Nick Sirianni’s toughest critics say lack of preseason play hurt the Eagles but still think they’ll be ‘special’

Last season, after several weeks of self-inflicted drama from the Eagles, I contacted several current or former NFL executives and coaches with connections to the Eagles to get their reactions. The result was unanimous, but one was especially scathing. He called the team a “Clown Show.”

This came in the midst of a 1-6 collapse that ended with a blowout playoff loss in Tampa. It was prefaced by coach Nick Sirianni cussing out Chiefs fans in the locker room tunnel after a win in Kansas City, security chief Dom DiSandro being ejected after a sideline tussle with an opposing player, the demotion of one inept defensive coordinator and the promotion of another, and veteran stars A.J. Brown and Darius Slay bickering with the unwashed on social media.

As such, before and during Sunday’s miracle win in New Orleans, knowing that no wound bleeds like an old wound, I again contacted a few of Sirianni’s biggest critics. Well, three of them, anyway.

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They did not criticize.

In fact, they were uniformly bullish on the Birds.

I remain skeptical.

“This team is going to be special,” one insisted. This rang sincere, because the Eagles were losing at the time.

Of course, they were losing for most of the game. They won because, on third-and-16 from their 35-yard line with a little more than a minute to play, Jalen Hurts hit Dallas Goedert over the middle. The play turned into a 61-yard gash after three Saints defenders played Three Stooges and collided in coverage. A little luck never hurts.

This is special? A 15-12 win is special? A head coach who keeps botching fourth-down decisions is special? A quarterback with 26 turnovers, the most since the start of last season, is special? Why would he think this?

“Because they had no preseason,” he explained. “Just wait.”

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This, in itself, is a warranted criticism. The Eagles held most of their offensive starters out of preseason games for the second straight year. The Chiefs play their starters in the preseason, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and they are football’s best team. The Eagles not playing Hurts & Co. was a mistake both times, and they’ve largely gotten away with it.

They won their first three games last year and are 2-1 now, but they had massive warts then, and they have massive warts now — especially Hurts.

The warts are the sorts of things that can be resolved in a few quarters of preseason football, especially when the offense changes by way of personnel, play-callers, and/or scheme. That’s exactly what happened with the Eagles the past two summers.

While Hurts ran the same offense in 2023 as he’d run the previous two seasons, after Shane Steichen left to take the head coaching job in Indianapolis, the Eagles promoted quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator and added featured back D’Andre Swift. With no preseason reps together, the offense was suspect.

Through three games Hurts had an 84.5 passer rating, had thrown just three touchdowns, had been sacked eight times despite elite protection, and had committed four turnovers, and probably should have committed a couple more.

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Hurts got a new offensive coordinator in 2024, Kellen Moore, whose scheme, according to Hurts, was about 95% new in some fashion or the other. Jason Kelce retired and the Eagles moved right guard Cam Jurgens to center, replaced Swift with feature back Saquon Barkley, and added No. 3 receiver Jahan Dotson. With no preseason reps together, the offense is suspect.

Through three games Hurts has an 85.9 passer rating, has thrown just three touchdown passes, has been sacked seven times despite elite protection, and has committed five turnovers, and definitely should have committed a couple more.

Still, the Eagles are 2-1. Linebacker Zack Baun has been a revelation, second-year defensive tackle Jalen Carter had his best game Sunday, and the defensive backs aren’t allowing explosive plays. Also, they aren’t running into each other.

The Eagles are 2-1 with Brown, their best player, having missed the last two games with a hamstring injury; with right tackle Lane Johnson having missed most of Sunday’s game with a concussion; with receiver DeVonta Smith missing most of the fourth quarter Sunday with a concussion.

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The Eagles scored all 15 points in New Orleans without any of those three players, who happen to be three of their four best players. (Saquon Barkley is unreal.) Assuming this trio is healthy in three weeks — the Eagles have a bye after they visit Tampa on Sunday — the Eagles can anticipate fearsome weaponry returning to this attack in the very near future.

Admittedly, gaining 460 total yards in the deafening Superdome despite allowing a blocked punt and committing two turnovers, including an end-zone interception — that’s pretty special.

Me?

I remain skeptical.