Nick Sirianni

Q. I know you’ve said ‘We’re boring’ and ‘We prep the same way every week,’ but I’m curious, when there is so much familiarity between two teams, does it change anything as you guys game plan and go about your week? Obviously, Washington knows what you guys do well, your weaknesses, your strengths, and vice versa. Does that come into play at all during this week? (Jason Dumas)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, you account for everything and you go through different plans. Everything in your mindset is the same and everything with your routine. You can change things a little bit here and there on routine, but the process is going to be the same.

But in a game where you’re playing someone for the third time, of course you look at the things you’ve done against them, what they’ve done against you, what was successful, all those different things.

So that’s definitely part of our process any time we play a team year to year or multiple times in a year.

Q. What does it take to get buy-in from receivers in the run blocking game? (Dave Zangaro)

NICK SIRIANNI: Selfless people. And I think that’s exactly what we have there. I think that’s the biggest part of it, is loving your teammates, selflessness, and we’ve had some very big time blocks down the field by our receivers to create some of those huge runs.

Receivers have a unique ability to change a run from – when it gets through the line of scrimmage and everybody does their job on the line of scrimmage – to turn a 10 yard gain into a 40 yard gain.

It’s as simple as that: Selflessness.

Q. In line of what happened in the last game between you and the Commanders, is there a conversation this week with the players about not letting their emotions get the best of them? (Jeff McLane)

NICK SIRIANNI: We had a couple penalties there last time. We addressed that. I think we talked about that the week it happened, right? We’ve done a good job since then, and we’re on that path of controlling ourselves and celebrating with each other. We’ve been doing a good job of that since then.

Q. What’s the moment like when you can see that RB Saquon Barkley is about to spring one, like he’s just getting into the clear? For you, for the sideline, what that’s instant like? (Reuben Frank)

NICK SIRIANNI: Probably the same for you and the fans and everybody. It’s pretty awesome. He’s so elusive in the open field, so you get excited. We don’t hide our emotion on the sideline. You see us kind of jumping around, having fun there, too.

So an exciting moment any time he breaks one. I think the coolest thing about it is that it takes everybody, right? It takes everybody. And you know it takes everybody, and when he gets in the end zone or breaks a big long run like that, you can’t wait to congratulate not just him, but the other guys that made that happen.

Q. How early in the play can you tell that he’s gone? (Reuben Frank)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I don’t know (smiling). I don’t know. I guess I don’t really think about that like that.

I know that once he does break through, there is an opportunity for a huge play. I’ve never been somebody that puts my hands up early before the ball is complete or something. If you know you’ve got a shot open and the ball is going to complete – I don’t think that way, I guess to say.

Even what I do, I think I do this every time, when he does get a big one, I get excited and we get excited, but my natural reaction is to look back to see if there is any penalty on the play and to see if that long run is going to stand.

Q. Is DE Brandon Graham close to returning? (Bo Wulf)

NICK SIRIANNI: I have no update on [DE] Brandon [Graham]. But he’s been awesome and he’s been here just helping lead the team. I love him.

Q. What made you go walk-through today? (Zach Berman)

NICK SIRIANNI: Just what I felt was best for the team today.

Q. How is QB Jalen Hurts feeling today? (Tim McManus)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, he’ll be out there in walk-through.

Q. Any update on CB Quinyon Mitchell? (Eliot Shorr-Parks)

NICK SIRIANNI: He’ll be out at walk-through as well.

Q. As an offensive guy, what stands out about Commanders QB Jayden Daniels as a rookie quarterback that maybe you as a coach don’t see that often? (John McMullen)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I think he’s able to win different ways. He can win with his arm. He can win with his legs. He can extend plays and make a play with his legs. He can extend a play and make a play with his arm.

You can see that he’s calm and cool in the biggest moments, and got a lot of respect for how he’s playing. He’s obviously had a great year, and they’re doing a great job with him over there. Their coaching staff is doing a great job with him over there.

Obviously, they’re hot right now.

