The Philadelphia Eagles were able to squeak out a win over the Packers on Friday night. Before the team made their way to the airport, head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters about the game and the incredible environment.
“Brazil! Thank you! What an unbelievable atmosphere for a football game. Again, miss The Linc, miss our fans at The Linc, but Brazil, I mean, wow. That was incredible, and it was a fun, fun, fun atmosphere. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, and that doesn’t — your fans, people of Brazil, that was something incredible, and we really, we appreciate it. We appreciate the hospitality, we appreciate the fans’ support — it was a little louder than I wanted it to when the Green Bay Packers were coming out [he said with a smile], but, people of Brazil, that was, wow.”
Sirianni admitted that they had to go to silent cadence because of the crowd noise, which was loud pretty much the whole game. He figured that’s how the game would end up being, so they did practice for that possibility.
Here’s what the head coach had to say:
On the teams’ overall performance
Sirianni was asked about how this win, while good, felt a little like some of the wins from last season. The head coach chuckled about the comparison and pointed out that it’s hard to win games in the NFL, especially after taking a 10-hour flight — and he acknowledged the Packers had to make the flight too. It was apparent that he was exasperated by the question.
“It was a good, good win against a good, good opponent.”
He went on to express his respect for Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur and QB Jordan Love, and also gave credit to Green Bay’s really tough defense.
“What I’m really proud about, Jeff [McLane of the Inquirer] — it was sloppy, it was definitely sloppy, and both sides looked like they were sloppy, but we were able, as a football team, to persevere through some dark moments. There was gonna be some good stuff that happened in that game, there was gonna be some bad stuff that happened in that game, and our guys just kept coming back.”
Sirianni said that they’re going to enjoy this journey, and not every Week 1 game is an easy one, but they’re going enjoy the win and continue to work on the mistakes that need corrected.
On Jalen Hurts’ performance
The head coach was asked how the QB recovered from the turnovers, and Sirianni admitted that collectively, they couldn’t have played a much worse first quarter offensively, but then they came back down the field and Hurts hit Saquon Barkley with an unbelievable throw. Of course, Hurts will want some of those throws back, but Sirianni said that they can also help him out a little more with some of the play calls.
“I thought he responded good — like, that four-minute drive we had. That drive started with eight-some minutes left and we gave them the ball back with 27 seconds left. Why? Because Jalen [Hurts] and DeVonta [Smith] connected on some huge plays. That’s tough football. Four-minute football is tough football, and our guys really responded.”
On Saquon Barkley’s Eagles debut
“We’re so excited to have him, and he made some huge, huge plays throughout this entire game. He made it in the pass game, he made the plays in the run game.”
Sirianni went on to note that Barkley made some huge plays in critical moments and obviously scored a bunch of touchdowns. He said that it means a lot to have the RB on the team, not just for his talent, but for the leadership and positive energy he brings as well.
On the defense’s performance
The head coach reflected on the slow start by the offense but lauded the defense playing fast and aggressive out the gate.
“To play as bad as we did offensively, and to be down six-nothing to start the game is pretty awesome. And hats off to the defense.
Don’t get me wrong, we have some things to clean up on both sides of the football, but we could’ve gone down two scores right away, but the defense really did a good job of playing good red zone defense.”
Sirianni said that he loves the new coordinators — Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore — and couldn’t be more pleased with how things are going, calling them home-run hits.
He was asked about Quinyon Mitchell’s debut and Sirianni said that the moment never seems too big for the rookie. Given their talks with Mitchell’s college coach — who was also Sirianni’s college roommate — the Eagles’ head coach isn’t surprised by the CB’s transition to the NFL.
