Eagles HC Nick Sirianni defends process for making fourth-down decisions

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni controversially kept his offense on the field for fourth-down situations in the fourth quarter of his club's past two games. 

The Eagles earned a pair of victories even though Philadelphia failed to pick up first downs in both instances. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Sirianni spoke with reporters on Monday and explained that "analytics" and "faith" in his players impact the fourth-down decisions he makes late in games. Sirianni also indicated he will continue to trust his process moving forward. 

Nick Sirianni says Eagles have "great process" for fourth-down decisions

"Just because you have a great process doesn’t automatically mean that you’re going to convert every fourth down," Sirianni said. "I completely understand that. But we’ve got a great process with our coaches, great process figuring out how we go about attacking there, and when we go for it, I have to make those tough calls and be able to have that conviction. When you don’t convert on fourth down, it is always going to be on you as the head coach."

Back on Nov. 10, the Eagles held a three-point lead over the Green Bay Packers with 33 seconds remaining in regulation when Sirianni had quarterback Jalen Hurts drop back to pass on a 4th-and-6 at the Green Bay 35-yard line. Hurts' attempt was broken up, but Green Bay's Brandon McManus ultimately missed a 64-yard field-goal attempt as time expired. 

More recently, the Eagles possessed a 10-point lead over the Detroit Lions with three minutes remaining in regulation this past Sunday when Hurts was stuffed for no gain on a 4th-and-short carry at the Philadelphia 29-yard line. The Lions kicked a field goal shortly after they made the stop, but never got the ball back. 

Nick Sirianni willing to "fully accept all the criticism" related to his fourth-down decisions

Shortly after Philadelphia's win over Detroit, Sirianni acknowledged that he would "be second-guessing myself about the 4th-and-1 in our own territory there." On Monday, he sounded like a coach with fewer regrets regarding that particular call. 

"You have to have major conviction within yourself, understanding that there’s going to be major criticisms when you don’t get it, and there’s not a lot of points that are given to you when you do get it," Sirianni added about his handling of fourth-down situations. "You have to have a major process that you go through to put yourself in a position where you can have major conviction when you make those decisions and fully accept all the criticism that happens when you."

Sirianni's boldness could next be tested when the Eagles play at the rival Dallas Cowboys (4-5-1) this coming Sunday. As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had Philadelphia as a 3.5-point road favorite for that contest.