Week 14 is coming fast, with a big one set for Thursday night. So we’ll waste no time here …
• Everyone made fun of Nick Sirianni after he yelled at those Philadelphia Eagles fans in October, the same way they made fun of his introductory press conference in 2021.
Just like everyone missed the point four years ago, they missed it again this time around.
In both instances, the easy thing to say was that Sirianni lacked the square-jawed, polished, hard-edged demeanor needed to be the football coach in that city. What was overlooked was who Sirianni is: unabashedly himself, and a coach unshaken by what some guy with sketchy cell service is saying on WIP-FM on a fall Monday morning.
Think about it. People were still treating Sirianni as if he was unfit to coach in Philly when he got into that shouting match, which was more him having some fun with the crowd at the end of an emotional win. At that point, he was 37–19 over three-plus seasons, made the playoffs in three consecutive years after inheriting a four-win team and made it to a Super Bowl in which he was edged out by an all-time coach and quarterback.
On what planet is that coach scratching to keep his job? The one Philly is on, of course.
But the real key here is that, to Sirianni, it was never about keeping his job as the pressure turned up. If you really think about it, that’s the exact outlook it takes to coach in Philly. And why when he and I talked about that on Sunday night, he immediately mentioned how his wife’s ability to not listen to what everyone is saying about her husband sets a good tone for him to stay focused on what he needs to be tuned into.
“You obviously hear it, you gotta prepare for media, and I gotta do questions,” Sirianni says. “But I also gotta practice what I preach. And if I’m gonna tell these guys not to listen, when the word is out that we’re not any good, or the word’s out that we’re really good, then I need to do the same thing. That’s all I’ve tried to do. … My job is to lead this football team, along with the captains and the leaders we have, and put my head down and go to work.
“It’s about the journey and nothing else.”
Lo and behold, Sirianni’s moment with the fans as the Eagles finished off the Cleveland Browns at home in October wound up starting more than just conversation—it was the beginning of the eight-game winning streak Philadelphia is riding now.
It’s happened because of Sirianni’s approach and not despite all he brings to the table. So, just as he wasn’t going to let “the word out that we’re not any good” affect his team when it was 2–2 going into the bye, he won’t let the “the word out that we’re really good” have an impact on a group that’s now riding a two-month tear. This is why, when I asked him about the significance of winning in Baltimore, he didn’t go too far with it.
“It was a good win against a good football team,” he says. “But our goals are to continue on, no one’s giving you anything you want after going 10–2. We have bigger goals.
“We don’t have time to feel good about anything, because we have a lot of the season to go. Again, I know that’s not the answer you want. It’s boring. But it’s the boring, it’s the monotonous grind, it’s our habits that are paying off right now. And we’ll continue down that road.”
Despite what some may have you believe, that road has led the Eagles to some pretty good places.
• I think now is a good time to take a big-picture look at what’s been happening in Washington the past three months—with the Commanders now 8–5 heading into their bye week.
On Sunday, they emphatically snapped a three-game losing streak with a 42–19 beatdown of the Tennessee Titans at home. They did it by rushing for 267 yards, with their rookie quarterback posting a 114.7 passer rating and by forcing two first-quarter turnovers, shutting Tennessee out through 28 minutes to build a 28–0 lead.
And what I find even more impressive is how they’re doing it while still in need of tackles, edge rushers and receivers to complement Terry McLaurin—and before they get prized acquisition Marshon Lattimore out there to address their corner issue. This is a Commanders roster with a ways to go and holes to fill at premium spots that’s winning with resourceful, hard-playing guys they signed and drafted—and a distinct play style.
So, when I had 12-year veteran tight end Zach Ertz on the phone after Sunday’s game, I asked if he somehow saw this coming when he followed his old Cardinals coach, Kliff Kingsbury, to Washington.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Ertz said. “I signed before we had any quarterback on the roster. I signed before free agency started since everything that happened in Arizona last year was so miserable. To be able to be out here in an environment that is so fun, the culture is so enjoyable to be a part of. I love playing for Kliff and he knows my skill set better than anyone in the league right now. For me, it’s been an opportunity to enjoy going to work every day. Can’t say that was the case last year.
“For me, I didn’t know what was going to happen after last year in Arizona. They just instill confidence in me every day. They have such high belief in their guys and me and the other players on this team. It’s a competitive group. We’re with guys that really love the process. They were very deliberate with who they brought in to set a culture. It’s just been so much fun coming to work every day.
“Obviously winning helps, but even during our three-game losing streak, DQ [Dan Quinn] was phenomenal with how he approached the team, the messaging to the team. It didn’t feel like there was a dark cloud over us every day when you’re in a losing streak, like it is in so many other places. It’s just a process-driven organization, and that’s what I love being about."
It’s also a big part of why, in the end, it’s easy to believe even brighter days are ahead in D.C.
