Eagles Coach "Not There Yet" On Personnel Decisions For Week 18 Vs. Giants

The Philadelphia Eagles have locked up the No. 2 seed for the playoffs, so the expctation is Nick Sirianni will take a preseason approach against the Giants.

Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni looks on during the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Rest up, heal up, and get ready for the playoffs.

That's basically what A.J. Brown told NFL Media moments after the Eagles wrapped up the NFC East title with a 41-7 win over the Cowboys on Sunday. That will also likely be the message head coach Nick Sirianni gives to his starters and key reserves when they return from Monday’s day off that the Eagles coach said he gave to them.

Not playing starters when the New York Giants come to town on Sunday shouldn’t come as a surprise, either, Saquon Barkley’s chance to break Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,015 yards in a season, aside.

Imagine if the Eagles player Barkley and he got hurt without getting the record. The team’s Super Bowl dreams would die and the decision to play their superstar running back to chase individual glory would be talked about for as long as Philly as a football franchise. So, an eternity probably, long after anyone reading this has gone to the big gridiron in the sky.

Week 18 will have all the feel of a presason game, though one that conts in the standings. Tanner McKee will likle start at quarterback and maybe Ian Book even sees a quarter.

That’s not official, of course, even though the Eagles have locked up the No. 2 seed for the playoffs, which begin the weekend of Jan. 11. All Sirianni is focused on, however, are the Giants.

The field of playoff opponents has been whittled to two – the Packers and Commanders. The Packers are the more likely of the two.

“Everything we need to do in a normal week we have to do this week and get ready to play the Giants on Sunday,” he said. “We take one day at a time one week at a time getting ready for the Giants.”

Sirianni said he still isn’t ready to make any decision on who will and won’t play against the Giants. The sense here is that his mind his made up and he’s just waiting to tell his players when they return.

“They’ll be back in a couple days,” he said. “By the next time I talk to you (reporters on Wednesday) they’ll be back in. I’ll always inform them before I inform anybody else. I know you guys are gonna want that answer as soon as you guys can get it and I’ll try to help you guys do your job as much as I can but I’ll always inform our players of things first. But still sorting through things right now at this particular moment.”

Sirianni had yet to meet with the team’s medical staff yet to get an update on quarterback Jalen Hurts and whether or not he is out of the league-mandated concussion protocol. If Hurts is and available this week, there is no guarantee he would play against the Giants.

Some may fear rust from a three-week layoff, but Hurts has already played enough this season to make whatever rust that collects, if any, minimal.

“You take everything into account, try to do the best thing for the team and try to do the best thing for each individual player as well,” said Sirianni when asked if he would let Hurts play if cleared to prevent him from taking a three-week break. “That’s where will be. No decisions yet on anything.”

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