Nobody felt good after leading Lincoln Financial Field with that 14-point lead being blown and the Philadelphia Eagles falling to the Denver Broncos 21-17 on Sunday.
On Monday, everyone was looking for answers as to what had happened. From the Eagles throwing the ball 38 times to A.J. Brown slowing up on a play, there has been so much talk about why Philly lost.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on "First Take" had another finger he wanted to point towards. He's looking at the head coach, Nick Sirianni.
"Look at how they're playing. Both sides of the ball. I mean listen, when you look at Denver, you can't get them off the field for 12 minutes? They come back from a double-digit deficit, outscoring you 18 to nothing in the fourth quarter. Where's the defense? Where's the offense? On the offensive side of the ball, you're running the football just twice in the entire second half. You're throwing the football 38 times. You're going up against your supposed identity. Why? Because you're hearing noise from folks about A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Nick Sirianni needs to make up his mind. Are you the boss or not?"
Does Sirianni deserves his share of the blame for Eagles' first loss of the season?
People can feel however they want to about Smith, but he's right on the money. Sirianni and Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo caved to Brown's demands and gave the offense way more passing plays. That has never been the recipe for success for the Eagles.
2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley had six carries for 30 yards. That's not in a half. That's one game. The Eagles should note that such an incident should never happen again.
Hurts isn't the type of quarterback who can throw it 35-40 times a game and be successful. That has always been the case over the last five years he's been in the midnight green uniform. Why did they think that was going to be different on Sunday?
Patullo deserves blame for his lack of play-calling creativity that has been missing all season, but Sirianni needs to take accountability for approving the offensive game planning. There's no way that a team that has been top 10 in rushing in each of Sirianni's first four years in Philadelphia can all of a sudden move away from their identity and try to throw it.
Read more:Nick Sirianni's brutally honest thoughts on Jalen Hurts-A.J. Brown missed TD
This isn't meant to be a callout to fire Sirianni, but it is a callout that he needs to take back control of the team and not give in to every demand from his players. Can the Eagles get back to running the football on Thursday against the New York Giants?