• The Buffalo Bills have been good for a long time. But I think there’s a stat from Sunday’s rout of the San Francisco 49ers that everyone should heed—and you don’t need a PFF password to get it.
That statistic: 38 carries, 220 yards (5.8 yards per carry), three TDs.
Buffalo’s run game blasted through a proud, and wounded, San Francisco defense. The Bills did it with James Cook (14 carries, 107 yards), Ray Davis (11 carries, 63 yards), and Ty Johnson (five carries, 28 yards), and they did it with Josh Allen running the ball just three times for 18 yards. That allowed Allen to throw just 17 times in a 35-point effort from the offense, and for the Bills to hold an eight-minute advantage in time of possession.
But it also proved a point. Perhaps one of the biggest criticisms of Buffalo the past few years, and a fair one, was that the Bills were built like a dome team. And that’s problematic when the best-case scenario for that team is to be playing its biggest games in Western New York in January (and the less-ideal scenarios are outdoors in places such as Kansas City or Cincinnati in the winter months).
It seems that’s not a problem for Buffalo anymore.
This Bills team looks like one that can hold up in the elements, or at least far more so than its most recent predecessors.
• The 49ers have been steadfast in their belief in Brock Purdy. But they also have gone through tough contract negotiations the past three summers—Deebo Samuel in 2022, Nick Bosa in ’23 and Brandon Aiyuk this year.
The difference with Purdy is that you have to have your quarterback position taken care of when you get to the summer, which is probably one reason why they were so aggressive in taking care of Jimmy Garoppolo (he was extended in January) the last time they were in a position like this.
So how will the Niners approach negotiations with how this year has gone? If they want to take a hard line—and they could—they could use the availability of guys such as Sam Darnold and maybe even Kirk Cousins (if the Atlanta Falcons have an appetite for trading him) as leverage this offseason.
In the end, I think Purdy gets a big, long-term extension from the Niners. How they get there is what I’m less sure of.
• There’s certainly been a lot of buzz that the Las Vegas Raiders could one-and-done Antonio Pierce come January, and mismanaged situations such as Vegas’s finish at Arrowhead on Friday doesn’t help to quiet those rumors. Pierce’s staff has undoubtedly felt the uncertainty and hasn’t received any assurances that they’ll be there past Week 18.
That said, I do think there’s stuff for Pierce to hang his hat on. Clearly, the team is still playing hard. The Raiders have also gone from the NFL’s third-oldest roster to its sixth-youngest, and the young guys are developing. And his move to Scott Turner as OC, after letting Luke Getsy go, has seemed to spark the offense.
So what will be the deciding factor? I’ve heard the football people there could be under a mandate to draft a quarterback in April. And if that’s the plan, whoever the head coach is will have a pretty big impact on who that quarterback is, and how he develops early in his career. This makes the question whether Mark Davis believes Pierce would be the right guy to captain the ship.
• Jameis Winston wasn’t close to perfect Monday night. But his nearly 500 yards are just the latest sign of how the Browns have plenty of potential on offense, both in personnel and scheme, and that Deshaun Watson’s place going into 2025 has to be seriously examined. As we’ve said before, the plan, as I’ve heard it, has been to add competition, rather than support for Watson in the quarterback room this offseason.
Also, give the Browns credit for the Jerry Jeudy trade. Cleveland got him for fifth- and sixth-round picks and signed him to a reasonable three-year, $58 million extension. He’s 25 and he’s come alive of late, with 33 catches for 614 yards and two touchdowns in five games since Winston became the starter in late October.
• Meanwhile, there’s plenty of reason for optimism on Bo Nix, as Monday night’s win showed—both in terms of the big plays he created and how he rode out his rough spots. It’s also easy to see where the Denver Broncos’ young receivers (Marvin Mims Jr., Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin) are starting to come alive, too.
• Mike Shanahan not getting into the Hall of Fame continues to be puzzling. He won two Super Bowls. He got two franchises to the playoffs. Half of the league runs his offense, and his coaching tree has fueled the resurgence of several franchises. I like Mike Holmgren, but come on …
• The most significant thing to come from Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren’s post-Matt Eberflus press conference, was this quote: “The next item I want to make sure we’re clear about is Ryan Poles is the general manager of the Chicago Bears, and he will remain the general manager of the Chicago Bears.” Left unasked, though, is whether the Bears are willing to adjust their organizational structure on the football side to attract a head coach. That one could go a long way in determining who the Bears land.
• Kyren Williams, for my money, is one of the NFL’s most underrated players. The Los Angeles Rams have been through a lot injury-wise on offense, and he’s been their tough, reliable bellwether. Without him, I don’t think they’re 6–6, and still so squarely in the race.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nick Sirianni on Blocking Out the Noise and the Eagles’ Win Streak.
