For any of the Philadelphia Eagles starters who had to sit on the sidelines and watch their team lose to the Washington Commanders 24-17 in Week 18, it wasn't an easy thing to do.
The media have questioned Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni for letting the NFC's No. 2 seed slip away by resting the starters and losing. It was worse to see the Detroit Lions take care of business with a 19-16 win over the Chicago Bears, which made the Eagles' loss that much worse, as if the starters had played, Philly might be playing the Green Bay Packers instead of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card as the third seed.
Eagles starting safety Reed Blankenship was asked about watching the team miss out on the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Blankenship wasn't about to start questioning his head coach's decision and stood up for Sirianni.
"We can play the what if game. I mean yeah when the Lions win when you're on the sidelines and like 'Man, you know, I wish I would have played,' but we didn't know that," Blankenship said via ESPN's Tim McManus. "I'd rather have a week of rest and let my body recover than go out there being in a dog fight and then feel bad going into the playoff game."
Eagles players continue to stand by their head coach's decision
The one good thing about the Eagles is that they are all on the same page in sticking up for their head coach and his decision to rest the starters. It might be to say it in public, but the players seem to really appreciate the fact that Sirianni gave them time to rest before putting their bodies on the line in the playoffs.
Philly is going into the playoffs as one of the healthiest teams in the NFL. The Eagles have only rookie starting safety Andrew Mukuba on IR, the lone injured starter. Meanwhile, the 49ers are completely decimated by injuries on offense and defense, which will make it tough for them to go on the road and pick up a win when their defense is missing multiple starters.
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Eagles fans won't know whether Sirianni's risk pays off until the team takes the field in the Wild Card and fights for a win over the 12-5 49ers. If they do, then he looks like a genius, but if they don't, Sirianni is going to have a long offseason.