Nov 2, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio during practice at the PSD Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Going green: Eagles to hand defense to Vic Fangio

One day after ending his one-year run as defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins, Vic Fangio is taking over the Eagles’ defense, according to multiple reports Thursday.

Fangio and head coach Mike McDaniel said a mutual parting in Miami was agreed to Wednesday, not long before Nick Sirianni was asked at his season-ending press conference about bringing the 65-year-old to Philadelphia.

Fangio has been a defensive coordinator in the NFL for 20 seasons and was head coach of the Denver Broncos (2019-21). When he was fired by the Broncos, Fangio didn’t immediately take another full-time role but served as a consultant for the Eagles during their run to the NFC Championship in 2022.

He discussed the coordinator job with Sirianni last year but was hired by the Dolphins when Miami made him the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL.

Philadelphia is hiring a third defensive coordinator in three seasons.

Jonathan Gannon was hired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals after the Eagles’ Super Bowl run and Sean Desai held the role most of last season before being demoted in favor of Matt Patricia, former New England Patriots defensive coordinator and Detroit Lions head coach. Neither is returning to the Eagles in 2024.

Fangio’s defense in Miami was ravaged by injuries and was No. 22 in total defense and points allowed last season.

He was also the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers stretching back to the mid-1990s.

–Field Level Media

Dec 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (L) and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (R) talk during the second quarter against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

‘Hungry’ Nick Sirianni stays, Eagles boot coordinators for ‘new ideas’

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni sticks around for a fourth year as head coach in Philadelphia but is spending the playoffs interviewing for the newly vacant coordinator roles on his staff.

“I’m just hungry to prove myself again to (owner Jeffrey) Lurie and the faith he’s had in me,” Sirianni said Wednesday.

Sirianni and team president Howie Roseman, who helped hire Sirianni from the Colts in 2021, confirmed offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and defensive coordinator Sean Desai were fired at a season-ending press conference. The reigning NFC champions ended the season on a 1-6 skid, capped by a 32-9 playoff defeat at Tampa Bay.

“I just think right now we just need to bring some new ideas from the outside,” Sirianni said. “We need to bring a guy in with new ideas that’s not part of this family of coaches. I think that an important thing or even if it is from one of the coaches that have been somewhere else — it can be any of that. So, that’s important and because that’s important you are making sure you always evolve.”

The Eagles started the season 10-1 and were in position to fight the San Francisco 49ers for the top seed in the NFC. Until the wheels fell off.

Johnson came under fire as Hurts’ performance dipped in the second half of the season, but Sirianni said there was plenty of blame to go around.

“We did what we thought was best at the time,” Sirianni said. “I can’t say enough good things about Brian, though. He’s a great football coach. He’s going to have another opportunity to lead an offense, and I will miss him. Some of the things that we want to do as a team is grow in a lot of different areas.

“It’s about coming up with fresh ideas and doing some things different, and that’s exactly where we are right now. Brian being at that position, unfortunately, he’s the one that’s leaving at this particular time. But I can’t say how much I appreciate him as a coach. We’ve had a lot of success here in the past three years and Brian’s contributed a lot to that. … Just wanted to bring in some fresh ideas, and that’s where we are with that.”

Sirianni believes cleaning the slate by refreshing his coaching staff also eliminates the notion of a “stale offense” or scheme.

“It’s just about putting the players in the best positions to succeed but doing things differently at times, too,” Sirianni said as the Eagles search for a third coordinator in three seasons.

“There’s going to be things for whoever the new coordinator is that there’s going to be things that they bring that are going to be fresh ideas for us to help out players grow and help our players play at the top level. There’s been some things that we’ve done well that our offense has done in the past that you’ll mesh in some of that together as well. I think with some of the success that we’ve had these last three years and our guys do well. I’m excited about that.”