Q. Outside of those penalties what were the other big lasting takeaways from that Commanders game that can be applied? (Tim McManus)

NICK SIRIANNI: There are always things you learn from each game, win, lose, draw, whatever. We made our corrections after that game to get better from it. We made our notes after that game.

I’m not going to sit up here and tell you all the things that we plan to do or what we expect or anything like that. I know they’ll have new things for us; we’ll have new things for them.

It’s going to be a good matchup.

Q. To follow up on the Commanders QB Jayden Daniels question, how big a benefit is it to have seen him live twice versus maybe a team like the Lions who hadn’t seen him live at all? (Ed Kracz)

NICK SIRIANNI: Any time you play somebody multiple times, you’re going to know things about them. But again, going back, they’re going to have new wrinkles for us. Like I said, we’re going to have new wrinkles for them. It’ll be a game of, ‘Hey, they’re doing this off that,’ and we’re going to have to adjust to things.

You see the things that he hurt us on last game, and you try to correct them. I know they’re doing the same.

Q. Were you disappointed at all in yourself after that game because of the thing you had with Commanders TE Zach Ertz? And also, can you just talk about how Commanders TE Zach Ertz has had a resurrection year? (Bob Brookover)

NICK SIRIANNI: [Commanders TE] Zach [Ertz] is playing really good football. That’s not a surprise at all. Yeah, Zach and I are good. We talked after that night. Had a good laugh. I’ve been very impressed with all the plays that he’s made.

Not that I’m surprised at all. He’s a great football player, a great Eagle. I enjoyed my time coaching him. Yeah, he’s playing really good football. He’s been a big time target for this team on third down and fourth down and doing all the things that I remember him being able to do at a very high level.

Q. You were with Commanders Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Pass Game Coordinator Brian Johnson for a bit, obviously. Can you see some of what Commanders Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Pass Game Coordinator Brian Johnson does well in their offense? (John McMullen)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, of course. [Commanders Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Pass Game Coordinator] Brian [Johnson] is a great football coach. You can see his influence on the quarterback. You can see his influence on the offense. Ton of respect for [Commanders Offensive Coordinator] Kliff [Kingsbury], too, because his fingerprints are obviously all over that. It’s his offense.

I just know how good of a coach Brian is, and you can see how the quarterback is playing. Brian has something to do with that, that’s for sure.

Q. To go from former Eagles DT Fletcher Cox to DT Jalen Carter, what went into that transition? How important was that investment? How much does DT Jalen Carter mean to the defense right now? (Brooks Kubena)

NICK SIRIANNI: [DT] Jalen Carter is playing well good football. Excited that he’s continuing to get better. I talked a lot about him and his development and all the things. Obviously the talent is there, but he’s developed so much as far as just everything, his instincts, and just continues to get better. He’s got great football instincts.

To have two phenomenal defensive tackles back-to-back, that says a lot. Same thing with [former Eagles C] Jason [Kelce] to [C] Cam [Jurgens]. It’s the same type of deal.

So obviously you miss those guys. I miss being around Jason every day. I miss being around [former Eagles DT Fletcher Cox] Fletch every day. But these two guys are playing really good football. Excited for their path and continued development.

Q. It’s your fifth straight home game here, and you’ve won nine in a row at home. Maybe other than the obvious, where do you see the advantages that being home at The Linc has given you in some of those games? (John Clark)

NICK SIRIANNI: I think it is the obvious. It’s the atmosphere. It’s the crowd. It’s the noise. When the parity is so close – which the NFL is, and that’s week to week and even more so in the playoffs – everything matters. You being able to communicate or not being able to communicate on offense is a huge deal.

So I know how rowdy it will be. I know how rowdy the fans will be. We love playing in front of them. Especially in this atmosphere. We love playing in front of them regardless of what game it is, but I know the last time we were in this setting when I was here in ’22, it was an electric crowd.

I’ve said this a bunch: I remember [former Eagles Defensive Coordinator] Jonathan Gannon before we played in that game – not when he rolled his window down and said what he said to the fans (laughing) – but I remember what Jonathan Gannon said when we got here about 2017 when he was an opposing coach for the Vikings.

