Eagles coach Nick Sirianni explained why resting starters vs. Washington is the "best thing" for the team ahead of the postseason.
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles will rest their starters on Sunday in their Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders.
And on Friday, Nick Sirianni explained why.
“At the end of the day, it’s not a guarantee that we can get the No. 2 seed,” Sirianni said at the NovaCare Complex. “But it is a guarantee that I can rest the starters.”
Sirianni did not confirm that the Eagles would be resting starters vs. Washington in his Monday and Wednesday press conferences. But after The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the news earlier this week and players started openly talking about it, it became common knowledge.
The Eagles have a chance at securing the No. 2 seed on Sunday with a win vs. Washington and a Chicago Bears loss to the Detroit Lions. Both games will kick at 4:25 p.m.
If the Eagles (11-5) secure the No. 2 seed, they’ll play the Green Bay Packers (9-6-1) in the NFC Wild Card round and guarantee a second home game in the playoffs if they win.
If the Eagles lose to Washington (4-12) or the Bears (11-5) beat Detroit (8-8), then Philadelphia would play the Los Angeles Rams (11-5) or San Francisco 49ers (12-4) as the No. 3 seed.
The Eagles would host their NFC West opponent in the Wild Card round before possibly going on the road to face the Bears in the Divisional round.
Sirianni said on Monday that it’s a “marathon of a season” and harped on the importance of a bye week before making runs to the Super Bowl in 2022 and 2024.
On Friday, he called resting most starters “the best thing” for the team.
“Feel really good about the guys who are going to go in and play. Obviously, you can’t rest everybody,” Sirianni said. “We’re going in there to try to win the game with some guys that haven’t played a ton of snaps on offense and defense, but who have obviously contributed. Just felt like that was the best thing for the football team, for this week and moving forward.”
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Category: General Sports
