‘How ‘bout them Eagles?’ Nick Sirianni gets Philly fans, but even they know beating the Cowboys is just one step

How ‘bout them Eagles?

Nick Sirianni did almost everything he could to downplay the rivalry with the Cowboys last week. The Eagles coach told his players in a team meeting that the “Beat Dallas” shirts he had made for the team and he wore proudly last year were a mistake.

“This was stupid on my part last year,” Sirianni said before he symbolically tossed the shirt aside. “It’s about us. It’s about playing for each other.”

But when the Eagles did beat Dallas, 26-17, on Sunday night, Sirianni allowed himself to relish in the moment, or more likely, to share the experience with fans, when he altered Jimmy Johnson’s famous boast about the Cowboys just before entering the locker room at Lincoln Financial Field.

“How ‘bout them Eagles?” Sirianni shouted, and once more, with greater emphasis, “How ‘bout them Eagles!?!?”

Them Eagles are 6-0 and atop not only the division, but all of the NFL, and that’s about all that needs to be said to what is essentially a rhetorical question. And it’s the Jamestown, N.Y. native, who bounced around the nation as a college and pro assistant, but got to return to his East coast roots in Philadelphia who has them there.

Sirianni has made his share of mistakes, especially in the first seven games of his first season as a head coach, but since opening 2-5, the Eagles have won 13 of their last 16 regular season games. And the 41-year-old has held himself accountable and displayed a growth mindset that is a necessity for any leader.

Slogans aren’t exactly a bad thing. And while Sirianni’s shirts may have a college feel about them, wearing them is just the coach being true to himself. But the problem with the “Beat Dallas” one, he told his players, was in the messaging.

“In the grand scheme of things is a T-shirt really making a big difference in a win or loss? Probably not,” Eagles center Jason Kelce said. “But we preach, ‘Everything matters.’ And the reason Nick harped on that so much was just to reemphasize how much he believed it’s about us, and how much the team has to be focused on itself.”

The Eagles got smoked by the Cowboys, 41-21, in their first meeting last season. They lost as convincingly in the season finale when Sirianni rested most of his starters ahead of the playoffs. But even the stoic Jalen Hurts admitted, after initially downplaying the significance, that he still carried his performance in Texas with him.

“You’d be naive to think that I hadn’t remembered that,” the Eagles quarterback said. “I try to find value in all my experiences and that was a valuable experience for me.”

The Eagles offense didn’t quite exorcise the memory of their effort from a year ago. They jumped out to another lead, only to regress yet again in the second half. Dallas had also figured a few things out on offense and began to use a balanced attack to narrow the margin, 20-17, early in the fourth quarter.

But Sirianni, much like he did last week in Arizona when the Cardinals mounted a comeback, went heavy on the ground and ran the ball unmercifully on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a Hurts-to-DeVonta Smith 7-yard touchdown with seven minutes remaining.

The first 11 plays were essentially rushes. The most pivotal came early in the possession on third-and-4 at the Eagles 44. Hurts hadn’t scrambled up until that point. With right tackle Lane Johnson out with a concussion, and Dallas’ ferocious pass rush, the quarterback was often under heavy pressure.

But Hurts took off in this scenario, gave linebacker Anthony Barr a slight crossover, and was able to pick up the first down. It was back to the ground on the next set of downs, though, and to running behind what is arguably the strength of the entire team: the offensive line.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Cowboys analysis: Birds rise to 6-0 after getting a jump on rival Dallas

“You lean on what your strength is in that scenario to get you out of ruts,” Sirianni said. “I’ve been taught that from the very beginning. You’re in a rut, get it to your playmakers. Our playmaker in that scenario was our offensive line.”

There will be plenty again for Sirianni to clean up. The offense hasn’t quite figured out how to survive blitzes, let alone take advantage of them. But there was enough that Sirianni and his coaches did well to slow what is one of the best defenses in the league.

Linebacker Micah Parsons was held to zero sacks and quarterback hits, and on two crucial plays, the Eagles unblocked him and Hurts threw to receiver A.J. Brown — the second going for a 15-yard touchdown.

“You can’t block them,” Sirianni said of Parsons, “read them.”

In 2017, Doug Pederson took the same approach with Von Miller, another game-wrecking edge rusher, and took him out of what became a rout over the Broncos. The Eagles of 2022 haven’t yet finished games like that eventual Super Bowl-winning team.

But there are similarities between the squads, most of which is in their preparation. Pederson dialed up one game plan after the other that exploited a defensive weakness, but mostly emphasized the strengths of his unit.

Sirianni, likewise in his second season, has done the same. Ultimately, it will be his and coaches’ ability to stay ahead of their opponents that will have the greatest impact on the Eagles’ success.

He is a sponge for coaching wisdom. It starts with his father, Fran, his first coach, who he chatted with briefly before his post-game news conference. And it extends to former mentors like Larry Kehres and Frank Reich. He said he recently spoke to Tony Dungy, who he said had an 80-1 record with a 14-point lead, about playing from ahead.

Sirianni has relationships with coaches outside football, from former Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright to even his son’s little league baseball coach.

He’s always looking for ways to improve, and that often involves how he builds a winning culture. Kelce said Sirianni’s team meetings are the best he has ever experienced because of the amount of thought he puts into his messaging. While tossing the “Beat Dallas” shirt was about looking inward, it also spoke volumes about the coach, Jordan Mailata said.

“It was a surprise, but it wasn’t a surprise,” the Eagles tackle said. “Everything he said in that meeting made sense, and here we go again with coach practicing what he preaches and taking accountability for his actions from last year.”

That doesn’t mean some Eagles didn’t get caught up in the hype.

» READ MORE: The Eagles’ win over the Cowboys proves they’re the best team in the NFL. Savor it, Philly.

“It was kind of hard to not let the rivalry get in the way the last quarter,” Mailata said. “It was getting a little chippy, a little chirpy. You want to play smart football and put the game away. But it’s hard and you throw that rivalry in there and [they are] talking crap and you just want to fight them.”

TV cameras caught Sirianni getting animated during the late game scrum. He’s a fiery guy, and while some locals initially mocked him for his slogans, T-shirts and messaging, he has a lot of characteristics that are Philadelphian.

He has adopted the city, and its sports teams, as his own. Sirianni’s attendance at Game 3 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park wasn’t pandering. That was a father taking his family to a Phillies game. But that was also a sports fan enjoying baseball in one of the best sports towns in America.

» READ MORE: Connect and trust: For Nick Sirianni, his Eagles coaching journey and fatherhood align

And the Sirianni who yelled, “How ‘bout them Eagles?” was the sports nut Sirianni, as much as Coach Sirianni had to downplay beating Dallas.

“What’s so cool about Philadelphia,” Sirianni said, “is it’s such a great sports town that it matters here.”

He gets it.