Sirianni Searching For Answers Following Two Gruesome Losses In Five Days

Sirianni searching for answers following two gruesome losses in five days originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Nick Sirianni kept pointing the finger at himself.

One of the few things he got right Thursday night.

The Eagles were a mess in all phases in their 34-17 loss to the lowly Giants, and when a team is unprepared, doesn’t compete and gets blown out by one of the worst teams in the NFL, that is on the coach more than anybody.

And Sirianni knows it.

“I don’t think we played our brand of football or coached our brand of football today,” Sirianni said after the Giants dismantled the Super Bowl champs.

“Give them credit. They did a good job. But, definitely, that’s not to our standard in all phases and in coaching.”

The Eagles led 17-13 in the middle of the second quarter, only to be outscored 21-0 the rest of the game. Just a few days after being outscored 18-0 in the fourth quarter at home by the Broncos.

Yeah, they got outplayed. But there’s no question they got out-coached too.

When you lose by 17 points to a team that hadn’t won a division game in almost two years, you definitely got out-coached.

And it’s really hard to get out-coached by Brian Daboll.

Sirianni doesn’t like physical breakdowns, but he hates mental breakdowns. He talks all the time about mastering the mental side of the game. Mastering the things that don’t require talent.

Because when things fall apart like they did Thursday night at MetLife, that shows a team that didn’t just get beat up physically but was unprepared mentally.

“You never want to come out of a game with anything that (doesn’t) require talent beating you,” Sirianni said. “That’s always going to be on me. Always, always, always.

“So there were some things that we had that probably (were) a little uncharacteristic. It’s our job to get it fixed. I’m saying that’s concerning and I’m putting on me, because when we’re in a team meeting, those are the things we’re going over.

“You’ve got to keep preaching it and going after it and be relentless with it. That’s my plan. And I have a lot of faith in the guys in that room and have a lot faith in the coaches and the organization. We’ll get better from it.”

This is not the same team as last year. Not the same roster.

The Eagles lost Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Darius Slay, Isaiah Rodgers, Mekhi Becton and Kenny Gainwell to free agency, they were missing Landon Dickerson, Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith to start the game Thursday night and then they lost Quinyon Mitchell along the way.

And some of the replacements they were counting on have not lived up to expectations.

But still. They have a very good roster. They have very good players on both sides of the ball. Sirianni’s resume is remarkable for a fifth-year coach — a Lombardi, two Super Bowl appearances, four straight playoff runs, 70 percent winning percentage, the two-longest winning streaks in Eagles history.

That doesn’t mean he’s not without fault, and the team we’ve seen the last two weeks — and really for much of the season — has just not been prepared and hasn’t played the smart, tough, physical, disciplined brand of football that carried the franchise to a 39-12 record from 2022 through 2024.

“Everyone just wants to get everything going and get it fixed,” Sirianni said. “All three phases weren’t good enough today. Coaching wasn’t good enough today. … Guys want to work and to get it right.

“What makes me confident is the guys we’ve got in the room, coaches and players we have in the room. This is life in the NFL. You’re going to have some ups and downs.

“We’ve been here before. Last year started out 4-2, as well. Different way we got there. So, yeah, there is no panic on us. It’s, hey, get back up, go back to work, you know? And get better from it. It’s really that simple.

“But love the guys that we have. Love the coaches that we have. Obviously this group of guys and group of coaches have been to the top of the mountain. … I know we can figure out ways to get this thing rolling. We’ve been good at that in the past and got to be good at that again.”

The Eagles have now been outscored by 37 points in the second half of their last three games. That’s their 3rd-worst three-game span since 1998.

Last time the Eagles lost to a one-win team this late in a season? Again, you have to go back to 1998, when the 2-7 Eagles lost 28-3 to a 1-8 Washington team at FedEx Field with Bobby Hoying at quarterback.

What’s next?

The Eagles are off until Oct. 19 when they face a 3-2 Vikings team at U.S. Bank Stadium, site of the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win. Then they have the Giants again followed by the bye week and then the Packers and Lions.

“We’re going to take some time off and just get up and keep fighting,” Sirianni said. “Got a lot of things to fix. Been here before. Let’s go.”