Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni made another head-scratcher of a decision in his team’s Week 9 game, but the end result was a victory.
The Eagles were leading 28-23 and had 4th-and-10 at the Jacksonville 39 late in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday in Philadelphia. The Jaguars had just called their third and final timeout with 2:16 remaining. Rather than punting and trying to pin Jacksonville deep, Sirianni chose to have kicker Jake Elliott attempt a 57-yard field goal. The kick was no good.
Had Elliott converted the field goal, the Eagles still would have only been up one score. That is why most people expected Sirianni to punt on fourth down and try to pin the Jaguars deep. Instead, the missed kick gave Jacksonville possession at midfield with 2:11 remaining. Sirianni made it so it hardly even mattered that the Jags used all of their timeouts, as they were handed great field position.
What made Sirianni’s decision even more mind-boggling is that he was determined to not use Elliott throughout the rest of the game. The Eagles went for it on 4th-and-3 at the Jacksonville 22 when they were leading 10-0 in the first half. They turned the ball over on downs. Sirianni went for it again on 4th-and-1 from the Jaguars’ 29 while leading 22-16 in the second half. The result was the same.
And if that wasn’t enough, Sirianni attempted two-point conversions after three of Philadelphia’s four touchdowns. All three attempts failed.
Sirianni has been criticized for several bizarre decisions this season, and the 57-yard field goal attempt on Sunday can certainly be added to the list.
Had the Jaguars scored a touchdown to take the lead, Eagles fans would have had pitchforks out for their head coach.
