Eagles HC Nick Sirianni explains controversial decision for Week 18 game vs. Commanders

A previous report revealed that the 11-5 Philadelphia Eagles will rest quarterback Jalen Hurts and other starters for this Sunday's regular-season finale versus the 4-12 Washington Commanders, even though the Eagles could still earn the NFC's No. 2 playoff seed.

While speaking with reporters on Friday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni shared his mindset regarding that decision. 

Nick Sirianni can guarantee one thing regarding the Eagles' pursuit of a second straight Super Bowl title

"At the end of the day, it’s not a guarantee that we can get the No. 2 seed," Sirianni explained, per Johnny McGonigal of PennLive. "But it is a guarantee that I can rest the starters." 

The Eagles would finish second in the overall NFC standings if they beat the Commanders and the 11-5 Chicago Bears fail to defeat the eliminated Detroit Lions (8-8) this coming Sunday afternoon. For what it's worth, members of the Lions have vowed that they will play for pride at Chicago's Soldier Field. As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Bears as three-point home favorites for that contest. 

As the No. 2 seed, the Eagles would host the Green Bay Packers (9-6-1) in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Green Bay is locked in as the No. 7 seed. As the third seed, Philadelphia would take on either the Los Angeles Rams (11-5) or San Francisco 49ers (12-4). 

Nick Sirianni doing "the best thing" for Eagles' long-term goals

Also on Friday, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Eagles sixth among the betting favorites at +1000 odds to win Super Bowl LX this coming February. Considering Philadelphia's inconsistent offensive performances throughout the campaign, it's easy to understand why Sirianni doesn't want to risk the health of a key starter when only playoff seeding is on the line. 

"Feel really good about the guys who are going to go in and play," Sirianni added during his comments. "Obviously, you can’t rest everybody. We’re going in there to try to win the game with some guys that haven’t played a ton of snaps on offense and defense, but who have obviously contributed. Just felt like that was the best thing for the football team, for this week and moving forward."