Nick Sirianni calls Jalen Hurts, Jake Elliott ‘clutch’ in Eagles win over Commanders

The Eagles are now 4-0 after a division win over the Commanders and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters post-game and talked about winning in overtime, how Jalen Hurts and Jake Elliott were both clutch, and the identity he’s starting to see from the group.

Here’s what the head coach had to say:

On winning in overtime

“We won in a different way than we’ve had to win so far this year. I think that builds character. I think that builds a tighter team. I think that build trust — you know, the defense comes out, makes a stop, the offense goes out and drives the ball into a position to score, and the special teams converts to make a play. Those are all team-building things.

Trust me, that’s not good for me when we have to win in overtime. There’s a lot of anxiety going into all that, but it is good when you’re able to win in different ways. It tells you a lot about the character of your football team, and I think we showed that today.”

Sirianni went on to explain that winning in different ways allows the team to have confidence if they find themselves in those situations later in the season.

On Jalen Hurts’ performance

“I thought he played clutch.”

The head coach pointed out the overtime drive, and the drive the ended in a score with about a minute-plus left in the game. He emphasized that Hurts was clutch in that game, and also talked about how he showed his trust in his receivers and teammates to spread the ball around and in tight coverages.

Sirianni later said that he still has to go back and watch the film, but he felt like this might have been Hurts’ best game so far this season.

“Sometimes quarterback stats and all these different things, you can override anything that’s going on with the quarterback when they make plays when the plays needed. And I thought that’s what he did today, and I thought that was — we need a completion on that third and forever, and he got a completion. We needed a touchdown, and he got the touchdown — at the end of the game, he got the touchdown.

So, just clutch.”

On Jake Elliott’s performance

“Jake Elliott is so clutch.”

The head coach admitted he doesn’t watch field goals, regardless of how short they are, and instead looks at special teams coordinator Michael Clay to give him an indication of what happened. Although, Sirianni said he wasn’t all that surprised when Clay gestured that Elliott made it in overtime, reiterating that the kicker is clutch.

On their evolving identity

“We are truly a team in a growth mindset. We’re happy to be 4-0, but we know that there’s work to do.”

Sirianni said that even after the game, Jason Kelce was pointing out that they had things to clean up. So they have gratification to be 4-0, but there’s a hunger to get better.

Other notables

• Sirianni talked about the call by OC Brian Johnson for a run on 3rd-and-11, explaining that they ran the play last week and converted, so it’s something that’s worked for them in the past, just not on Sunday. He noted that being aggressive can look different, and they thought a run in that situation was aggressive.
• As for some of the questionable calls and penalties, the head coach said to have so many is kind of uncharacteristic for them and is something they worked when it was an issue in 2021. He wants to review the film before discussing what happened with each — including the offsides call while the defense was clearly in the neutral zone.