Why Philadelphia Eagles 'Hot Hand' RB Approach Cooled Off

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni ran D'Andre Swift 16 times through three quarters for an 8.1 yards per carry average before running Kenny Gainwell seven times in the final quarter of Monday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

PHILADELPHIA – Kenny Gainwell shrugged his shoulders when he was asked on Wednesday what a hot hand means to him.

“I really don’t know,” said the Philadelphia Eagles running back. “I just prepare for whenever my name and number get called.”

Gainwell had both called often in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s 25-11 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that pushed Philly’s record to 3-0 for a second straight year. Seven of his 14 carries in the game came over the final 15 minutes.

For all the talk from Nick Sirianni about how he will ride the hot hand when it comes to his running backs, the Eagles coach certainly seemed to veer briefly from that strategy against the Bucs.

Until the fourth, D’Andre Swift had run 16 times for 130 yards, an 8.1 yards per carry average. He had two of the top four longest plays for the Eagles’ offense on the night, with runs of 29 and 26 yards.

Then it was time for more Gainwell, who had seven runs through three quarters.

Why?

“We felt like in that scenario right there we were trying to pound it a little bit,” said Sirianni. “We know Kenny’s good at that, being able to do that, protecting the football. And D'Andre has done a good job of that as well, but in that particular case, we thought it was best for the team and that's why we went that direction.”

Sirianni was then asked if it was a matter of giving Swift a rest since the team was playing on a short week, with the Washington Commanders set to visit Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday (FOX/1 p.m.) or to keep him healthy after injuries have prevented him from playing every regular-season game since entering the league in 2020.

“Everything is in play,” Sirianni said. “Again, he had played well up to that point and we thought in that scenario we wanted Kenny in for that particular series.”

Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenny Gainwell runs with the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers / USA Today

Sirianni then dove into what perhaps may have been the reason, talking about the 9-minute, 22-second drive the Eagles used to close out the game.

Tampa Bay had just scored a touchdown and converted a two-point conversion to pull within 25-11 with 9:22 to play in the fourth quarter. The Bucs never got the ball back due to that drive, which collected four first downs on the way to ending the game.

“Nine minutes we were able to bleed off the clock, so great job by the entire group of offense, play calling by (offensive coordinator) Brian (Johnson), the offensive line, what a tremendous - to have nine minutes run off the clock in a four-minute drill is pretty outstanding,” said Sirianni.

He added that general manager Howie Roseman made him aware of the last time the Eagles ran nine minutes off the clock. It happened in 2017 when Sirianni worked as the receivers coach for the then-San Diego Chargers.

“It was nice to be on the other side of that for sure,” he said.

Make no mistake, though, Swift has the hot hand right now. He is second in the league in rushing yards with 308, which trails only Christian McCaffrey, who has 353 yards for the San Francisco 49ers.

The bottom line, though, is the Eagles have shown they have at least two capable running backs, something that should bode well for the long season. 

Boston Scott, who missed the game in Tampa with a concussion, could also become a factor at some point, and maybe even Rashaad Penny, though he seems to be the vanishing back after not playing a single snap against the Bucs. There are still 14 games to go, however, and anything could happen during that span.

As long as the Eagles continue to win, the running backs are fine with being ready to go whenever they are called upon.

“I’m not sure, my number just wasn’t called,” said Swift when asked by SI.com Eagles Today in the aftermath of Monday night’s win why he thinks he didn’t play in the final quarter. “I was ready if it was called. … We got the win, I’m good.”