Say what you will about Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni—he doesn’t like to spread blame after losses.
For Sirianni, it’s a “buck stops here” philosophy, which was on full display after a crushing, last-second 19-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London in Week 5 dropped the Eagles to 2-3 with their third straight loss.
The Eagles seemed to win on a 56-yard field goal by Jake Elliott with 8 seconds left, but a 57-yard kickoff return by the Jaguars set up a 57-yard field goal by Jacksonville’s Cam Little to win as time expired.
“I didn’t make the right decision and I lost us that game,” Sirianni said in his postgame press conference. “I told that to our guys. … I put that fully on me. There’s no way around it … I just didn’t do my job in that situation.”
Pundits seemed to agree with Sirianni — which boils down to the fact he even gave the Jaguars a chance to return the kickoff.
“I can’t even comprehend what I just watched, the fact that Nick Sirianni put the Eagles in a position to lose this football game … it was nothing short of coaching malpractice,” NFL on CBS analyst and former NFL running back Damien Harris said.
“Nick Sirianni blew that,” Eagles reporter Tyrone Johnson wrote on his official X account. “Why would you allow a return with no timeouts!?!?!?!”
Eagles Playing Shorthanded Against Jaguars
The loss to the Jaguars was a game where the Eagles could have stolen a win following a tumultuous week in which they lost one star offensive lineman to retirement (Lane Johnson) and traded away another (Cam Jurgens) while both star running back Saquon Barkley and star wide receiver DeVonta Smith were both missing due to injuries.
Blowback Swift against Eagles HC Nick Sirianni
The blowback against Sirianni online was swift — and brutal.
“Nick Sirianni says it crystal clear: He made the wrong decision on the kickoff and he owns it,” Eagles reporter Eliot Shorr-Parks wrote on his official X account. “Wouldn’t go into the reasoning why he decided what he did”
“Eagles will never truly reach their potential with Nick Sirianni at head coach,” FanSides’s James Nagle wrote on his official X account on Sunday. “Everything they’ve done has always been in spite of him, never because of him. Philly’s defense played well enough to win… again — Vic Fangio should quit on this team & ‘coach’ on the flight home.”
Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni Assigns Blame After Crushing Loss to Jaguars