Nick Sirianni has expressed 'remorse' over his initial reaction to the hit that briefly knocked Jalen Hurts out of the Philadelphia Eagles' 27-7 defeat to the Chicago Bears
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni expressed 'remorse' over his reaction to the sideline hit on quarterback Jalen Hurts by Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni expressed 'remorse' over his reaction to the sideline hit on quarterback Jalen Hurts by Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson(Image: Getty Images)
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Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has expressed “remorse” over his reaction to the hit that briefly knocked Jalen Hurts out of Monday night’s clash with the Chicago Bears.
On second-and-4 deep in Bears territory, Hurts scrambled towards the right sideline and appeared to be stepping out near the first-down marker. Jackson then delivered a heavy hit to his shoulder, sending the Eagles quarterback to the turf and drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Cameras captured Sirianni appearing to direct a barrage of expletives at Jackson in the aftermath of the play. Hurts got back to his feet and returned to the Eagles' sideline, but officials soon intervened and sent him for a concussion evaluation.
With their starting quarterback temporarily sidelined, the Eagles turned to Andy Dalton, who threw an interception from the Chicago 2-yard line on third-and-goal, squandering a prime opportunity to get on the scoreboard.
"Obviously, you want to always fight for your players and protect your players. I always come away when I have a moment like that with remorse of, 'Man, I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me,” Sirianni said.
Hurts returned and managed to help the Eagles cut the Bears’ lead to three heading into halftime. However, in the second half, the Bears scored 17 unanswered points to record a huge 27-7 win over the 2024 Super Bowl champions.
Sirianni also revealed that he was given no information on Hurts while he was being evaluated for a concussion. “I get nothing,” the Eagles chief admitted.
Head Coach Nick Sirianni has reacted to the hit that knocked Jalen Hurts out of the game temporarily
Head Coach Nick Sirianni has reacted to the hit that knocked Jalen Hurts out of the game temporarily(Image: Getty)
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"They need to go through their process there. You think about maybe calling a timeout in a situation like that ... but if you call a timeout, I have no idea what's going on and when he's going to come out.
"I think that's the right way to go about it because you don't want to influence anything. The health of the player is the most important thing."
When the incident involving Hurts was all said and done, Sirianni offered a different perspective from the one he initially gave on the sideline.
Jalen Hurts returned following an evaluation
Jalen Hurts returned following an evaluation(Image: Getty)
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"Those guys are out there trying to make a play. It was close on the sideline, ended up being a penalty," Sirianni said.
"Obviously, you never want to see your quarterback get hit like that, but it's in the heat of the moment.
“I know nobody is trying to hurt anybody out there, and I always have remorse when I act that way. But I always love fighting for our players.
"I have to be more steady in that situation. ... I didn't like how I handled that."