Following their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 57, the goal, and for many, the expectation was the Philadelphia Eagles would return and win the Super Bowl in 2023.
Those expectations grew bigger after the Eagles started 10-1, but they have now lost four of five, including a loss to the Cardinals on Sunday at home.
If the Eagles want to win the NFC East, they need help. They must beat the Giants on the road and hope the Commanders can defeat the visiting Cowboys. Otherwise, they’ll be the fifth seed and have to go on the road to return to the Super Bowl.
With such high expectations, maybe it’s taking a toll on this team.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was asked about it on Monday.
“I think that’s expectations, and I think that always plays into it,” Sirianni said. “This is what it’s supposed to look like; this is what we know we’re capable of, and that’s our expectations of ourselves—and knowing that we can continue to play better and coach better. And so I think that has been a little bit of it. I think, you know, if I’m — obviously we’d have to spend some time thinking through that, but my initial reaction is, you know, expectations.
“Like I said, we all have high expectations. The fans, you know, us as the Eagles, the coaches, the players, and so it’s just wanting to live up to the expectations. But also, we’ve got to understand that it’s about daily improvements and looking, zoning in just on where we are. I’ve always got to make sure that that’s the focus of the team and myself of being where we are today. That’s why I mean, I know how cliché that sounds coming from a coach that, ‘Hey, you can’t worry about the playoffs. You can’t worry about this. You have to be worried about today; how are we going to put a plan in today while the players are off to beat the Giants, right?’ And just taking those steady moments, I think sometimes you can get yourself out when your expectations — when you feel like you’re not playing to your expectations and coaching to your expectations, it’s easy to look forward and say, ‘Alright, here is what we’ve got to do to get to doing those things.
“And you want to do that, but like, how are we going to do this in two weeks, in three weeks? Well, it’s just it’s so important that you are locked into where you are at that particular time. So that plays into it, too.”
Sirianni discusses the frustrations of A.J. Brown.
Also, on Monday, Sirianni was asked about wide receiver A.J. Brown, who has not addressed the media in the past two weeks. Brown is clearly frustrated, and according to Sirianni, Brown and the whole team are frustrated.
“You know, obviously I don’t want to speak for him,” Sirianni said. “But you know, obviously when you have a dynamic playmaker like [Eagles WR] A.J. [Brown], he’s going to want to change the game at all times, and he’s capable of doing that at all times. And so again, I don’t want to speak for him, but obviously, we’re all frustrated. We’re all frustrated right now, especially coming off that loss yesterday. And so you want to be able to have fun. You want to be able to do all these things, and you know, that football brings, but sometimes it’s hard to have fun and hard to find the enjoyment when you’re in a rut like we are.
“But he’s always going to want to — he’s always going to want to change the game because he knows he’s capable, and that’s just him being the playmaker he is. I know this, and I said this to you guys on the record, off the record, all — everything, that there’s nobody that is as good of a teammate. There is nobody that’s as good of a person as [Eagles WR] A.J. [Brown], and shoot, he’s one of our very best players and one of our best players since I’ve been here in the past three years.
“I can’t say enough good things about him. We’re all frustrated, I think and again, like I said, I don’t want to speak for him on anything.”
Brown is not happy. After six straight games of 125-plus receiving yards, Brown has had only one game with 100-plus yards. Wide receivers are divas, and they always think they’re open.
In addition, this team is struggling, so Brown and the team’s frustrations are understandable.
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