Nick Sirianni on the Eagles’ comeback: “I’ll always remember this win”

The Eagles were able to pull off an incredible come-from-behind-win against the Rams in Week 3, and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters after the game about some of the most impactful moments.

Sirianni shouldered the blame for the team’s tough start and ineffective first half, and admitted that they could’ve just as easily been on the losing side of things on Sunday. And, even though there’s a lot to learn from, and a lot they need to correct, Sirianni quipped, “I’ll always remember this win.”

Here’s what else the head coach had to say:

On Jordan Davis’ impact

“Let’s talk about Jordan here. The shape that he’s in and how he is. I’ve seen him walk around with his shirt off a lot more now, which he should. It’s good, and he just worked his butt off. You saw in Training Camp that something like this would happen, and he’s played good football through the first three weeks.”

Sirianni did note that the right thing to do on that play would have been for Davis to go down, but he was okay with it because there was no time left on the clock and no one in front of him to make a stop.

“I’d have been just as excited had he went down there, but he scored. I guess I’ll say that I was a little more excited, but it will be on the tape to say, ‘Hey, probably go down in this scenario,’ but he’ll probably get Play of the Game for that play.”

On A.J. Brown’s performance

“I watched A.J. Brown handle all your questions as a great teammate and with grace. Obviously, he wants the football. Obviously, he needs to get the football. To do the things that we want to do, he’s got to have the season that he’s had the last couple years, the last three years when he has been second-team All-Pro and went over a thousand yards every time. That’s the nature of the position.”

Sirianni went on to say that it’s a great example of everybody wanting immediate results, but realizing there’s a process to it. He continued to laud how Brown handled the attention for his lack of production the first two games, and how the WR saying the right things despite wanting the ball, is ultimately big for a team.

“I’m just really proud of how he’s handled a slow start as far as stat-wise, but he’s doing the right things without it in his hands to help us find ways to win football games, and today we needed it with the ball in his hands.”

On the conservative play-calling

The head coach wouldn’t really address A.J. Brown saying the Eagles need to be less conservative in their play-calling, and just said that they did what they needed to win on Sunday, and each game is different.

Sirianni later acknowledged that they had hoped to run the ball more effectively than they were able to, but the circumstances required the passing game to pick up as a result. He noted that he understood why Brown would mention being too conservative, but pointed to their field position and other factors that went into those decisions.

“But there are circumstances that dictate things, which happened today a little bit at times. We know what we’re capable of, so sometimes it is in the sense, too, that you’re the offense and you’ve got to dictate to the defense of what they need to do and not let them dictate to you what you need to do. I think that’s a good example for us today of that in some dire situations. Good reminders for us.”

On Lane Johnson’s injury

“Lane Johnson is, in my opinion, no question about it in my mind that he’s the best player I’ve ever been around. He is one of the best players in the NFL and sometimes it’s hard to see that as an offensive lineman. It doesn’t show itself, but Lane gives us so much ability to do different things because of who he is as a football player. Like I said, he’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen. Obviously, we have a lot of great players on this team and they’re all up there, but Lane is special. We’ve got a lot of special guys. A.J.’s special, Jalen special, Saquon’s special, DeVonta’s special, Zack Baun’s special, Jalen Carter’s special, Jordan Davis is special. I do think that– what a great trade by Howie to get Fred here. I just know that Howie is relentless in what he does of always helping this football team get better.”

Other notables

• Sirianni reiterated that football is an emotional game and he wants his players to play with emotion, but also noted that they had three personal fouls on Sunday, so it is something they need to reign in a little.
• DeVonta Smith mentioned tempo as a reason they looked much better in the second half, but Sirianni explained that it’s not something that’s always good to use. He pointed to their field position and struggling on first downs as a reason they didn’t turn to that sooner.