Eagles Survive Mistakes by Both Nick Sirianni And The Refs
The Eagles treated us the past 2 weeks. They gave us easy wins where the city could kick their feet up and relax in the 4th quarter. After the 1st half, it looked like they were in line to do that again. But we were not so lucky. Between Nick Sirianni’s decision-making and 1 of the most blatant bad calls of all time by the refs, this game came down to the final minutes.
It was only a 5 point lead by the time the Jaguars got it back after a missed FG by Jake Elliott. There was 2:11 left on the clock, and they were moving the ball. They got all the way into the Red Zone. But then Nakobe Dean did what the defense struggled to do all year long, he made a play. Dean picked Lawrence off in the End Zone, and that was all she wrote. The Eagles won 28-23 to improve to 6-2.
Closer Than It Had To Be
It should not have been only a 5-point game. To start, Nick Sirianni left 9 points on the field. He passed up 2 FGs to go for it, with the team failing to convert, and he went for 3 2-point conversions, with the team failing to convert any of them.
Now if any of those had worked, it might be a different story. A few of them made sense at the moment. Going for it while up 12 to try to make it a 14-point game makes sense. But when you put it all together, considering that the game could have easily been 37-25, it does not reflect well on Sirianni.
It was also not the first game where this happened. Sirianni passed up several chances to take easy FGs vs the Saints too. They also won that game, but his choices made it closer than it had to be.
Then you add in the “fumble” return for a TD that the Jaguars got. Saquon was clearly down. A Jaguars defender clearly touched him. Yet even after a review, the refs somehow called it a fumble. It gave the Jags 7 points that should have never existed. If that call is made right, it is a 28-16 game. Even with the many Nick Sirianni mistakes, it would have been another comfortable win.
The Eagles Win Anyway
Even with all of that considered, it is a win. The Eagles are 6-2. Only 5 teams have a better record. 1 of those, the Commanders, only have a better record because they have played 1 more game. The Eagles have won 4 games in a row and won those games by a combined 54 points.
Jalen Hurts had a 4th straight game without a turnover, and it was another efficient game through the air by him. He went 18/24 with 2 TDs, both of which were perfect passes. He looked dangerous on the ground again too.
They are in a good spot. That said, it is hard to shake the feeling this game was harder than it had to be. It might not be fair to say they should have had all 9 of those points. Often being aggressive is the right choice. The Eagles scored 3 extra TDs against the Giants because of Nick’s aggressive style. But if he kicks just 1 of those FGs, and takes 1 of those extra points, they win by 9 points.
Instead, it will be another week where the city celebrates a win, but questions if the head coach is good enough to win in the long run. If you make those mistakes against a better team, they might lose. But for now, the Eagles continue to win.
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