Late deep ball could have drawn pass interference flag

The decision of the Eagles to throw the ball down the field when facing first and 10 on their own 45 with 13 seconds to play. With two timeouts, they could have gotten in position for a long field-goal try, to be attempted by a kicker who can make long field goals.

So why throw a long pass? Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was asked that question by reporters on Wednesday. His answer was, well, interesting.

“At times there we’ve seen you can get a pass interference there,” Sirianni said. “It was what it was on that particular play, but if you get a pass interference call there and if a team is giving you a one-on-one shot for very similar to what happened on the other side of the ball, they ended up getting a one-on-one shot that had some different things there, and we’ve seen it. We had a one-on-one shot against the Rams, and you can get a pass interference, and now you’re in position to kick it.”

While pass interference calls can indeed happen, it’s one of the few times (if not the first time) that a coach has cited the incalculable possibility of a flag being thrown as part of the affirmative stratey

“So, we have some of the best receivers in the NFL outside,” Sirianni said. “So, there are times where you’re going to do that. We felt like in that situation we had an opportunity to. Hey, it didn’t work out that particular time. But we’ve done it at other times in two-minute drills, and it’s worked. In that particular time, it didn’t work, so we understand the criticism, but not only could you get a pass interference, but also A.J. has a tremendous ability to come down with the football in one-on-one situations. In this particular case it didn’t work out, but we’re comfortable with what was called and what we did in that scenario, and we’ll be better next time because of it.”

But it wasn’t a one-on-one situation. Safety Julian Love was able to provide double coverage and intercept the pass.

The question to Sirianni began with whether Brown was the primary read. Sirianni…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nick-sirianni-deep-ball-could-034644329.html

Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports

Publish date : 2023-12-21 03:46:44

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