He was like. ‘Oh, my gosh. This place was rocking, and I can’t wait for it to be like that while we’re coaching here.’

So it’s an amazing fan base. It’s an amazing crowd. The atmosphere is like no other. We’re excited to play here.

Q. How do the Commanders match your team in terms of their physicality? (Jeff McLane)

NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, this is a very physical team. I think that you see both teams playing with relentless effort. I can see that on their tape. [Commanders Head Coach] Dan [Quinn] does an unbelievable job getting those guys to play hard. I think he does a great job getting those guys to play physical.

And they’ve got physical guys that are tough. You guys asked me about the chippiness, sometimes that plays into it. When two teams are going as hard as they possibly can go until that whistle blows, it’s just going to be a great battle.

I really respect how they play as a football team.

Q. What impresses you most about the way your offensive line has been playing during the playoffs? (Martin Frank)

NICK SIRIANNI: Tough, nasty, physical, smart. Just can’t say enough about them, that unit, of how they play. We’ve got great leaders on that unit. All of them, [T] Lane [Johnson], [T] Jordan [Mailata], [G] Landon [Dickerson]. [C] Cam [Jurgens] is doing a great job. It’s been awesome having [T/G] Mehki [Becton] here and what he’s brought to us.

Again, they play hard, they play mean, they play physical. I think that on top of all those things, you can do all those things and play with great football IQ. And I believe we do that.

Q. CB Darius Slay has still been effective at this stage of his career. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio pointed out how much he still likes to play and said that’s a big part of it. It seems obvious, but I guess it’s not. What is your perspective of that? (Zach Berman)

NICK SIRIANNI: That any time you’re around [CB Darius] Slay, he’s got this energy, and this love for his teammates, and this love for football, and this love for life. That’s infectious. There is a reason he continues to be voted a captain on this football team.

You get around him, and he can’t help himself of his love for his teammates. Any time you talk to Slay, he’s talking about his teammates, and football, and just everything. So that’s infectious.

You love having guys like that. We’ve got a lot of guys like that here and Slay is definitely at the top of the list there, just bringing that positive energy every day regardless of the circumstances.

It’s a long season, and there is something to that. He is a phenomenal leader, a phenomenal player, and I’ve loved being around him for these past four years.

Q. When you guys go up against a high-level quarterback do you notice that QB Jalen Hurts’s competitive level ratchets up? (Tim McManus)

NICK SIRIANNI: I think what I love most about [QB] Jalen Hurts is that he’s consistent and he’s the same guy all the time. No matter who we’re playing, when we’re playing, practice, game, he’s consistent. He is the same guy.

He loves football. He loves the process that it takes. He loves the weight room. Jalen is pretty stoic as you guys know, and I love that about him. It’s the same thing I said about [Commanders QB] Jayden Daniels, that he’s calm, cool. I feel the same exact thing about Jalen Hurts.

I don’t think he gets wrapped too much into that. He’s wrapped into winning and how he’s going to win each and every football game. I love that about our quarterback, how he goes about his business every day.

Q. In the portion of your postgame victory speech that the team publicized from this past Sunday, you were telling your players that you have business to finish. What was the driving force behind that part of your message, and how much does that have to do with you coming really close two seasons ago? (Dave Uram)

NICK SIRIANNI: Our business is this next game. Not thinking about anything else. I think I kind of talked about, when you get a win like that, all that does is make us more hungry to go out and do it again.

More hungry? Hungrier? Both are acceptable? Okay.

To be quite honest with you, that’s just another way to say, ‘Hey, let’s get back to work. Let’s enjoy this, and let’s get back to work.’ You could say it that way. You could say, ‘Hey, we’ve got business to handle, we’ve got unfinished business to handle.’

But we know that the work that you put in through the week is what preps you for the games. None of us just show up at the game and expect results.

You expect the results and play to your standard based off how you go about your week. That’s really just another way of saying that.