PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Eagles tried to squander a 22-point lead. They didn't.
If the Eagles did, it would have been the worst loss in the Nick Sirianni era. The past four years have included a lot of winning, as Sirianni's .678 win percentage trails only Matt LaFleur amongst active NFL head coaches. The Eagles are 40-19 since the start of the 2021 season (Sirianni's first season), trailing only the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills for the best win percentage in the NFL.
Pretty good company right? Yet it always seems Sirianni can't get out of his own way, even in victory.
The Eagles are 6-2 after eight games, a half-game out of the NFC East lead and easily in the playoff picture. They are 6-2 or better for three consecutive seasons, the first time that has happened since 1979 to 1981. A victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars should be celebrated, not put into question.
There were points Sirianni left on the board in Sunday's win, leaving the outcome coming down to a poor Trevor Lawrence pass that landed in the arms of Nakobe Dean in the end zone. A 22-0 lead turned into a 28-23 victory.
The win should have been greater. A win is a win in the NFL, but Sirianni is one of the few that can put the wins into question.
Sirianni left at least six points on the board Sunday. Here were the two biggest instances:
- 4:55 2Q: Fourth-and-3 from Jaguars 22-yard line -- Sirianni passes on a 40-yard field goal by Jake Elliott to put the Eagles up 13-0. The Eagles went for it and failed to convert (3 points).
- 1:25 3Q: Fourth-and-1 from Jaguars 25-yard line -- Sirianni passes on a 43-yard field goal by Jake Elliott with a 22-16 lead. A converted field goal would have put the Eagles' up two scores. Instead, the Eagles throw the ball and failed to convert. Philadelphia didn't even attempt the "tush push," which failed twice on two-point conversion attempts earlier in the game (3 points).
Late in the game, Sirianni reversed course on kicking a field goal -- from a much longer distance.
- 2:16 4Q: Fourth-and-4 from Jaguars 39-yard line -- Sirianni passes on punting and pinning the Jaguars back deep in their own territory with a 28-23 lead. Elliott misses a 57-yard field goal without kicking a field goal attempt since the second quarter (43-yard field goal made), giving the Jaguars the ball at their own 47-yard line with 2:11 left.
The inconsistency on field goal decisions and over-aggressiveness have doomed Sirianni in the past, but his players made plays that bailed him out on Sunday. The Eagles avoided disaster, yet the Jaguars don't have a chance to win if the Eagles take the points (assuming Elliott makes those two field goals).
As for the failed two-point conversions? Sirianni was always going to go for it when the the Jaguars went offsides and the Eagles had a 16-0 lead. Instead of the play being from the 2-yard line, it went to the 1-yard line -- the territory for the "tush push," which is a play the Eagles have converted 84% of the time heading into Sunday. The Eagles didn't get the "tush push" and the game stayed at 16-0.
Sirianni had another situation on the two-point conversion that arose again in regards to the "tush push." An unnecessary roughness penalty on a Jalen Hurts touchdown resulted in the ball moving from the 2-yard line to the 1-yard line -- another opportunity for the "tush push." The Eagles were stopped again, keeping the lead at 22-0.
Fair to argue the Eagles were chasing points there and left two total points on the board with those failed conversion attempts. But for a play as successful as the "tush push," it's easy to see Sirianni's logic on those decisions.
Sirianni did go for two later in the game when the Eagles were up 28-16, and no Jaguars penalty occurred prior to the play. That put the Eagles at the 2-yard line, which was a failed Jalen Hurts pass to DeVonta Smith. Given the situation, it makes more sense to try and take a 14-point lead than kick the extra point and go up 13.
Of course that situation could have been avoided if Sirianni kicks earlier in the game, or the Eagles convert their two-point conversions (by replay it looks like they converted at least one).
Perhaps last season's collapse after a 10-1 start is why all of Sirianni's decisions are micromanaged to the nearest decimal, but some of Sunday's decisions were head scratching.
At the end of the day, the Eagles won. Sirianni does a lot of that, regardless of how hard it seems to look.