running it is an option, obviously, but with what Jacksonville was doing in that particular case, it wasn’t going to be an option,” Sirianni explained.
In the end, the Eagles gained a total of 4 yards, which was more than enough for Elliott, whose kick landed three-quarters of the way up the net. Even still, Sirianni thought the team did its job by both getting into field goal range and giving the Jaguars fewer than 10 seconds to strike back.
» READ MORE: Eagles coach Nick Sirianni takes the blame for final kickoff decision: ‘That’ll stick with me’
“Not only do we practice it, but I’ll study those situations throughout the week, whatever I deem that kind of came up that way, in pro football,” Sirianni added. “And in my opinion, I think you see a lot of times teams take their foot off the gas there. Now, you love for the last play of the game to be your kick, but you also say, hey, if I can get that clock under 20 seconds, you’re accomplishing that as well.”
Of course, the eight seconds the Eagles left on the clock might not have mattered if Sirianni had made the right decision on the ensuing kickoff, but he’s not apologizing for how his team handled its final drive.
“I stand by what I did in that situation. Had eight seconds left to go in the game once we gave the ball back to them. And that’s where my decision is that I regret of what I did then after that. But to give them back the ball with eight seconds left, I think we did what we needed to do as an offense.”
Sirianni on Sean Mannion and the offense: ‘We all have to be better’
Sirianni didn’t offer much support for new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion when asked to assess his performance through the first five weeks of the season.
“I think right now offensively we all have to be better,” Sirianni said. “We’re not worried about gauging where this person is, where that person is. We’re worried about growth. ... Obviously, it hasn’t been good enough.”
» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni’s anemic Eagles offense is a bigger problem than his game management
The circumstances have been difficult, with injuries plaguing the offense and an offensive line forced to reshuffle due to Lane Johnson’s retirement and the trade of Cam Jurgens. But Sirianni sounded a positive note about the state of the season.
“It’s very early on in the season. … I don’t think there’s any panic from any player or coach in this building,” Sirianni said. “We’ve had three-game losing streaks before... Our job is to get up and keep fighting.”
Sirianni ‘hopeful’ to have Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith back vs. Panthers
Sirianni didn’t offer any specifics, but seemed optimistic both Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith will be back sooner rather than later.
Sirianni said he was “hopeful” Barkley and Smith will be able to suit up Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, but cautioned that could change if things “play out differently” leading up to the game.
“We’ll see where we are at the end of the week,” Sirianni said.
Barkley has been dealing with a hamstring injury that forced him out of Week 4’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Smith has missed two straight games with a lingering right hamstring injury, which dates back to training camp.
For over two decades, one of the guiding personnel principles of the Philadelphia Eagles organization has been to prioritize the offensive line. Through four games, and this past week in particular, the group has undergone dramatic turnover. Hall of Fame-caliber tackle Lane Johnson retired. Cam Jurgens was shipped to Baltimore in a trade. Their respective replacements have potential, but, compared to how general manager Howie Roseman has stockpiled talent on the line in the past, the options now seem less optimal. Did Roseman and the Eagles stray from a long-held philosophy? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane retraces key decisions that brought the team to this point. Listen here.
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