Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters on Monday following their Week 17 win over the Cowboys, and was asked a lot about whether he plans to play or rest starters on Sunday against the Giants. He also talked about Tanner McKee’s impressive performance, and gave a lot of credit to Cam Jurgens for the team’s success this season.
Here’s what the head coach had to say:
On playing starters and injury updates
Sirianni said that he still wasn’t ready to make or announce any decision regarding whether starters will play, or if Saquon Barkley, specifically, will have a chance to get the all-time rushing record. He gave players off on Monday, and said he’ll always inform them about any decisions before announcing them publicly.
The head coach also didn’t have any update on Jalen Hurts and how he’s progressing through the concussion protocol. If Hurts is cleared this week, Sirianni wouldn’t say if he would play on Sunday against the Giants, noting only that he has to do what’s best for the team and what’s best for each individual player.
He also didn’t have any update on Kenny Pickett after the quarterback underwent additional testing on his ribs. Sirianni lauded Pickett and the toughness he showed playing through the pain and playing really good football to help them win that game. The head coach didn’t have any more information as to whether Pickett will play on Sunday against the Giants.
While he hasn’t made the decision just yet, Sirianni did explain how it’s a good opportunity for depth guys to get some experience and film if he does opt to rest the starters.
“Again, I don’t know where we are with that yet. But anytime anybody’s able to play game reps and meaningful snaps in the NFL, that’s huge. It gives you an evaluation process. It gives those guys an opportunity that haven’t gotten an opportunity to play to play meaningful reps.
That’s always huge when you can do that. Like I said, we’ll see where we are with that, but a good opportunity if that is the way we go.”
On Tanner McKee’s performance
“Obviously he had, what, 3-for-4 with two touchdowns. That’s pretty darn good. Then threw another one that A.J. [Brown] made probably one of the best catches I’ve ever seen on. He just happened to be a little bit out of bounds, but the ball was in the right place. He went [to] the right place with the football.
Accurate with the football. Ran our offense well. Got us in and out of checks. Was sound with his communication at the line of scrimmage and in the huddle. He did a lot of good things.”
On Cam Jurgens’ season
“I think he’s done a really nice job. It’s never easy to replace a legend, which we all know how special of a player and leader Jason Kelce was. So he’s had to step in and fill those shoes, and I think he’s done a really nice job.
Obviously you look at everything first. You look at having 13 wins. Cam [Jurgens] is the center of a 13-win football team. He’s got to play good for that to happen. He’s played good for us to be able to do that.
You’ve got a 2,000-yard rusher, which is special. The center’s got to play good for that to happen as well.
I think all the writing is on the wall of how good of football he’s played and all the good things he’s done based off what this team has done. And never easy to do what he had to do there, but he’s really played good football through these 16 games.”
Other notables
- Sirianni explained that they had Jake Elliott handle kick-offs instead of Brandon Mann against the Cowboys because they were focusing on some specific ball placement things with KaVontae Turpin as the returner. The head coach called Turpin a dangerous player, and credited the Eagles special teams unit for keeping things contained.
- With a postseason game already on the books, Sirianni was asked if his staff would be starting to prepare for potential playoff opponents. The head coach scoffed at the idea and said they are only focused on one day at a time, and are preparing for the Giants.
- When asked about the defense finally getting takeaways, Sirianni said that it’s something they work on and talk about every day, and sometimes things happen in clusters. Plus, he included, once guys start getting turnovers, they have a little more confidence and experience and are able to get on a roll.
