The Philadelphia Eagles notched their 11th win of the season on Christmas Day with a 33–25 victory over the rival New York Giants, though it was anything but an encouraging performance from the Eagles.
Amid a disappointing stretch from the offense, fans at Lincoln Financial Field didn’t hesitate to boo the team.
Eagles fans loudly chanted “run the ball!” during the third quarter, and coach Nick Sirianni didn’t deny after the game that those jeers were audible from the field.
“Nah. We call the plays we feel like we need to call in the situations we need to call it. I thought we did a really nice job of running it and passing it today,” said Sirianni when asked about the calls from fans for a higher volume of running plays, via Symone Stanley.
Nick Sirianni on the fans chanting “run the ball”
— Symone (@Symone_Stanley) December 26, 2023
They definitely listened on the last drive 😂 #eagles pic.twitter.com/6jcpOWtw5m
“I think I’d hear [the chants] even if I had a double headset on,” joked Sirianni. “I hear ya, but sometimes you got to let Jalen [Hurts] make some calls at the line of scrimmage. So, maybe get that chant going, and then Jalen’s gotta quiet them down.”
The Eagles entered Monday night’s game averaging 128.3 rushing yards per game, good for the ninth best rate in the NFL. They rushed 35 times for 170 yards during the Christmas Day win, while Hurts also racked up 301 passing yards.
Sirianni admitted that the message from fans was received loud and clear, though he doesn’t intend to let the supporters have too much input on what plays the team will run.