Nick Sirianni must control Jalen Carter and C.J. Gardner-Johnson; Eagles can lose the NFC East: NFL Week 16

LANDOVER, Md. — Jalen Carter was assessed his fourth penalty for unnecessary roughness Sunday at Washington. He leads the league. C.J. Gardner-Johnson was assessed two penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct within 19 minutes of each other in the loss, and was ejected. As Gardner-Johnson left, he flipped the crowd a double bird, his two middle fingers likely costing him $5,000 apiece in fines, if recent NFL history is any indicator.

These double Birds have a habit of confrontation. Both burnished their bad reputations Sunday. Their unprofessionalism has to end.

The Eagles were “sloppy with penalties,” said coach Nick Sirianni.

Don’t blame the fellas. Blame him. He does:

“That’s always going to be on me as the head coach.”

Yep.

Sirianni has done a fabulous job in most facets most of the season. Self-control from his players is not one of them, perhaps because he has so seldom exercised self-control himself. It doesn’t sound like he plans to make player self-control a priority; rather, he seems to revel in their naughty natures.

He said he tells Gardner-Johnson and Carter, “‘Play how you play, but do it in the confines of the rules,’“ and said, “At no point is it acceptable to get [that sort of] penalty.”

Except, it seems, it is entirely acceptable, because, it seems, there is no accountability.

» READ MORE: Something or nothing? Analyzing the Eagles’ sloppy loss vs. Commanders

The Eagles were flagged for 91 yards in penalties in their 36-33 loss to the Commanders, but 45 yards of those penalties fell at the feet of Gardner-Johnson, a fine safety but an All-Pro hype man, and Carter, who is drawn to conflict like a Vin Diesel movie character.

Carter is the best defensive player on the team. Gardner-Johnson is irreplaceable. Sirianni and his staff cannot control either of them. Officials clearly have made both players marked men, but instead of acting smarter, the players indulge themselves further. Their immaturity will only embolden opponents to bait them into future indiscretions. This reality could cost the Eagles dearly as they approach and enter the playoffs. No matter how prodigious his abilities, a player who can’t avoid trouble is, to some degree, a liability.

The Eagles gave up 14 points before Gardner-Johnson left. They gave up 22 points with him in the locker room.

There was no good reason for him to be in the locker room; he just couldn’t help himself.

» READ MORE: The Eagles paid a painful price for their lack of discipline vs. Washington. Will they learn their lesson?

Between the first and second quarter, Gardner-Johnson was jawing at the Commanders offense, receiver Dyami Brown in particular. As the two came face-to-face, so offensive was whatever Gardner-Johnson said that referee Shawn Smith ignored Brown’s reaction, which was to rip Gardner-Johnson’s helmet off his head by shoving the face mask upward. That turned second-and-14 at the Commanders' 41-yard line into first-and-10 at the Eagles' 44.

One minute, 18 seconds later Carter was called for unnecessary roughness when, after Nolan Smith sacked Jayden Daniels, Carter pushed guard Sam Cosmi over Daniels' prone body, causing Cosmi to fall backward. That turned what would have been second-and-13 at the Eagles' 31 into first-and-10 at the Eagles' 16. Linebacker Nakobe Dean, a teammate of Carter’s at Georgia, immediately admonished Carter on the field.

Finally, with 11:24 to play in the third quarter, during a change of possession after the Eagles forced a fumble, Gardner-Johnson apparently taunted the Commanders a second time. This also drew an unsportsmanlike penalty, and he was ejected. The Eagles led, 24-14.

With Gardner-Johnson replaced by undrafted second-year man Tristin McCollum, whom the Commanders targeted, Washington roared back with three touchdown passes and won.

» READ MORE: Marcus Hayes: Jalen Hurts’ concussion shows why he’s so important

This is nothing new. CJGJ has always been a smack-talker, though he seemed to have matured from his first stint with the Eagles, in 2022.

Carter’s getting worse.

