Debating Sirianni’s 4th-and-2 Decision
Nick Sirianni has already built a reputation as a head coach who takes risks. Entering just his third with the Eagles, he’s already brought the team to a Super Bowl and his 23-11 record in the first two seasons gives him the most wins of any head coach for the franchise in the same time frame. There’s no arguing with his success so far.
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| Photo credit: Donna Quinn |
The Eagles were on the Patriots 46-yard line, leading 25-20. There was exactly 2 minutes left on the clock.
The Eagles offense had accumulated a total of 252 yards, one touchdown, and 4 field goals all day. A first quarter 16-0 lead had been cut to 5 points. (The defense scored early on a “pick-6.”) The Patriots had scored a touchdown on a 6-play, 75-yard drive just over 90 seconds of game time earlier, and the Eagles gave the ball back on the first play of the next drive on a Jalen Hurts fumble. The defense not only held on the next position, New England lost 7 yards. The Eagles got the ball back at almost midfield, their own 48, with 2:20 left. (ESPN & NFL box scores read differently, but both agree the drive took :23 and video shows the Eagles eventual 4th down ended at 1:57; see the first video to the right, here.)
Philadelphia predictably ran the ball three times forcing the Patriots to use 2 of their 3 timeouts plus the 2-minute warning to stop the clock. It’s worth noting that rain soaked the field earlier in the day, so conditions were less than ideal for both offenses.
Even a touchback on a punt, which would have been a fairly bad kick, forces the Patriots to go 80 yards for a winning TD in under 2 minutes with one timeout. It’s easily conceivable that a punt puts them even further back. A “shank” or problem with the snap is certainly possible, especially in the wet conditions, but these are low-percentage outcomes.
Yet, Sirianni and the Eagles went for it on 4th down. The incomplete pass play took 3 seconds.
The Eagles ultimately survive with a win when a 4th-and-11 Mac Jones pass from the 22-yard line of Philadelphia to the Eagles 8 with 25 seconds to play is ruled incomplete by replay.
Jones recovered from a poor start that began with the interception returned for a touchdown, a fumble by Ezekiel Elliot on a pass reception, and three consecutive 3-and-outs. He finished with 316 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. So, it could be argued that keeping the ball out of the quarterback’s hands made sense. And, the Eagles won the game and that’s what counts. Jones clearly got rolling late in the first half, and the Eagles offense was sputtering. Even the play call was questionable – a short pass to DeVonta Smith when Hurts was having a subpar day, finishing with 170 yards on 22 of 33 passing.
Good call, bad call by Sirianni to go for a first down on 4th-and-2? I’d say, “bad call.” Punt the ball and make the Patriots likely have to drive much further with one timeout and less than 2 minutes on the clock. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Stats per ESPN.com and NFL.com
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