How Nick Sirianni almost turned a stunning victory into a disaster – NBC Sports Philadelphia

It could have been much easier.

The Eagles made Sunday's game against the Jaguars much more difficult than it needed to be, and while there were some reasons for that – poor execution in some spots and questionable refereeing and replay decisions in a few others – there were a handful of bizarre coaching decisions The main reason the Eagles couldn't beat the Jaguars after leading 22-0 in the third quarter.

And while every offensive decision could theoretically come from either play caller Kellen Moore or head coach Nick Sirianni, Sirianni is ultimately responsible for everything that happens, and it's fair to assume they're critical decisions, like , when to play for two, when to punt, when to shoot a field goal all come from the head coach.

And that was really bad.

Nakobe Dean's end zone interception gave the Eagles a 28-23 win, but the Jaguars were just 13 yards away from giving the Eagles their second-largest blown lead in franchise history.

And they should never have been in that position.

Let's summarize again:

The first two-point conversion attempt

With 22 seconds left in the second quarter, the Eagles took a 16-0 lead on Saquon Barkley's 19-yard touchdown run, and Jake Elliott made the PAT, but DaVon Hamilton was caught offside and Sirianni took the point off the scoreboard and went to two points. Although Jalen Hurts appeared to be able to get the ball over the line, the attempt was ruled unsuccessful. Take the point and you're up 17-0. You don't have to let off steam against a bad team. Kick the PAT.

The second two-point conversion attempt

With 9 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Eagles took a 22-0 lead on Jalen Hurts' 18-yard TD run. Andre Cisco was whistled for a personal foul on the touchdown, so the ball was moved to the 1 and again Sirianni went for two. And again Hurts was stopped just short of the end zone. Join the PAT, don't chase points against a bad team, and you'll be up 23-0… and should be 24-0.

The 4^Th-and-1 passing game

Now up 22-16 with 1:25 left in the third quarter, the Eagles had a 4^{th and about a foot at} the Jaguars' 25-yard line. Instead of a tush push, a Saquon run or a quick pass, the Eagles called out some kind of ill-fated, slow-moving passing game that had no chance of working. Hurts threw incomplete to avoid a sack, but was able to fall and pick up a foot. Or kick a 43-yard field goal and make it a two-possession game. If you hit two PATs and a field goal here, it's 27-16.

The third two-point conversion attempt

With 7:49 minutes left in the fourth quarter, DeVonta Smith's miracle TD made it 28:16 (should have been 33:16). Once again the Eagles went for two, but this time it actually made sense because two points makes it a 14-point game and one point doesn't help you. Of course, if they had only kicked the first two PATs, they could have kicked the third, and now the score is 34-16. Don't chase points against bad teams.

The 57-yard field goal attempt

After the Jaguars got within five at 28-23, the Eagles had a fourth^Th-and-4 at the Jaguars' 39 with 2:16 left. Jake Elliott is a fantastic kicker, but even with a field goal, it's still a one possession game and 57 yards is a long kick, especially on a cool evening. Elliott has gone 4 of 7 from 57 yards and more in his career, but is 0 of 2 this year. You can punt and trust Braden Mann to drop one inside the 10 and rely on a defense that was very good again on Sunday, or you can try and trust Hurts to get the first down. The risk of trying to score a low-odds field goal is that if you miss, you'll give the Jaguars – who already have all the momentum – possession just near midfield. That's exactly what happened. The Jags took control at their own 47 and reached the Eagles' 13 before Nakobe Dean finally ended the tension and gave the Eagles a win.

Sirianni said he enjoyed the Eagles' chances of converting the two-point conversion but would reevaluate everything as the week progressed.

“You’re always thinking about everything,” he said. “You think about who you have. You think about your previous experiences with it. They always look at the analysis. We were pretty good at that. They did a good job today. And I'll look at everything. At the moment I always do what I think is best for the football team.

“It didn’t work today. That's how it works. This is the hat I have to wear. If we get a fourth down and convert a fourth down, nothing is actually said. I understand there will be questions if we don’t do that.”

There will be questions because sometimes it's not wise to be aggressive.

You have to consider the opponent, the situation and the dynamics, as well as many factors that may not be taken into account in the analysis.

“At the end of the day I have to have the courage and say, 'Am I doing everything I can do to help us win the game?'” he said.

“In those moments I thought it was me, but I'll go back and watch them again. I will always be hypercritical of myself. If it doesn’t work, I’ll definitely think about it more.”

As for the passing game on fourth down, Sirianni said that was a product of the Jaguars – ranked 31st^st in defense – successful with the first two kicks. So instead of doing what they do best or throwing a quick, high percentage short pass, Hurts scrambles about 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage and is chased by a group of Jaguars.

It was a piece that never had a chance.

“Every time you get stuffed with it, you think twice and try to take a different path,” he said. “You know, they got us. You did a good job. We have to do a better job as coaches to help them succeed.

“We worked really hard on this play. This play was our livelihood and it didn't work (Sunday). What do we do as trainers? We'll look at the tape and see where we went wrong in execution, but we'll first look at ourselves as coaches and see where we can help them in those scenarios.

“We're going to be overly critical of ourselves, but Jacksonville did a good job stopping the game. To be completely honest, not many people have been able to prevent that, and they have done a good job.”

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