–Field Level Media

Jan 15, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stands on the sidelines during warm ups before a 2024 NFC wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Eagles owner, coach Nick Sirianni to meet Friday

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and head coach Nick Sirianni are scheduled for their annual exit interview on Friday, according to multiple reports.

Sirianni, 34-17 in the regular season with the Eagles, will be asked to pitch Lurie on keeping his job, according to multiple reports, with anticipated mandates for changes at both coordinator positions.

Philadelphia’s season went up in flames with losses in six of the final seven games, the last of which was a lopsided 32-9 defeat at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card round Monday night.

Super Bowl runners-up last season, the Eagles were in the driver’s seat in the NFC and controlled the East division in mid-November. While the end result of 11 victories in 2023 signal a successful season for most, the unraveling in Philadelphia could prompt a harsh review from Lurie and team president Howie Roseman.

A peek in the rearview mirror offers a glimpse at Lurie’s mindset on such matters.

He made what he called a “tough, but unemotional decision” to fire Doug Pederson at the end of the 2020 season because he felt the future was brighter with a fresh start. He followed a similar instinct parting with Andy Reid in 2012 while describing the move as “extremely difficult” because of their close personal relationship.

“My first allegiance is what will be best for the Philadelphia Eagles and our fans for the next three, four, five years,” Lurie said shortly after firing Pederson. “It’s not based on does someone deserve to hold their job or deserve to get fired; that’s a different bar. Very few people probably after success deserve to lose their job. This is much more about the evaluation of whether the Eagles, moving forward, our best option is to have a new coach.”

Players lined up to go to bat for Sirianni on Wednesday.

Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who played for Reid and Pederson with the Eagles, passionately endorsed Sirianni in a heated exchange with media gathered around his locker.

Cox, who said he hadn’t decided whether to play another season, didn’t hesitate when asked whether Sirianni should be back in 2024.

“What is there to talk about? This man is a winner,” Cox said Wednesday. “He’s a winner head coach. Did we have some bumps this year? Yeah. But every team … goes through it.

“But we don’t look at firing a man who has won 10-plus games two years in a row … (made the playoffs) three years in a row. Have some respect. He’s a good leader for this team, and he does a really good job. Did we come up short? Yeah. Did things happen this year? Yeah.”

The Eagles lost five of their final six regular-season games, tumbling from possible No. 1 seed in the NFC to hitting the road for the postseason as a wild-card.

Sirianni said after the game he wasn’t thinking about his future, and players said Wednesday that job status and returning next season wasn’t discussed in a team meeting before they were dismissed to start the offseason.

“Think Nick’s a great coach, great head coach,” center Jason Kelce said. “Obviously nobody was good enough this year. I wasn’t, none of the players, none of the coaches were good enough down the stretch. That’s the reality of this business. It’s a collective thing.

“He does a lot of things structurally and organizationally that I think are really well done. Obviously we’ve got a lot of things to fix to improve the outlook of the offense in general, from my perspective, for next year, but I think very, very highly of Nick Sirianni.”

Kelce, who was drafted during Reid’s tenure and won a Super Bowl under Pederson, said reports of his retirement are premature, and he remains undecided about his NFL future.

–Field Level Media

Philadelphia Eagles' head coach Nick Sirianni, left, speaks with Eagles' defensive tackle Fletcher Cox during an Eagles practice held at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.  The Philadelphia Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023.

Philadelphia Eagles Prepare For The Super Bowl 12

Players endorse Eagles coach Nick Sirianni

Super Bowl runner-up last season and 11 victories in 2023 are enough for Fletcher Cox to passionately endorse the Eagles bringing back head coach Nick Sirianni.

Cox, who said he hadn’t decided whether to play another season, didn’t hesitate when asked whether Sirianni should be back in 2024.

“What is there to talk about? This man is a winner,” Cox said Wednesday. “He’s a winner head coach. Did we have some bumps this year? Yeah. But every team … goes through it.

“But we don’t look at firing a man who has won 10-plus games two years in a row … (made the playoffs) three years in a row. Have some respect. He’s a good leader for this team, and he does a really good job. Did we come up short? Yeah. Did things happen this year? Yeah.”

