As the Eagles approach their Week 18 game against the Giants, head coach Nick Sirianni answered the question everyone had been asking.
“We’re gonna rest some guys,” Sirianni said on Wednesday afternoon. “I know we’re locked into that No. 2 seed, so we’re going to rest some guys.”
The Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs entering their regular season finale against the Giants on Sunday at the Linc and are going to take the opportunity to sit some key players heading into the playoffs.
That includes Saquon Barkley.
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The status of Barkley was the real intrigue this week because he is sitting at 2,005 rushing yards on the season. He’s one of just nine players in NFL history to hit 2,000 rushing yards in a season and is just 101 yards away from breaking the all-time single-season record set by Eric Dickerson back in 1984.
That 40-year-old record will be safe for at least one more year.
“Obviously, it’s a very special record that’s been standing for a very long time by a very great player,” Sirianni said. “It’s a team record that everybody’s involved in. You weigh all those things. But at the end of the day, you just try to do what’s best for you the team.”
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Sirianni didn’t want to get into the specifics of his conversation with Barkley but said communication was important after making this decision. Barkley has been known for his selflessness in his special season.
Sirianni said he consulted with players, general manager Howie Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie but ultimately said the decision to rest key starters this weekend was his.
While several players were pushing to play to give Barkley an opportunity to break the record, the risk was too great. The Eagles want to be as healthy as possible entering their wild card game in a couple weeks against either the Packers or Commanders.
Ultimately, the Eagles want to win a Super Bowl. And a week of rest for some key players is a big deal, especially considering the Eagles have played 12 straight weeks since their early Week 5 bye.
“That definitely played into all the decisions here, our bye week being Week 5, very early bye week,” Sirianni said. “And so it’s very valuable to be in this position to do that. And so, again, this isn’t our first time having to do this. We’ve had experience with this. A lot of that went into planning all these things. We want to use this week to continue to get better.”
Because NFL rosters are somewhat limited and teams are allowed just two practice squad elevations per week, it’s not like every contributing player can sit this weekend. Several will have to play significant snaps and some will have to be dressed as backups in case of injury.
For the non-starters, though, Sunday will be an opportunity to get some regular season NFL action.
“What an opportunity for some of the guys who are going to be playing that maybe don’t get as many reps,” Sirianni said. “Huge, huge, huge opportunity for some people to do it in an NFL regular season game. Again, this isn’t the first time we’ve been in this scenario. You look back at your notes from that, you always grow from things that you go through with these scenarios but excited for these guys and their opportunity to go out and play.”
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