He had a similar penalty last week. In a bizarre in-game sideline scene after that penalty against the Steelers, Sirianni was blocked from talking to Carter by defensive line coach Clint Hurtt and team security chief Dom DiSandro. Hurtt was telling his boss that he’d already admonished Carter, who was seen laughing at the confrontation. Carter did not speak with the press either after that game or after practices last week.

Sirianni minimized the interaction with Hurtt and said he’d settled things with Carter. Clearly, though, neither Sirianni nor Hurtt got the message to Carter, who was involved in several on-field dustups Sunday.

“If it didn’t get fixed,” Sirianni said after the loss, “that’s on me.”

Yep.

And this time — more than Jalen Hurts’ concussion, more than replacement Kenny Pickett’s poor play, and more than dropped passes from Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith — the absence of Gardner-Johnson cost the Eagles a game.

“You look at the penalties and all those little things … you tend to lose those football games,” said Barkley, who should know, considering he spent his first six seasons witnessing sloppy, selfish football with the Giants.

Neither player seems to understand the magnitude of the problem.

Gardner-Johnson fled the postgame locker room before reporters entered, but fired off a social media post that read, “ … got kicked out for nothing, I play with passion and fire!!”

On Monday, Gardner-Johnson took to Twitter/X again, offered a watered-down apology, and explained his actions by saying he drew the two penalties because he got too emotional after Hurts took an “illegal hit” that resulted in the concussion. The hit was not illegal.

As for Carter, when asked Sunday how he knew how far he can push opponents and officials, Carter replied: “When that flag goes in the air, that’s when you know how far you can take it. When that flag went up for me, I went overboard. Just got to calm down. Can’t get another one.”

From his lips to God’s ears.

The Eagles and Commanders combined for seven turnovers and eight touchdowns, an ejection, and had the game decided on a TD with six seconds to play. In the process, Hurts left the game with a concussion and backup Pickett suffered a rib injury. So, the Eagles are anything but certain to win the division.

It served as a fine appetizer for the day’s games.

» READ MORE: Mike Sielski: Don’t panic. The Eagles will be fine ... as long as Jalen Hurts is.

The Cowboys won for the fourth time in five games, securing the “W” when DaRon Bland stripped Rachaad White with 90 seconds to play on a wild play that began with Baker Mayfield dragging a tackler 2 yards before he flipped it to White. It happened on Sunday Night Football. Mike Tirico went nuts.

The two games set up a compelling upcoming weekend.

The loss put the Bucs at 8-7, tied with the Falcons atop the NFC South after Atlanta, behind new rookie starter Michael Penix Jr., blew out the Giants. The Falcons swept the season series and hold the tiebreaker.

The Falcons next visit the Commanders for SNF, where, if the Falcons win, they would gift the NFC East title to the Eagles. However, a Commanders win combined with an Eagles loss would set up crucial finales: the Eagles hosting the Giants, the Commanders at the surging Cowboys.

Assuming the Cowboys are still surging in two weeks. Which carries its own measure of intrigue.

The Cowboys on Sunday visit the Eagles for a 1 p.m. game. The Cowboys would pull to .500 with a win. Another win in that finale against Washington would mean a 9-8 record (and give the Birds the division), but that’s not all.

A 9-8 finish with backup quarterback Cooper Rush starting might delude owner Jerry Jones enough so he’d offer lame-duck coach Mike McCarthy, a playoff disaster, a new contract. Last month, before the streak, Jones admitted he’d consider it.

The Lions and Vikings both improved to 13-2 and hopefully are destined to play for the No. 1 seed in their head-to-head final. Next week, the Lions are on Monday Night Football at woeful San Francisco, and the Vikings host the powerful Packers. … If you’re keeping track, the reigning champion Chiefs (14-1) now have won 20 of their last 21 games dating back through the end of last season and the playoffs. … After a 1-4 start the Rams (9-6) have won eight of 10, four in a row, and lead the NFC West with the tiebreaker over the Seahawks (8-7), whom they host in the season finale — which could determine the division winner. The Seahawks visit the Bears next.