Nick Sirianni doubles down on his decision to rest starters in Week 18 loss

4 days ago 2

At some point, Nick Sirianni's decision will have to move into the rearview mirror. The Philadelphia Eagles rested their starters despite still having a path to the NFC's second seed. It's done. It's over. The story can't be rewritten.

That path disappeared with a loss to the Washington Commanders. Nothing can be done about that now.

If Philadelphia and the Chicago Bears meet in the postseason, it will be at Soldier Field. That’s the reality.

Yes, there are bigger priorities. From this point forward, every ounce of energy should be devoted to one goal: winning another Super Bowl. In truth, that's where the focus should already be.

We’ll get there eventually—maybe tomorrow, maybe later tonight. For now, though, there's still a lingering sense of what could have been.

Nick Sirianni remains staunch in his belief that resting the Eagles' starters was the correct decision.

It's hard to know what else to say. We understand why Sirianni rested his starters. The question hasn't changed, though: why make that choice with so much still at stake?

Had the Eagles' backups beaten the Commanders, there would have been little reaction. That didn't happen, and the complaints have grown louder. Still, if anyone is waiting for an apology from Philadelphia's head coach, they may want to stop holding their breath.

"No [I don't regret the decision]. 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. I knew this was an outcome, that these things could happen... 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."

Sirianni made that much clear in his postgame comments. He knew losing the second seed was a possibility and decided the rest was worth the risk. He knows this city, and he knows its fans. He knows the scrutiny that comes with a decision like that. It doesn’t bother him.

"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."

He's been right plenty of times before. Maybe, in time, we'll learn he was right again. Ike Reese may have summed it up best in a post on X.

Now, here we are. The playoffs begin in less than a week. There will still be debates about seeding and missed advantages, but the bottom line is simple: if this team is truly capable of winning a Super Bowl, seeding shouldn't matter. They should be good enough to beat the Green Bay Packers or the San Francisco 49ers.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Nick Sirianni stands firm on his controversial Eagles roster decision

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