Nick Sirianni's Coach of the Year case and Cowboys' follies lead NFL Week 12

Coach of the Year?

Yes, like a bone in the throat.

Six weeks ago Nick Sirianni He was Philadelphia’s most hated sports figure. He mocked the home fans who booed him during a four-point victory over the hapless Cleveland Browns. The team was 3-2, but his fitness as the Eagles’ head coach was never in question. Here’s why.

After the eagles arrive Super Bowl LVII and started 2023 with a 10-1 record, having overseen a disastrous 1-5 finish and a blowout playoff loss in Tampa with the locker room split at quarterback. jalen hurts regressed and players underperformed overall. Defeats in Atlanta and Tampa at the start of 2024 set the stage for Sirianni’s post-match taunts, followed by a bizarre press conference. three little children.

Since then, the Eagles have won six straight games, giving them a seven-game winning streak and a 9-2 record. They are tied with the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings for the third-best record in football and sit one game behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC’s playoff berth.

They entered Monday night with the No. 1 scoring offense, the No. 3 overall offense, the No. 7 scoring offense and the No. 7 third scoring offense. They also had the No. 1 overall defense, No. 3 pass defense, No. 6 scoring defense, No. 7 rushing defense, and No. 4 third-down defense.

Credit Nick? Certainly.

After firing their coordinator from last season and hiring front office favorites Kellen Moore carry out the attack and Vic Fangio To run the defense, Sirianni vowed to reduce his day-to-day involvement in the offensive scheme and game plan and take on more of a CEO-type role. He did this.

Following his disgraceful behavior after the Browns game, which saw similar incidents at road stadiums, Sirianni admitted: “I need to have better wisdom and understanding… I am saddened and disappointed in how my energies were directed at the end of the season game.”

He did this.

Sirianni also brought about a marked improvement in Hurts’ play, which became the major catalyst for the Eagles’ winning streak – and yes, that includes Saquon BarkleyAn incredible production. Since the bye week, only Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff have a better passer rating than Hurts’ 116.6, mainly because Hurts stopped turning the ball over.

Of course, there are other worthy candidates; Maybe it’s actually more valuable. Reigning Super Bowl champion Andy Reid had to work his ass off to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to 10-1. Dan Campbell’s 10-1 Detroit Lions are a joy to watch. Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers are somehow 8-3. Jim Harbaugh is 7-3 in his first year with the Los Angeles Chargers heading into the game on Monday. Second-season candidates Jonathan Gannon at Arizona and Sean Payton at Denver have outside shots, but Sirianni has already beaten Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur and Washington’s Dan Quinn.

You can dismiss Sirianni’s candidacy by saying that it was Fangio who had incredible production on defense. jalen carter and Milton Williams, linebackers Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean, and rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.

You could say Moore alone is credited with recognizing Barkley’s strength and command of the offensive line after his retirement. Jason Kelce and despite his injury issues, everything must go to coach Jeff Stoutland.

You can even give credit to GM Howie Roseman left tackle Jordan Mailata to provide depth for air injuries, right tackle Lane Johnson, receivers DeVonta Smith And A.J. Browntight end Dallas Goedertand cornerback Massacre of Darius.

But if the defense fails, the offense stalls and the reserves can’t play, you blame Nick Sirianni first.

It may stick like a bone in your throat, but Sirianni has done as good a job as anyone as a head coach so far this season.

Brandon Graham’s perspective

In 2016, I tore my triceps after falling while skiing. It wrapped around the inside of my arm like a window shade. The doctor drilled a hole in my arm, drilled holes into a bone in my forearm, inserted a pair of screws into my elbow, secured my tendon to the screws, closed me up, and sent me home. Eight years later I still have numbness in both middle fingers of my hand, I cannot fully straighten my arm, I have regained about 75% of my strength, and my elbow hurts after training.

I was in my 40s. Graham is 36 years old. I have been diligent in my rehabilitation, but he will have access to staff, treatments, and therapies that I could only dream of.

However, doctors affiliated with the Eagles performed my surgery.

Cowboy craze in Washington

It was a crazy three minutes.

