There must be something about Philadelphia Eagles named Nick and inappropriate nicknames, because current Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is on the verge of joining former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles in the not safe for work nickname club.
Foles infamously became known to some as “Big D*** Nick,” after a Reddit post by then Eagles edge rusher Connor Barwin sized him up, according to The Sporting News. At least in Sirianni’s case, the nickname has more to do with gutsy play-calling.
Knowing Philadelphia fans, Sirianni may now go down as “Big N*** Nick,” thanks to the witty banter of cornerback Darius Slay.
Darius Slay Admires Nick Sirianni’s Nerves of Steel
In a clip from his podcast released on Twitter, Slay described the key moment in the Eagles 26-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
“The biggest moment of the whole game to us is after Dallas went down and scored on us, like a 12 play drive, took about 6 minutes off the clock, and scored with Zeke, I’m like, ‘Jesus this is getting tough,’ and the offense did something big,” Slay said in the clip.
The details were a bit different, but of course it’s not like Slay is getting box scores on the sideline. The Cowboys’ big drive was a 15-play, 93-yard monster that took 7:07 off the clock and pulled the Cowboys to within three points at 20-17 with 14:39 left in the game. As Slay said, the Eagles offense fired back in a big way.
“They answered back with I’m talking about with like punch in the mouth football, like back in the 1930’s, hand it to Miles [Sanders], A.J. [Brown] making big time catches on the third down,” Slay explained.
The Eagles retaliatory drive took 13 plays, moved the ball 75 yards, and took 7:37 off the clock before quarterback Jalen Hurts found wide receiver DeVonta Smith for a 7-yard touchdown. If you ask Slay, Sirianni played a key role as well.
“Coach with big, big, I’m talking about big, big, big old n***, like he going crazy, going for it on fourth down,” Slay said. “I call it the grown man drive. That was a grown man drive.”
“Coach with big, big, big ol’ nuts”
We could listen to @bigplay24slay talk about the Eagles’ “Grown Man Drive” to stop the Cowboys all day
While the drive certainly qualifies as a “grown man drive,” there was actually no fourth down conversion on the drive.
Eagles Fourth Down Success Came Earlier
Slay was actually conflating the Eagles first scoring drive, a 15-play, 80 yard drive that took a nearly identical 7:36 off the clock. It featured a fourth down conversion on 4th and 3, with Hurts hitting A.J. Brown for an 11-yard gain.
The Eagles also lined up on 4th and 4 from the Dallas 10-yardline threatening to go for it, and drew a penalty on Dallas for a neutral zone infraction that moved the chains. The Eagles took advantage, with Miles Sanders scoring a touchdown on a 5-yard run on the next play.
The Eagles have the fourth highest fourth down conversion percentage in the league at just over 69% according to the NFL Game Statistics and Information System. They are tied for fifth in fourth down attempts with 13, according to Stathead.
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