The Eagles lost five of their final six regular-season games and then dropped a 32-9 decision in the NFC wild-card round Monday at Tampa Bay.

Siranni said after the game he wasn’t thinking about his future, in question despite a 34-17 regular-season record, because of the end-of-season nosedive and poor showing against the Buccaneers.

Players in the locker room were speaking out on his behalf two days later.

“Think Nick’s a great coach, great head coach,” center Jason Kelce said. “Obviously nobody was good enough this year. I wasn’t, none of the players, none of the coaches were good enough down the stretch. That’s the reality of this business. It’s a collective thing.

“He does a lot of things structurally and organizationally that I think are really well done. Obviously we’ve got a lot of things to fix to improve the outlook of the offense in general, from my perspective, for next year, but I think very, very highly of Nick Sirianni.”

Kelce said reports of his retirement are premature, and he remains undecided about his NFL future.

–Field Level Media

Feb 12, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, US; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni walks on the field before Super Bowl LVII against the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Eagles expected to promote Brian Johnson to OC

The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to promote quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator to replace Shane Steichen, according to multiple reports.

Steichen was named head coach of the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday.

The Eagles also are considering passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo, who could also follow Steichen to the Colts. Former Colts OC Marcus Brady, fired before head coach Frank Reich this past season, is also on Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni’s staff.

But Johnson, who has received multiple requests to interview for OC positions with other teams, seems to be the natural heir apparent to Steichen. ESPN called Johnson one of the most sought-after assistants in the NFL.

“He’s going to be a star one day,” Eagles QB Jalen Hurts said of Johnson ahead of the Super Bowl. “I have no doubt in my mind.”

Johnson, 35, has known Hurts and his family since he was 4 years old.

Johnson completed his second season with the Eagles after a stint at OC with the Florida Gators in 2020. Johnson has also been QBs coach/OC collegiately at Houston (2018) and Utah (2012-13).

–Field Level Media

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (55) answers questions from the media during team availability at Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix on Feb. 7, 2023.

Nfl Eagles Media

Attack Mahomes or play keep-away? Eagles mull their options

Brandon Graham has already strip-sacked the greatest quarterback of all time in a Super Bowl. What to do for an encore?

Call 27-year-old Patrick Mahomes the GOAT, too, and try to make it a double.

The veteran defensive end helped the Philadelphia Eagles lock up their first Super Bowl victory five years ago with a strip sack of Tom Brady late in the 41-33 win over the New England Patriots. This Sunday, against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, Graham and the NFL’s top defense is tasked with figuring out the next generation’s exemplar quarterback, Mahomes.

“Man, getting a strip sack on him too, that’d be nice,” Graham told reporters Thursday. “But we’re going to have some fun, man. He’s definitely the GOAT because he’s already won one and you can see he’s been here a lot of times already. And he’s young.”

Head coach Nick Sirianni wasn’t keen on spelling out how his team’s defense is strategizing for Mahomes, whether it will feature an increase in blitzing or focus on keeping the ball out of his hands.

It was pointed out to Sirianni at Thursday’s press conference that in Mahomes’ three career playoff losses, his Chiefs have lost the turnover battle twice and had less time of possession than their opponent in all three defeats.

Sirianni said when he was the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator and faced Mahomes’ Chiefs in 2019, it became “a little bit of a keep-away game.” That day, the Colts ran the ball 45 times, had possession for 37:15 and handed Kansas City its first loss of the young season, 19-13.

“So we have that in our pocket. We also think it’s important to score points. Obviously I won’t give too much of the game plan away of what we’re trying to do. But we also understand how dangerous Patrick Mahomes is and how good of a football player he is.

“Sometimes when you do play a keep-away battle, per se, you still gotta be good and efficient on third down. You still gotta be good and efficient to extend drives.”

