Everyone is going to have their thoughts on how Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni decided to rest starters against the Washington Commanders in Week 18; some had to play, and others decided they wanted to go for it.
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith was among those asked if he wanted to play, and he said yes as he gunned for 1,000 yards for the season. There were also key defensive linemen like Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo who had to play with Jalen Carter inactive.
Sirianni was asked about letting Smith play after the 24-17 loss to the Commanders, and he said he would be careful with Smitty and the defensive linemen to protect them from injury as best he could.
"We were safe with him as far as what kind of routes we were running and what he was doing, and so that was something that we decided to do, and obviously you can’t rest everybody," Sirianni said via The Athletic's Zach Berman. "There were guys that, as far as D-line reps, some of those guys played through the game. We tried to limit their reps a little bit and play them a little bit less than they normally do, but with a position like D-line, those are the circumstances that you have. But, decided to do that so he could go get a thousand, and he came out good."
Did Sirianni handle the rotations and Smith the best way?
Whether the Eagles should have played the starters in the game is a whole other conversation. The second seed could have been had, and Sirianni knew that, but stuck to his guns and made sure his team was healthy for the postseason.
Getting Smith out as soon as he got the 1,000 yards for the season was 100% the right call. If the other starters are going to rest, Sirianni had to make sure to protect Smith as well, since he is too valuable to the offense.
Even if Carter was healthy, he was most likely not going to play in the game anyway, so the Eagles did the best they could with it. Some fans might have been okay with Jordan Davis maybe playing fewer snaps, as he has been great this season, but they didn't have enough defensive tackles to make that happen.
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With the San Francisco 49ers now the Eagles' focus in the NFC Wild Card, they can feel better knowing they are healthier than they have been all season because of Sirianni's risky decision.