Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni (Post-Game Transcript)
I know you like to look at the tape of these things with the offensive line and the job they did to get two backs over 100 yards rushing, especially OL Brett Toth. (Ed Kracz)
Nick Sirianni: Good group effort. Anytime you rush for that many yards, it takes everybody. It starts with [QB] Jalen [Hurts] and Brett getting us on the same page, checks, all the different things like that. Obviously, the O Line, deservingly so, played awesome. Deserves a lot of credit. Backs ran hard. All the guys that got touches ran hard. Receivers were blocking down field. Tight ends were doing a good job against really good edge guys. A lot of respect for [Giants OLBs Brian] Burns and [Kayvon] Thibodeaux and [Abdul] Carter on the problems that they can create on the edge. So, great team effort to be able to rush for that many yards.
Is this the best complimentary game of the season from your perspective? (John McMullen)
Nick Sirianni: I don’t know. I mean, it was a good win. Anytime you win in the National Football League, it’s a good win. It’s hard to win in the National Football League, so I don’t know if I can answer that right at this point. I’ve got to watch the tape, look through everything, but I thought that the defense played– I mean, until that last drive, held a good offense that’s been scoring a lot of points. The 13 points they scored and then they scored late.
Pass game was efficient. Run game was super explosive and efficient. Special teams created some really good field position. [RB] Will [Shipley] had some really good returns set up by really good blocking by our kickoff return unit, sticking on blocks and letting Will get going. [WR] Xavier [Gipson] did a good job of being the off returner there as well. I thought [there were] a lot of good things from each phase. Obviously, we’re going to have things to correct and work on.
Can you address the job that Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo has done so far and how well, or maybe not well, he’s ignored the noise because every time we talk to those guys in there, they’re saying, ‘It’s us, not him.’ And now it seems to be– (Marcus Hayes)
Nick Sirianni: I think that in football, it’s always us, all of us. I know they love Kevin, but it’s always all of us. I think Kevin’s really mentally tough. I think you have to be in this game regardless of anything. You have to be mentally tough in this game. It’s a long season. There’s ups and downs, there’s weekly stories, all those different things. I think what Kevin’s done a really good job of is being able to block out anything that can be a distraction to him and working like crazy to put himself in the best position to call the best game that he can each week regardless of what’s going on. I’ve got a lot of respect for Kevin in that aspect.
How much did no WR A.J. Brown change the game plan and alter how you wanted to attack? (Jeff McLane)
Nick Sirianni: We always want to be able to run the football, and we were really efficient being able to do that today. I think that there’s no secret [that] we want to be a balanced offense that can run, close games out, be explosive in the pass game, [and] be efficient in the pass game. Regardless of who was in, we have a lot of faith in all the wideouts. Obviously, anytime you lose a player like A.J. for a game, it changes some things as far as how you go about putting guys in different positions. But if you have faith in the guys that you have that are backing him up, whether that’s receiver or O Line, you still go about doing what they can do the best, but also putting them in a position to make plays.
We’ve got a lot of faith in [WR] Jahan [Dotson], and I know Jahan only had the one catch but it was a big-time play. A lot of faith in [WR] Darius Cooper, a lot of faith in [WR John] Mechie, all those guys. Xavier Gipson was able to get a touch today. He’s pretty explosive, so I like the depth that we have there. We’re always going to be better, obviously, with A.J. on the field, but I thought those guys did a nice job stepping up and making plays, just like what happens when the offensive line is down a man.
With TE Dallas Goedert, getting him back in the offseason, what did it mean to have him in this particular system? (Brooks Kubena)
Nick Sirianni: Ever since I’ve been here and even before I got here, Dallas has been a big-time player. Has the ability to make plays in both the run and the pass game. So, anytime you have a player like that, that’s huge.
A couple years ago, you lost a couple of games in a row and it snowballed, and it kind of got away from all you guys. It didn’t this year. You lose two in a row and you’ve come back and won two in a row. What, if anything, did you learn maybe from ’23 and apply now? Does it even matter? Is that a factor? (Mike Sielski)
Nick Sirianni: I think there were lessons that we learned in ’23. I’m not so sure that it applied the exact same way. I know there were lessons, we learned a lot of lessons in ’23. Just because we didn’t lose two games in a row last year, we know the reality in this league that you can lose multiple games in a row because of the parody of this league and the good players and the teams and the coaches in this league. I don’t think from an inside perspective there was ever any like, ‘Oh man, this is like ’23,’ you know what I mean? But were there lessons learned in ’23? Absolutely. We continue to try to learn lessons from ’24 and ’25.
I think what’s really important is this bye week right here. I always like our process off of a bye week and during a bye week. That’s my job as a coach. We’ve still got a lot of things to fix and clean up, but that’s what this week will be about. The players resting, looking at stuff themselves, and then us really grinding it out this week to put ourselves in a position to move on through the rest of the season.
