PHILADELPHIA – It may be the playoffs, and it is the fourth straight year the Eagles have made the postseason in all four years with Nick Sirianni as the head coach, but nothing changes. Even though Sirianni is 2-3 in the playoffs, with two defeats coming on the opening weekend in the wildcard round, Sirianni said his messaging to his players this week will remain the same.
“The main thing we really talked about was like, as you come in here, you don’t say, ‘Hey, we won 14 games, we won the NFC East, now here’s what we’re gonna do,’” he said. “…it’s getting back to our toughness, detail, and together and understanding that our process through the week is what gives you a chance to win a football game, it doesn’t guarantee you a chance to win a football game, it gives you a chance to play at the best of your abilities, it gives you a chance to, again, win the football game when you go through this week.”
The Eagles continued preparing for the Sunday’s visit from the Green Bay Packers (4:30 p.m./FOX) by heading to the stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, on a blustery late Wednesday afternoon that barely made it to 30 degrees.
Jalen Hurts returnd to practice for the first time since suffering a concussion on Dec. 22, and was one of just a handful of players to wear short sleeves despite a wind chill that felt close to 0 degrees.
The Eagles haven’t won a home wildcard game since the 2006 season when Jeff Garcia was the quarterback, and Brian Westbrook ran for 141 yards in a 23-20 win over Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
Since that win, they lost home wildcard games to the Packers in 2010 and the New Orleans Saints in the 2013 season and the Seattle Seahawks in the 2019 season.
One might think Sirianni would try to change his approach to the wildcard round, where both his losses came against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – last year, 32-9, and three years ago, 31-15. Not so.
“You don’t want any of your guys going, ‘All right, now it’s the playoffs, here’s what I’m gonna do now,’” said Sirianni. “It doesn’t work that way. A winner’s mindset is the same week in, week out.”
