Many Philadelphia Eagles fans have been bracing for the news that they expect from head coach Nick Sirianni for Week 18. It's reportedly going to happen....
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane reports that sources say the Eagles will bench most of their starters, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, for their Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders. Sirianni has been alluding to this decision this week without outright saying it.
When talking about benching the starters, Sirianni has looked at it in the past as a bye week for them to give them rest before the playoffs. He has made this decision to rest the starters in the final week four out of the five seasons he's been the head coach.
Eagles won't have most of their starters for the Commanders game
This is a tough decision to make, as the Eagles are now making it that much harder to get the number two seed in the NFC. They need to win and for the Bears to lose to capture it.
With the possibility of the number two seed out of the picture, the Eagles are now going to be stuck with either the San Francisco 49ers or the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC Wild Card. It's been two years since the Eagles last played the 49ers, but they have played the Rams three times since last year, winning all three contests, including their 19-point comeback win in Week 3 this season.
The one positive to take away from this is that Eagles fans get another glimpse of backup quarterback Tanner McKee, who had stellar play in the last two games of last year. McKee could put on a show against Washington to help his trade value in the offseason, with a lot of NFL teams needing quarterbacks.
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This is one decision that could make or break Eagles fans' feelings about Sirianni, but the team has been to two Super Bowls during his tenure, so maybe fans need to give him the benefit of the doubt.