EAGLES HAVE NO ROOM FOR ERROR AGAINST COMMANDERS
- Al Thompson
- 2 minutes ago
- 6 min read
The Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) square off against the Washington Commanders (4-10) late Saturday afternoon (5:00PM-FOX)) at Northwest Stadium.
The Birds have much on the line: A win earns them the NFC East Title, a spot in the playoffs with a guaranteed home game.
A win would also mean they are the first team to win back-to-back NFC East titles for the first time since 2004.
A win keeps the Birds in the hunt to move up in the seeding. Currently the Eagles are the No. 3 seed.
They are the No. 3 seed because they are in first place in their division. Even if they win out, the beat record the Eagles could record is 12-5.
Currently, there are five teams in the NFC with fewer losses than the Birds.
After the first round, the seedings are based on team’s regular season record.
So, they need to keep winning and hope higher seeds lose a game or two over the final three weeks and help the Birds chances to get a second home game.
The Commanders have nothing but pride to play for and would like nothing more than to ruin the Eagles party.
Last season, the Eagles finished 14-3 which earned them the No.2 seed. They got a huge break when the top-seeded Detroit Lions, ravaged by injuries, lost in the first round.
The Eagles played all three playoff game in the friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field.
Nick Sirianni must measure every word he says to maintain the atmosphere last week’s 31-0 victory over the hapless Las Vegas Raiders put them in.
Here is Sirianni’s Friday press conference:
Obviously, Washington is having a down year with injuries and such, but when you dove into the tape this week as you prep for the game, what are some things that stood out to you guys that could pose some problems?
Nick Sirianni: “I’ve got a lot of respect for their coaching staff. They do a great job. A lot of respect for the players that you see year in, year out that you go against. They’ve got a lot of good players and they’ve got great coaches. They've had some tight games that they've lost, and they've played really well. They've done a lot of good things. So yeah, I’ve got a lot of respect for this team.
We saw QB Jalen Hurts attacking the process and the mechanics of under center starting around Minnesota Week. How have you [seen] him attack that in the middle of the season? Kind of expanding that and how he can-?”
Nick Sirianni: “As far as?”
The process of playing that.
Nick Sirianni: He'll do everything he can do to help himself get better at everything he works at. I've seen a lot of hard work [at] things like that, and that's just who Jalen is. He's going to attack every process with great focus, with great energy, with great detail to become the best football player he possibly can. You always admire that from him."
Following up with Washington having a down year, they have allowed the fifth most rushing yards per game. With QB Jalen Hurts having the success that he did last game running the ball, what opportunity does that present for him on the ground in this matchup?
Nick Sirianni: You always look at the tape when you go through your process of how you want to attack, what's good for your guys, what your guys do well, all those different things, how do you mesh things together.
“There are some different ways we want to attack. We know that we'll have to execute and we'll have to adjust as coaches and as the game goes on to give our guys the best chance to succeed. There are going to be multiple different ways we try to attack. If one of them is that way, then it'll be that way.
“We feel good about the plan going in, but we're going to naturally see some things that we didn't expect. We'll have to adjust and the guys will have to execute.
How do you feel about the opportunity to win a second division title in a row?
Nick Sirianni: It is just the next game right here. It's just the next game and we know it's an opportunity to win the division, and as my dad used to always say, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'm excited to be able to go out and play football, to coach football and an opportunity for us to get better against a well-respected opponent."
What have you seen from RB Tank Bigsby? I mean, he obviously got a lot of carries in the last game and everything, but it seems like he's becoming more and more part of the offense. What do you kind of see from him?
Nick Sirianni: “We obviously try to get him carries as the game goes, and how the game goes dictates how many carries he gets. We just feel like he practices with great energy and then you see that on game day, he plays with great energy. I think he does a really good job.
“He gets so much energy when he makes a play, and every run, he runs hard. That's a result of who he is week in, week out. What you guys don't get to see is throughout practice, so it's how he practices and how he goes about his business. Love what he brings to our football team.”
In Lane Johnson’s case, what's the thought process of not putting him on IR when the injury happened?
Nick Sirianni: “We'll see where we are by the end—We’ve still got a little time to see what's going on this week, so we'll see what happens. Every case you think through differently, individually, and you never put anything past Lane.
“At the end of the day, we'll do what's best for Lane and what the doctors feel like is best for Lane of when he plays and everything like that.”
You have some players who haven't been in a clinching-type situation before. Do you enjoy watching those players experience that?
Nick Sirianni: “What we think about is this next game and our preparation for this game. There hasn't been a lot of talk about, ‘Hey, this is an opportunity to do this.’ This is an opportunity to go play a well-respected opponent on Saturday at five o'clock. We're excited about that opportunity there.
“I’ll always find joy in guys that get to experience things like that, but we’ve got to go do it, right? We’ve got to go play a good game; we’ve got to go coach a good game. Then, we will cross that bridge when we get there, and excited to go play this week.”
Seems like having WR Britain Covey back returning punts has added another element, especially keeping you guys from being so backed up. What led to holding off on putting him back out there until now?
Nick Sirianni: “He's doing a really good job now and he's been consistently doing a good job with that part. He brings a lot to us, and just excited that he's back out there ripping it.
“There are always things with the roster that sometimes you're able to do and you're [not] able to do. We're just excited that he's back there right now and we know he gives us a spark in that area.”
How have you seen Jordan Mailata make an impact as a leader this season, especially when we have so many young guys like T Myles Hinton, T Cameron Williams, and C/G Drew Kendall in that room.
Nick Sirianni: "He cares so deeply about his teammates and he's such a good example with how he works and how he's developed. The man never played football before and now this guy’s on what? Fifth or sixth years starting?
“He has had a lot of success, contracts, accolades, all these different things. He's a great example. Then it really goes down to how much he cares about people: his teammates, his coaches, the people in the building. He's a special dude.”
In hard knocks, we saw the excitement about the play design on the final touchdown. What in particular about that play design was exciting?
Nick Sirianni: “I was excited about the touchdown. Jalen threw a great ball, and it was great. When things go out there, it works and you score a touchdown, you get excited about that. There's no doubt.” *
Email Al Thompson at al.thompson@footballstories.com
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