Nick Sirianni’s decisions can’t always be bailed out by the Eagles’ superior talent

The Eagles beat the Jaguars thanks to superior talent and in spite of their head coach.

The differences between the Jaguars and the Eagles on Sunday were clear and jarring.

One of the two teams was supremely talented. One was not.

One of the two teams made spectacular, highlight reel plays and is a legitimate playoff contender. One is not.

One of the two teams has an MVP caliber quarterback. One does not.

One of the two teams has exciting young players on an improving defense. One does not.

Jacksonville has earned every bit of their 2-7 record this season, while the 6-2 Eagles are once again putting themselves in a position to make another Super Bowl run. And yet, Sunday’s 28-23 win over the hapless Jags came within a Nakobe Dean end zone interception from turning into the team’s second come-from-ahead loss of the season at Lincoln Financial Field.

It didn’t have to be that way, but it was, thanks to an egregious mistake by replay officials awarding a touchdown to the Jaguars on a non-fumble fumble by Saquon Barkley, and four decisions by Sirianni that actively took points off the board.

First, let it be known that I believe in analytics, and I believe one of the reasons Philadelphia has been successful during the Lurie ownership is that he and the front office have leaned into using analytics when it comes to decision-making. But as the baseball world has observed over the last decade, man cannot live by computer alone. The best managers/head coaches are the ones who will take the analytics and use them, but also know when to put them in their pockets.

• After the Jaguars inexplicably gave up a 19-yard touchdown to Barkley on a 3rd-and-17 with 22 seconds left, the Eagles lined up and kicked the extra point to give themselves a 17-point lead. However, DaVon Hamilton jumped offside on the extra point try, so Sirianni decided to take the point off the board, accept the penalty and go for two with the Tush Push from the one-yard line. Normally this would be the right impulse, but if the Eagles had kept the extra point, it would have been a three-score game, rather than a 16-point, two-score game. The fact the Eagles failed to convert on the Tush Push was shocking, but it was an unforced error, and the advantage of an 18-point lead vs. a 17-point lead was not worth the risk.
• After Jalen Hurts’ 18-yard TD run put them up 22-0, the Eagles once again received a gift from Jacksonville in the form of a penalty that placed the extra point try on the one-yard line. Rather than kick and increase the lead to 23-0, Sirianni tried another Tush Push to go for two. Once again, it was stuffed. This call was less egregious than the previous one, in my opinion, perhaps a negative process over results scenario.
• With a little over a minute left in the third quarter...