Sirianni’s Eagles have been able to run the ball at will, led by dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts and a deep backfield that features Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott.

Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon put the keys to the matchup simply.

“Not have the ball thrown over our heads and take it away,” he told the Eagles’ team website.

Gannon touted his unit’s adaptability as a foil to the Chiefs’ creativity on offense.

“Every game you turn on, (Reid is) doing something new. We’ve got to be prepared for all of that,” Gannon said. “One of our staples is adaptability. We know that we’re going to have to adapt in game and we’ve got to be ready to make adjustments in game, in real time, and ultimately execute the plan and those adjustments to have a chance.”

But the ultimate strength of the Eagles’ defense is its pass rush, which finished with 70 sacks in the regular season, the third-highest total in NFL history.

“I don’t think you go into this game thinking you are going to get clear paths to the quarterback,” said Haason Reddick, who had 16 sacks in the regular season and 3.5 in the Eagles’ first two playoff games. “They’re going to have something built-in to account for what we do, so it comes down to winning one-on-one battles, or whatever it’s going to be, in this game. You also know that Mahomes isn’t a guy who is going to go down easily. He can buy time with his legs. He can move, even with that ankle (Mahomes suffered a high-ankle sprain against Jacksonville in the AFC Divisional round).

“It’s a challenge and, as you know, I love challenges.”

–Field Level Media

Oct 16, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles fan celebrates during win against the Dallas Cowboys during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Philly mayor ‘ambivalent’ about greasing poles before Super Bowl

When the Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl five years ago, the country was introduced to a local tradition: ecstatic fans climbing light poles.

The Eagles are back in the big game, ready to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl LVII, and the city is starting to prepare for a similar ruckus should the Eagles prevail again.

Greasing the city’s light poles in February 2018 only made the challenge more endearing for some Philly fans, and Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney said Tuesday that he doesn’t feel strongly about whether to get the poles slick this time around.

“Greasing the poles keeps more people from climbing up them, but it doesn’t stop everybody,” Kenney told reporters. “So whatever the police thinks we should do, we do. But I’m ambivalent about the poles.”

The tradition has its roots in the city’s Italian Market Festival in the 1960s. It was a friendly competition for some festival-goers to climb a 30-foot pole greased with lard.

City officials greased the light poles last fall ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies clinching the National League pennant and booking their trip to the World Series. Pole-scaling was also on display two weeks ago when the Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

“NFC Championship, what I saw from the coverage, it was diverse,” Kenney said. “People of all colors, ethnicities were out dancing with each other. Philadelphia Police were dancing with young kids. There’s a general spirit of good will when you’re successful, and hopefully we can keep that going all year.

“I think we had like eight people arrested out of 20-some thousand, so it’s not that bad. No sense in overreacting.”

–If there’s one position on the roster the Eagles are uncertain about entering the Super Bowl, it’s a surprising one: punter.

Arryn Siposs suffered an ankle injury on his plant leg in mid-December when attempting to advance a blocked punt against the New York Giants. He had to be carted off and was assumed to be done for the season, but his recovery has progressed and last week the Eagles opened the 21-day practice window for Siposs to be activated off injured reserve.

But Siposs has yet to be activated as of Tuesday. Brett Kern is the Eagles’ other option at punter.

“We’re still working through that,” coach Nick Sirianni said in a news conference Tuesday, declining to offer any more details other than saying Siposs looked good in practice last week.

Siposs pinned 16 punts inside the 20-yard line and yielded just three touchbacks in 13 regular-season games.

–DeVonta Smith won two national championships at Alabama before the Eagles picked him 10th overall in the 2021 draft. Making it to his first Super Bowl, therefore, has not appeared to faze him in the slightest.

“I’ve been playing in games like this from little league, middle school, high school, college,” the former Heisman Trophy winner said. “So yeah, I feel like I’m built for games like this. I’ve been playing in games like this all my life, so to me it’s really just another game.”

