Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni wasn’t second-guessing himself after Sunday’s 24-17 loss to the Commanders.
Sirianni opted to rest starters even though the team began the day with a shot at the No. 2 seed in the NFC and he said he didn’t think about deviating from that path when the Bears fell behind the Lions in Chicago. An Eagles win and a Bears loss would have pushed the Eagles into the No. 2 spot, but Sirianni said he doesn’t think “that’s fair to them” when asked about putting starters into the game in the second half.
“No. Again, you go through your process, you make what you think is the best decision for the football team, and that’s what we did,” Sirianni said, via a transcript from the team. “I knew this was an outcome, that these things could happen. Like I said to you guys, one thing I could guarantee was giving them rest. I couldn’t guarantee anything else. Us being healthy and going into the playoffs healthy is a big deal for us and that’s served us well in the past. Again, I know there’ll be debate on that, but I have to do what I think’s best for the football team moving forward, and that’s what I did.”
The Eagles will host the 49ers next weekend and Sirianni’s Week 18 decision could come under further question if the team has a flat performance at home.