What does the heavy package do for you guys in terms of looks you’re getting? Last week, you put it out there, you get a deep ball today, you get a 65-yarder, but you’re using it a lot. (Bob Brookover)
Nick Sirianni: I think [T] Fred [Johnson] does a really good job. Every time Fred’s in at tackle when he’s had to spell [Ts] Lane [Johnson] or Jordan [Mailata], he’s just done a really nice job. I’m really happy to have him back because we really trust Fred. I think that talk was just about, ‘Hey, how do we get him on the field?’ It’s just like how you would want to get a receiver on the field or a tight end on the field or a running back on the field, like [RB] Tank [Bigsby]. Same thing with Fred. He’s done such a good job, he’s been so productive when he has been in. We’re just trying to find a way to get him on the field and he’s been really productive in that aspect as well. It’s just about trying to put your players in positions to succeed and getting your best 11 out there for whatever you’re seeing that week.
What do you like about the way RB Tank Bigsby runs the football, and how good of a compliment is he for RB Saquon Barkley? (Ed Kracz)
Nick Sirianni: I think what you see with Tank, obviously, there’s a reason we traded for him. A really explosive runner and you see that. We see that all the time in practice. As he’s caught up to our system and everything that we do and learning it, he’s gotten more opportunities and it’s been fun to see him run with the football. But I wouldn’t say it’s a surprise with how he looked today because we obviously saw that in Jacksonville, the reason why [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] went and got him, and then we see it in practice every day where you’re like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get this guy some touches.’ He’s made the most of these opportunities. I mean, I think he’s averaging over 10 yards a carry in two games now. Not a ton of carries as of yet, but we know we can count on him because he can run violently, he can make you miss, he’s explosive, he can hit a home run. I’m excited about what he brings to the table.
Can you confirm that there were a much more diverse number of run calls in the game plan? You guys got to them obviously because of the success there. Why this week? (Jeff McLane)
Nick Sirianni: The game goes differently each week when you’re able to be efficient in the run game, you can get more runs called. As you’re efficient in the pass game and in the run game, obviously you get more runs called through it where you can get to all of it. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had them in. That just means that maybe they haven’t been used because of the way the game has [gone.] We want to be diverse in those. We also need to know what our ‘here-it-comes’ run is. Like, ‘Hey, everything’s on the line, here’s our go-to one,’ in that aspect as well. But it was an opportunity to get more called today and that’s why you see some of the diversity that you got.
In terms of the offensive balance today, was this the best effort you’ve seen from this offense all season? Could it get better? (Chris Murray)
Nick Sirianni: I think we can always get better. There’s no doubt. Again, we like that balance. We’ve had a lot of success with that balance that we were able to have today. Anytime you run for over 200 yards, that’s a good feeling. A tough feeling for the other side and a good feeling for us when you can control the game like that. To get out of a second-and-31 with a 35-yard carry, that was huge and it was a good run and good blocking up front.
As far as the red zone offense, who kind of handles that during the week? Was there an effort this offseason to be more creative in that area and have you seen– (Zach Berman)
Nick Sirianni: Have we been bad in that area?
No, but it’s big. (Zach Berman)
Nick Sirianni: I think we’ve been in the Top 10 for the past four years.
I frame it that way because we’re seeing plays we haven’t seen down there before. (Zach Berman)
Nick Sirianni: Obviously, also down there when they’ve stopped the run, we’ve had to do different things. We’ve been good in the red zone, like I said, for the past four years. I think we’ve been in the Top 10 every year and been, I think, in the top five for a couple of those years. But it’s a group effort as everything is. Who’s in charge of the run game? Group effort. Who’s in charge of third-down? Group effort. Who’s in charge of first and second down? Group effort. Who’s in charge of the red zone? Group effort.
Ultimately, Kevin has to call the plays that he feels give us the best chance to win there and succeed there. He’s got to be able to adjust and adapt if you get behind the sticks down there. I think we’ve done a good job of being efficient down there though, because it is hard to convert on third-and-long down there, and what we’ve done has been efficient in both the pass and the run down there, even though maybe we haven’t had the 10-yard runs or anything, but we’ve kept the ball moving forward. Jalen’s played really good football down there, and Dallas has obviously been really good down there.
How satisfying is it when you, as a defense– QB Jaxson Dart beat you guys with his legs a lot last game. You come back this game and don’t let him beat you that way. How satisfying is that? (Bob Brookover)
Nick Sirianni: That was a big emphasis, but he still made some plays. We did a good job of containing it and getting sacks this time. I thought that we did a good job of getting pressure, but I thought we did a really good job in the secondary covering and matching routes where it made them hold the ball a little bit. I think that’s just such a staple of [Defensive Coordinator] Vic Fangio defense is the way we match routes, the different ways we match routes, but that takes smart players and good players in the secondary. All the credit goes to our players. Howie getting those good players in here. Just again, I know when you go through a win like this, you want to give praise here and there, but this was a good team win that took everybody.