Smith caught 95 passes for 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022, his second NFL season. Being paired with A.J. Brown (88 catches, 1,496 yards, 11 TDs) made for a dynamic receiving game to complement the Eagles’ run-heavy attack.

Smith was asked why the Eagles have faced more man coverage than any NFL team this year.

“I look at it like you have to pick your poison,” he said. “I think some teams would rather just man up than let us just run the ball all day.”

–The Eagles’ defense may have led the NFL with 70 sacks in 2022 — the third-highest single-season mark of all time — but Brandon Graham knows the toughest challenge awaits when up against the slippery, endlessly creative Patrick Mahomes.

“Mahomes is the guy that extends the plays and drops the dimes,” Graham, who had 11 regular-season sacks, told reporters. “You’ve got to make sure you can hit him, get him on the ground, create turnovers, make him make bad throws.”

Haason Reddick, who led the Eagles in the regular season with 16 sacks and had 3.5 more in their two playoff games, called Mahomes “a tremendous talent.”

“I don’t know if you can contain him,” Reddick said. “I just don’t know, he’s that good. I won’t lie, he is.”

Graham, 34, has spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Eagles and was part of the team that won Super Bowl LII under coach Doug Pederson. He said he was grateful that Sirianni kept him and other veterans on the team when he was hired in 2021.

“He kept a lot of us because we give (younger players) something to look up to and I don’t take that for granted,” Graham said. “When I’ve got that C on my chest, I know a lot of guys look up to me so I try to give them something to look up to.”

Counting the postseason, the Eagles have a whopping 78 sacks. That is third most all-time behind the mid-1980s Chicago Bears, who had a record 82 in 1984 and 80 in 1985.

–Field Level Media

Feb 6, 2023; Phoenix, Ariz., U.S.;  Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni answers questions during Super Bowl Opening Night at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Chow-Arizona Republic

Nick Sirianni feels love from Eagles fans

The notoriously fickle fans in Philadelphia have embraced second-year Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.

The warm and fuzzy feelings are mutual, Sirianni said Monday at Super Bowl LVII Opening Night in Phoenix.

“I feel like I live and coach in the greatest sports town in America,” said Sirianni, whose NFC champion Eagles meet the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.

“This means so much to everybody there. That’s what you want, right? … You want your fans to love it.

“You want your fans to be there. You want them to be wearing green on Friday. You want them to be wearing green on Saturday. You want them to be throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. You want that. Because we want to be able to put our talents on display. And we are able to do that in the greatest sports town in America.”

After leading the Eagles to the playoffs with a 9-8 record in his first season in 2021, Sirianni coached them to an 8-0 start and a franchise-record 14 wins in the 2022 regular season.

He is the fourth coach to lead Philadelphia to the Super Bowl — a group that includes current Chiefs coach Andy Reid — and is hoping to join Doug Pederson (Super Bowl LII in February 2018) as the second one to bring the Lombardi Trophy to the City of Brotherly Love.

After the Philadelphia Phillies fell short in the 2022 World Series, the fans are hungry for the Eagles to finish the job against quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

“I just love the fact that my kids are growing up in such a great sports town where football means so much, because football means so much to me,” Sirianni said.

Sirianni, 41, said he is counting on the leadership of the Super Bowl LII veterans who are still with the team.

“When I became a first-year head coach last year, I wasn’t like other new coaches in the sense that I had two 10-year veterans on the offensive line with Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce, and I had two 10-year veterans on the defensive line with Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham,” he said. “Who else had that? That’s unbelievable to have that as a first-year head coach.

“To have these guys that have not only been to the top of the mountain but planted their flag at the top of the mountain, that’s huge. That leads everybody.

“We have these unbelievable leaders on our team, starting with those four guys. And we lean a lot on them for many different aspects.”

–Field Level Media

Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni talks with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (97) and defensive end Brandon Graham (55) during an injury timeout in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Full-strength Eagles invite rowdiness for NFC title game

As the Eagles prepare for their first NFC Championship game appearance since the 2017 season, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said he plans for every player to be available for practice this week.

