INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Nick Sirianni charged off the sideline and pumped his fist like he’d chugged down five energy drinks and the caffeine was just kicking in. The sight of Haason Reddick sacking Matthew Stafford once in the closing minutes Sunday, then again on the next play, was simply too much for the coach to contain himself. It doesn’t take much to get Sirianni fired up, but his combustible temperament is the most ironic aspect of his tenure so far with the Eagles. His emotion is forever spilling out, but his team is as even-keeled as it gets.
“Nick does a great job of showing us situational football each and every week,” Reddick said, “whether it’s a situation that we could be in, things that go wrong, teams that get penalties late in games, or when it’s going right. He does a great job preparing us and letting us know, ‘Hey, we have to be smart football players.’ High football IQ — that’s one of the No. 1 things that he preaches. Don’t do anything dumb.”
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Maybe we’ve been looking at the Eagles the wrong way so far this season. Five weeks, five victories, and maybe what we’re looking at isn’t a team that should be expected to be a dominant force just because it reached the most recent Super Bowl. Maybe what we’re looking at instead is a team that is coldly efficient, that is good enough to beat any opponent in any manner it must, that won’t come by its wins easily but will win nonetheless, and with relatively little to complain about in the end.
That perspective, that reminder to remember how the Eagles perform and stack up compared to the rest of the NFL, is important. There’s nothing easier — or, in Philadelphia, nothing more enjoyable — than to nitpick the Eagles’ mistakes and flaws in any game. And they had their share here at SoFi Stadium in beating the Rams, 23-14.
They struggled in the red zone, settling for three Jake Elliott field goals when a touchdown or two would have put the Rams away earlier. Their slot cornerback situation remains an issue; for a while there, it appeared that Cooper Kupp might catch a dozen passes Sunday. Quez Watkins cost the Eagles a first down by failing to cut inside on a third-down reception, then later jumped up and down in frustration after Jalen Hurts didn’t notice he was wide-open in the end zone, as if Watkins had done much of anything this season to regain Hurts’ trust.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown warms up before they face the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles cornerback Darius Slay (right) warms up before they play the Rams.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith warms up before the Eagles play the Rams.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles fans cheer as the team walks off the field during warm-ups before playing the Rams.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni points to fans during warm ups before the Eagles play the Los Angeles Rams.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws the football during warm ups.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles running back D'Andre Swift catches the football during warm ups.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert catches a first quarter touchdown against Los Angeles Rams safety Russ Yeast (center) and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert (right) celebrates his first quarter touchdown reception with teammate wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws the football against Los Angeles Rams linebacker Michael Hoecht during the first quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambles with the football past the Los Angeles Rams defense in the first quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles tight end Jack Stoll gets shoved out of bounds against Los Angeles Rams linebacker Michael Hoecht in the second quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts sneaks for a first down past the Los Angeles Rams defense in the second quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles running back D'Andre Swift attempts to runs for a second quarter first down against Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Larrell Murchison.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown makes a one-handed catch in front of Los Angeles Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick (right) late in the second quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (left) beats Los Angeles Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick (right) on a pass play late in the second quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts takes the ball on a quarterback sneak against the Los Angeles Rams late in the second quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (right) does a chilled-out celebration after his scores as time runs down in the first half against the Rams. The Eagles drove down the field and scored a touchdown with thirty-two seconds on the clock in the first half.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (right) celebrates a touchdown late in the second quarter against the Rams.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown stiff arms Rams cornerback Cobie Durant in the third quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts looks for a receiver against Los Angeles Rams linebacker Byron Young during the fourth quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles place kicker Jake Elliott kicks a fourth quarter 29-yard field goal with holder Braden Mann.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles running back D'Andre Swift runs with the football against in the fourth quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown dances after getting a fourth quarter first down with teammate cornerback Darius Slay.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick sacks Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford late in the fourth quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick celebrates his sack on Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford late in the fourth quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick celebrates his sack on Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford late in the fourth quarter.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick celebrates his sack on Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford late in the fourth quarter with Head Coach Nick Sirianni.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
So yes, they made those errors … then spent most of the second half not making them. Stafford is the best, most accomplished quarterback the Eagles have faced this season, and they shut him out after halftime. Hell, the Rams’ offense never crossed midfield in the game’s final 30 minutes. Hurts threw for 303 yards and appeared faster, more decisive as a runner, rushing for 72 yards and feeding the theory that the Eagles want him carrying the ball only so much, that they want him to be as healthy as possible when the regular season winds down and the playoffs begin. And when all else fails, they can just throw the ball to A.J. Brown or call another quarterback sneak — the two plays that rarely, if ever, let them down.
“Like everything, we have things to clean up,” Sirianni had said Friday. “On offense, on special teams, we all have phases of the game that we need to clean up. But I think they are doing a good job of — and the run game’s been outstanding as well — doing it a couple of different ways.”
It is the hallmark of the sort of team that is tough to beat — tougher to beat than just about any team. Look around the league. Most teams don’t play football in the modern NFL; they commit it. The quality of play is ragged everywhere. This team that destroyed that team just got beat by this other team that was shut out by what had been the worst team. The outcomes of most games are completely unpredictable. Except those games that Hurts is under center for the Eagles. They have won 22 of the last 23 regular-season games that he has started. Their coach has a powder-keg personality, but these Eagles are as predictable, and just about as successful, as it gets.
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