What an absolute disaster for the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Sirianni. After jumping out to a massive 21-0 lead, the Eagles collapsed and gave a game away to the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are back in the mix for a playoff spot, while the Eagles squandered a golden opportunity to keep pace with the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC’s number one seed.
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Nov 16, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) reacts after the game against the Detroit Lions at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Monumental Eagles’ Collapse Falls on Nick Sirianni and the Rest of the Coaching Staff
Make no mistake, everyone certainly played a part in this absolute disaster of a game. At the end of the day, that falls on Sirianni and the rest of his coaching staff. Let’s take a look at where the blame should be focused.
Defense
While the defense didn’t play lights out, they weren’t the reason for the Eagles’ collapse. They didn’t play their best game, but it was more than enough to secure the win for the Eagles. The defense had bailed out the poor offense in weeks past, but that didn’t happen this week.
The Cowboys were able to move the ball, finishing with 473 total yards. The defense was able to step up in big moments, though, making some huge plays that should have given the Eagles an edge. Including turnovers on downs, they forced a total of four turnovers. Two turnovers on downs, a fumble, and an interception. One of those turnovers on downs came when a mind-boggling mistake from a Xavier Gipson fumble set the Cowboys up in the red zone. The interception came in the end zone with Reed Blankenship forcing the turnover. This potentially saved 14 points. This is the second week in a row that the defense is forcing turnovers while the offense can’t capitalize.
They didn’t play perfectly, but the defense did more than enough to secure a win, especially against one of the league’s best offenses.
Offense and Coaching
This disastrous Eagles loss falls directly on Nick Sirianni and the offense. Offensively, the team jumped out to a massive 21-0 lead, scoring touchdowns on each of the team’s first three possessions. The offense looked the best it has all season. They were explosive, with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith chewing up yards at will. Jalen Hurts looked as sharp as he has all season. So naturally, the offense would keep its foot on the gas and continue to be aggressive, right? Wrong.
Two things doomed the offense after this point in the game: Conservative offensive approach and penalties. Both of which fall directly on Nick Sirianni. Everyone has seen this movie before with the Eagles. The offense looks unstoppable for a stretch of a game, then looks like the worst offense in the league the rest of the game.
The offense clearly became conservative after building a big lead. Offensively, they leaned on the run game, which was not working at all, instead of continuing to let Hurts and company move the ball at will. They stopped pushing the ball downfield, shifting their approach to protecting the ball and not being aggressive. Sound familiar?
Kevin Patullo clearly is not doing a great job as the team’s offensive coordinator. There is no disputing that. At the end of the day, though, the conservative nature is something that comes from the head coach. It’s something we have seen time and time again this season. Sirianni has been playing with fire with this approach all season, barely scraping by with wins. This time, it finally burned him.
East Rutherford, NJ — August 22, 2025 — Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni on the sidelines in the first half. The Philadelphia Eagles came to MetLife Stadium to play the NY Jets in the final preseason season game.
Nick Sirianni: What is he adding to this team?
This game was lost with a conservative offense and mistakes. Two things that fall on the coaching staff. This team has been conservative all year long. What is the reasoning for refusing to be aggressive?
The Cowboys are one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. When your offense is repeatedly going three and out, just giving the ball back to the Cowboys, they are eventually going to score and make it a game again. The fact that this coaching staff, with all the talent they have offensively, is so committed to not losing games instead of actually winning them is unacceptable. Saquon Barkley and the rushing attack were nonexistent as well. As mentioned in the past, why continue to insist on running the ball in these situations instead of opening up the pass game, where they are clearly having more success? The players have repeatedly discussed the offense not being aggressive. Why, after 12 weeks, has nothing changed?
Self-Inflicted Wounds
It is hard enough to produce offensively when the offensive approach is bad. It’s even harder when the Eagles are making so many mistakes. One of Nick Sirianni’s most commonly used phrases throughout his Eagles tenure has been “master the things that require no talent”. They had 14 accepted penalties (16 total) for 96 yards and two turnovers. What have the Eagles mastered that requires no talent?
There are two sequences that stand out the most that decided this game. With 11:45 left in the third quarter, the Eagles’ defense forced a three-and-out, forcing Dallas to punt from its own end zone. Gipson fair caught the punt at the Cowboys 46 46-yard line, setting the Eagles up with great field position as the offense was sputtering. The only problem is, Cameron Latu had an inexplicably bad running into the kicker penalty. The Cowboys end up punting again, and the Eagles get the ball at their own 30-yard line. A difference of 24 yards. The Eagles ended up punting after just 6 plays.
With 8:08 left in the game at the Cowboys’ 28-yard line, tied at 21 apiece, Jalen Hurts steps up and hits DeVonta Smith for a 16-yard gain. The Eagles were set up to punch it in and retake the lead. Instead, the play is called back due to an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty on Fred Johnson. The very next play? Saquon Barkley fumbling the ball. Both of these sequences prevented the Eagles from putting points on the board and led to their demise.
Poorly Coached Team
These were just two examples of the Eagles being a poorly coached team. The decision by Xavier Gipson to return the punt that led to a fumble is another prime example.
Standing at the Eagles’ own two-yard line, Gibson made the inexplicably bad decision to field the punt and return it. Right on queue, disaster struck, and Gipson fumbled the ball. A well-coached team does not make a terrible decision like that. A well-coached team does not repeatedly commit self-inflicted wounds, preventing itself from putting a game away while up 21 points.
There were multiple poorly managed moments throughout the game. The Eagles got the ball back with 17 seconds remaining in the first half with three timeouts. When the pass game is moving as well as it was, why not try to take a couple of shots downfield to try to get in field goal range? Instead, the Eagles continued their conservative approach, handing off to Barkley one time before heading into halftime.
With 52 seconds left in the game, the Cowboys were at the Eagles 46-yard line after a handoff to Javonte Williams. They were out of timeouts, the clock running, and currently staring down a 63-yard field goal. Brandon Aubrey is a great kicker, but that is no easy kick. Instead of keeping the pressure on Dallas with the clock running, Sirianni calls a timeout, stopping the clock. They predictably made a huge play immediately after, picking up 24 yards, making it a much easier kick.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni coaches from the sidelines during a Thursday Night Football game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Oct. 9, 2025.
How is Sirianni Giving This Team an Edge?
Everyone has a hand in this loss. This is as disastrous a loss as the Eagles have had in quite some time. When a game is squandered mainly due to bad mistakes and a conservative approach, that head coach bears the largest part of the blame.
What is Nick Sirianni currently bringing to the Eagles? He does not call plays on either side of the ball. He isn’t managing the game well. The culture is not in a good place either, as players are constantly complaining about the team. What edge is he currently giving the Eagles? A head coach’s job is to do more with less, maximizing the talent on a team. Sirianni is doing the opposite of that right now. His questionable coaching finally caught up with the Eagles and may have cost them the one seed.
Main Photo: [Kevin Jairaj] – Imagn Images