Commanders tight end (and former Eagles legend) Zach Ertz caught the TD pass and after the 2-point conversion, the Dallas Cowboys’ lead was cut to 20-17.

On the ensuing kickoff, KaVontae Turpin mishandled the ball between his legs near the 5 and died at the 1. He had to take the ball and try to make a comeback. He ran to No. 10, feinted right, turned left and hit five defenders with his move. The fastest man in football this season: He hit 22.36 mph on a 64-yard TD catch and run last Monday night.

That made the score 27-17, but a field goal by the Commanders and a punt by the Cowboys made it 27-20 with 33 seconds left in the game. The Commanders took the ball from their own 14-yard line without any timeouts. Of course, the Cowboys surrendered an 86-yard catch-and-run rush to Terry McLaurin, the Commanders’ most obvious target, who split and outran five defenders.

However, when Austin Seibert missed the extra point, the Commanders, trailing 27-26, were forced to try an onside kick.

This played into the hands of Juanyeh Thomas, who unwisely gave the goal back. This was unwise because simply protecting the ball would guarantee a victory. Instead, the Commanders took the game back with 9 seconds remaining, which gave the Commanders two more plays, the second of which, a Hail Mary, was stopped.

Wow.

Anyway, the Commanders lost, so the Eagles are three games ahead in the NFC East in losing standings.

semi-professional football player

You’ve seen it happen before: Patrick Mahomes ran 33 yards and set up a last-second field goal in the final moments of the tied game.

This is where the story gets beautiful.

Spencer Shrader – Playing in his second game for the Chiefs, the 25-year-old homeschooled rookie from Florida spent 2018 trying to play professional football in Brazil and Canada before heading to South Florida and transferring to Notre Dame and going undrafted. He spent time with the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans in April, kicking a 31-yard field goal in a 30-27 win at Carolina, his NFL debut. game winner. He’s currently 3-on-3 with the Chiefs.

Harrison Butker, star striker and famous women’s rights activistHe will be out of action for at least two more weeks following knee surgery.

Baker Mayfield’s entire day

Baker Mayfield threw a block 30 yards downfield on Bucky Irving’s 56-yard run;

covered a turmoil that no one saw;

He then threw a touchdown pass to a defender and mocked the celebrations of New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito, who was celebrating his Italian heritage.

“Tribute. Best regards to Tommy,” Mayfield joked postgame.

Mayfield’s Buccaneers beat the Giants 30-7.

Meadowlands Trash Sparks Anger

The Giants last week first benched franchise quarterback Daniel Jones to avoid a possible $23 million injury guarantee, broke the deal with backup Drew Lock by naming DeVito the starter, then cut Jones from the team a few days later. took it out.

After the match, many players accused their teammates of playing without courage; These include receiver Malik Nabers, who was selected with the sixth overall pick in April’s draft. Nabers also complained about the play calling, saying: “He’s not a quarterback. … Same result when we put (Jones) at quarterback. … When I got to 30-0, I started taking the ball. What would you like me to do?”

Not to be outdone, meddlesome New York Jets owner Woody Johnson reportedly took a helicopter to Jets practice on Tuesday, whisked GM (and former Eagles vice president of player personnel) Joe Douglas off the practice field and fired him. Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh last month.

Additionally, free agent Aaron Rodgers is reportedly dealing with injuries, but refuses routine medical examinations to determine their severity.

He probably thinks he’ll recover after spending his bye week somewhere. darkened dormitory concentrated receiving panchakarma Cleanse while drinking ayahuasca tea. After all he took it “vaccinated” for COVID (narrator: vaccinated or not vaccinated; lied about his condition and later caught Covid).

extra points

CJ Stroud unknowingly ran behind the end zone and made a safety late in the Texans’ loss to the Tennessee Titans. It’s a move that ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky noted in his first NFL start with the Lions in 2008 and that Jimmy Garoppolo repeated in 2022 with the San Francisco 49ers. … The Los Angeles Rams and 49ers are now in the basement of the NFC West, and the defending NFC champions Niners look set to remain in the basement for a while longer. QB Brock Purdy (shoulder), offensive lineman Nick Bosa (hip) and left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) missed the 38-10 loss at Green Bay with injuries.