Eagles news: Decisions loom as trade deadline nears; Sirianni offers injury updates on Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith

Nick Sirianni was clear on Sunday afternoon his decision to allow Jake Elliott to kick the ball to Ameer Abdullah with eight seconds left cost his team the game. A day later, after being able to review the game-ending situation that led to the Eagles' third straight loss, Sirianni again admitted his mistake.

"Leading into that last play, I said what I said yesterday and I stand by that," Sirianni told reporters over Zoom on Monday. "I did not make the decision that I wanted to make there in that particular case, and it cost us. There's nothing else to be said."

However, the Eagles' ill-fated kickoff wasn't the only questionable decision Sirianni had to clarify. The sixth-year head coach, who finds himself under .500 for the first time since his 2021 debut season, was asked Monday about a series of decisions that led up to Elliott's go-ahead, 48-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining. Specifically, he was asked why the team wasn't able to milk the clock even further on their final drive and leave no time for a potential comeback by the Jaguars.

Nick Sirianni didn't offer any specifics, but seemed optimistic both Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith will be back sooner rather than later.

Sirianni said he was "hopeful" Barkley and Smith will be able to suit up Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, but cautioned that could change if things "play out differently" leading up to the game.

"We'll see where we are at the end of the week," Sirianni said.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni didn't offer much support for new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion when asked to assess his performance through the first five weeks of the season.

"I think right now offensively we all have to be better," Sirianni told reporters Monday afternoon. "We're not worried about gaging where this person is, where that person is. We're worried about growth... Obviously, it hasn't been good enough."

The circumstances have been difficult, with injuries plaguing the offense and an offensive line forced to reshuffle due to Lane Johnson's retirement. But Sirianni sounded a positive note about where the Eagles find themselves.

Following three consecutive losses, there are some concerns surrounding the Eagles as they head into their Week 6 matchup.

In addition to injuries — including at running back, where they could be down to fourth-stringer Dameon Pierce — and an anemic offense that can’t seem to move the ball in the second half, some are also worried about the decision-making of Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, who admitted he cost his team Sunday’s game by not instructing Jake Elliott to kick the ball through the end zone late in the loss to Jacksonville.

Meanwhile, the Panthers (2-2) should be well rested coming off a bye week in Week 5. In their last game two weeks ago, they beat the Detroit Lions, who currently lead the NFL in points scored. The Birds and Panthers haven’t met since December 2024, when the Eagles defeated the Panthers at home in a game that saw Saquon Barkley rush for 124 yards to break the Eagles’ single-season record.

Was Jason Kelce disappointed in Sunday's Eagles loss? Probably.

Did he punch a hole in the wall of the booth at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London? Definitely not.

A satire account on X passed along a made up report Kelce — who called the game on the NFL Network — punched the wall out of frustration over the ending of the Eagles-Jaguars game. The post was shared widely on X, but an ESPN source confirmed it never happened.

If Saquon Barkley is ready to return from his hamstring injury for Week 6, the roster puzzle gets a little easier to figure out. 

But if he's not, Howie Roseman might need to make a move.

With Will Shipley reportedly slated to miss multiple weeks with a partial plantar fascia tear, the Eagles are down to two healthy backs on the active roster in Dameon Pierce and Carson Steele. Could they go into a regular season game with those two and practice squad running back Jaydon Blue dressed for the game? It’s possible. 

The Eagles are 2-3 and could very easily be both 4-1 and 0-5. It’s been a strange and eventful first five weeks of the season. 

Which way will the rest of this season go? 

We’re going to find out a lot over the next few weeks. The Eagles have four games until their Week 10 bye, and three of them — after next week’s game vs. Carolina — are against their three NFC East foes. The trade deadline is during the bye week, and the Eagles will have some decisions to make. 

The hits to the running back corps keep on coming for the Eagles. Third-string back Will Shipley entered Sunday’s game as the starter with Saquon Barkley (hamstring) sidelined and Tank Bigsby (core muscle) on injured reserve. But Shipley had just five carries before leaving the game in the first half. 

According to ESPN, Shipley suffered a partial tear of his plantar fascia and could be out for “multiple weeks.”

It's unclear if Barkley will be ready to return for the team’s Week 6 home game vs. Carolina. The Eagles have two other backs on the active roster: Dameon Pierce and Carson Steele. They also have Jayson Blue on the practice squad. 

No Saquon Barkley. No Tank Bigsby. Down three starters on the offensive line from Week 1, and another for a few series. 

That was the backdrop for the run offense entering Sunday’s Week 5 game in Jacksonville. The Eagles weren't necessarily set up for success, but what they produced was something they hadn't in nearly 11 years. 

The Eagles rushed for 22 yards on 18 carries (1.2 yards per). The 22 yards marked the first time they were held under 25 rushing yards for a game since they ran for seven yards on 17 carries in a Week 2 loss to Dallas in 2015. 

It comes as little solace to Birds fans, but the Eagles' last-second loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London carved out a place in NFL history.

According to ESPN, the stunning ending was the first time in the Super Bowl era a game featured two go-ahead field goals in the final 8 seconds.

The Dallas Cowboys' meltdown in Brazil against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 came close, but Dallas tied that game with a field goal with 10 seconds left before Baltimore came back to win.

Good morning from 38,000 feet, where being trapped on this airplane for a few hours has led to some introspection on how yesterday’s Eagles-Jaguars game ended. 

I thought my colleague Jeff McLane was crazy yesterday when he told me he thought the bigger game management error wasn’t the decision to kick the ball in bounds, it was the fact they even had to kick the ball off at all. 

I’ve changed my mind. Don’t tell Jeff, but I think he’s right. Jake Elliot’s field goal has to be the last play of the game. 

The Eagles (2-3) will look to snap their three-game losing streak against the Carolina Panthers (2-2) at the Linc Sunday afternoon.

The Panthers are coming off their bye week and still riding off their win against the Detroit Lions in Week 4. Carolina has been led by their offense, which is averaging 405.8 yards per game, fourth most in the league. By comparison, the Eagles average a paltry 269.8 yards per game.

So far this season quarterback Bryce Young has taken a big step up. He leads the league in passing yards per game (317), has nine touchdown passes compared to just two interceptions, and boasts an even 100 quarterback rating.

Game management is supposed to be the one thing Nick Sirianni has sole authority over for three hours, every week of the season. When the Eagles coach gave up offensive play-calling midway through his first season, he said it was partly because he wanted to focus on that responsibility.

On Sunday, he failed miserably at that one job.

But Sirianni’s decision-making in the fateful last moments of the Eagles’ nauseating 19-17 last-second loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars — while suggesting a worrisome trend — wasn’t the primary reason his team will fly back to the U.S. on a three-game losing streak.

During the opening kickoff, Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Jaguars defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. were ejected for fighting on the field. But the lack of a good shot of the melee during the NFL Network's broadcast left fans – and a few announcers – scratching their heads.

"They couldn't have done anything that big to get disqualified," Merrill Reese said during the Eagles radio broadcast. "Nobody spit on anybody... This is an international game, the officials have to be disciplined, too."

Part of the confusion was because the NFL Network's broadcast – produced by ESPN – only initially showed the end of the fight, when the players were being separated.