Nick Sirianni of the Eagles speaks out about the contentious Matt Patricia decision following the Seahawks’ defeat.
Before the team’s 20-17 Monday Night Football loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Philadelphia Eagles controversially promoted Matt Patricia to defensive playcaller this week, replacing defensive coordinator Sean Desai. Head coach Nick Sirianni gave an explanation of the decision following the game.
According to ESPN’s Tim McManus, Nick Sirianni stated, “I made the decision.” “I acted in the football team’s best interest by doing what I felt was necessary. There, we made a few changes. I changed because I didn’t think we were coaching and playing defense well enough.
The Eagles’ defense outperformed the Seahawks in the first half, but they fell behind by 17 points in the second half. Drew Lock led a late drive that resulted in a 29-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who outran James Bradberry on the play, giving the team the lead.
The Eagles are now 10-4 for the season after losing three straight games. With a victory on Monday, they could have regained the lead in the NFC East. They now have to hope that the Dallas Cowboys win the division even if they lose one of their final three games.
Philadelphia has three games left to win. There are two matchups against the Arizona Cardinals and one against the New York Giants. To close out the season, the Cowboys play the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, and Washington Commanders. Therefore, the Eagles still have a great chance to win the division, but they will require some assistance to do so.
READ MORE
Jalen Hurts is under increasing pressure to perform well, and if he and the Philadelphia Eagles can’t find a quick solution to their current problems, things won’t get any better. Monday night, Philadelphia suffered its third straight loss as they were humiliated 20–17 by Drew Lock and the Seattle Seahawks.
Although a lot of people are focusing on the Eagles’ late defensive lapse that gave Seahawks rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba the opportunity to score the game-winning touchdown, Hurts and the Philadelphia defense also have to take some pride in their performance.
Hurts, for example, only completed 17/31 passes for 143 yards, with two interceptions for a loss and no touchdowns. His season total turnovers have increased to 17 as a result of those errors.
“Jalen Hurts and the #NFL this season are tied for the most turnovers (17).” That cannot be defended, as CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr stated on X.
According to Rudy R. Reyes, “the Seahawks defended and hand-picked off one of those horrible decisions by Hurts.”
Others want the media to cover Jalen Hurts’ turnovers with the same vigor that they do whenever Dak Prescott puts in a subpar performance.
However, this doesn’t receive the attention it deserves in the media. X user @Dustin_Markward added, “If this were Dak, it’s talked about on every show.”
To be fair to Hurts, his decision to play ahead of the Seahawks game was made at game time due to an illness, so it’s likely that he wasn’t fully fit when he took the field. But the sample size is large enough to scrutinize his ball-handling decisions this season with objectivity.