That includes wide receiver A.J. Brown and slot cornerback Avonte Maddox, who hasn’t practiced since a toe injury Dec. 24 at Dallas.

The Eagles (15-3) host the 49ers (15-4) on Sunday and the No. 1 seed in the NFC is cherishing the home-field advantage.

“There’s just a lot that has to happen because of the noise,” Sirianni said. “There’s a lot of work that has to be done. That’s a big advantage, that is a big advantage for the defense, home team obviously. We know how good our fans are, how loud they are, how rowdy.”

Philadelphia is 8-2 at home this season. The 49ers went 5-3 on the road in the regular season and leaves home for the first time in the playoffs after wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys.

Brown, who had 88 receptions for 1,496 yards in his first season with the Eagles, was frustrated after last week’s 31-point victory over the New York Giants. Sirianni said he was fine with Brown venting over his three catches for 22 yards because of a nagging injury.

The Eagles are leaning on longtime veterans with Super Bowl LII hardware such as All-Pro center Jason Kelce and defensive end Brandon Graham to keep newcomers and veterans alike focused on the task at hand.

“When I first got the job here, I said I wasn’t like other first-year head coaches,” Sirianni said. “Why I said that is I have these unbelievable players who’ve been to the mountaintop, played 10-plus years. We have great leaders on this team. They lead the way with how we practice, prepare, play in any game. We have guys who’ve played in big-time college games as well. The wins that they’ve had, that’s obviously a big advantage for our team.”

–Field Level Media

Jan 8, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs with the ball in front of New York Giants linebacker Tomon Fox (49) during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts rested, ready for Giants

Quarterback Jalen Hurts use his bye week wisely to be ready for work as the Philadelphia Eagles hit the practice field Tuesday.

Hurts said he rested and reviewed his two regular-season wins over the New York Giants to prepare for the NFC Divisional playoff meeting Saturday.

“We put ourselves in this position by what we did all season, the consistency we had all season and the focus,” Hurts said. “I don’t think anything changes in terms of the process. The process remains the same … but the standard rises.”

Hurts sprained his right shoulder Dec. 18, meaning he’ll be five weeks removed from the initial injury when the No. 1 seed in the NFC hosts the divisional rival Giants in prime time Saturday. Hurts missed two games and returned to the lineup Jan. 8 to help the Eagles clinch the first-round bye and homefield advantage.

Head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t allow Hurts to throw in the team’s full practice last Thursday. He said the decision was precautionary with progress toward complete health for Saturday the main objective.

“(Hurts) is better than he was two weeks ago,” Sirianni said Tuesday, before Hurts was to be on the practice field without a limited designated for the first time since Dec. 16.

Philadelphia won the first meeting vs. the Giants 48-22 and took the Week 18 regular-season finale 22-16.

Cumulatively, Hurts had 16 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown, threw two TD passes and was intercepted once. But the Giants recorded seven sacks of Hurts in the defeats, which brings up the question of how much he can handle physically.

“It’s football, I got a bounty on me every week. I just gotta go out there and play my game,” Hurts said.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll knows exactly what he expects from Hurts, one of his prized pupils during one year working with Alabama head coach Nick Saban. In 2017, Daboll was a Tuscaloosa resident and on Alabama’s staff for the Crimson Tide’s national title win. During the championship game, Saban benched Hurts for Tua Tagovailoa.

“Tremendous person first and foremost. Highly competitive, extremely smart, great leader. He means a lot to me,” Daboll said. “He’s a winner. He’s a leader at that position. I think he can galvanize a locker room, which obviously he’s done. He’s made every throw he’s had to make. He’s tough to bring down when he runs, whether it’s designed runs or scrambles. He’s just gotten better and better. He’s as competitive and mentally tough as I’ve ever been around. Nothing rattles him.”

–Field Level Media