Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

A Challenging Time

Posted October 5th, 2026 | No Comments »

Injuries are the worst part of football. Every now and then it leads to backup having a great night (see Case Keenum), but it usually leads to bad football. You want the best players on the field for your team and the opponent. Injuries aren’t an excuse for losing, but they are a significant reality that can’t just be ignored. And the Eagles are going through a brutal injury streak all of a sudden.

I sounds like Barkley will miss this week. With Bigsby also out, the Eagles will need to make a move or two at RB. They will likely add a RB to the roster. They could add a second or just elevate someone. Dameon Pierce makes the most sense for being added to the roster. Maybe all the Carson Steele fans will get to see him make his Eagles debut.

If Jurgens misses the game, we will get to see Willie Lampkin make his NFL debut. I know a ton of people would love to see that happen. We all want to know if the high level of play from the summer will translate to the regular season. With the Eagles flying to London, I could easily see Jurgens missing this game.

We’ll have to wait and see on Q. It would be great to have him play, but if a week of rest will make a long term difference, you need to be smart with that.

Howie is going to have a busy week with how to handle these injuries and make sure the team has the players they need for the next week or two. The coaches and players need to do their part to make the most out of who is available. This is Next Man Up to the nth degree.

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I know a lot of people get frustrates with Sirianni’s non-answers at his press conferences. That’s just Football 101 these days. Coaches used to speak their minds, but Bill Walsh’s highly influential book Finding The Winning Edge talked about the need for coaches to internalize as many issues as possible. That has been like a coaches bible over the past 20 years.

Sirianni will have to articulate some real answers to Lurie. I think Lurie has a pretty good BS meter so the answers can’t be “Tough. Detailed. Together” or “We just need to get 1 percent better every day”. Sirianni needs to have good explanations for what has gone wrong and good solutions for how to fix the problems.

This doesn’t mean Sirianni is on the hot seat. Firing a coach midseason rarely proves to be the right answer.

Someone posted on Twitter that he wants Sirianni gone. Doesn’t care about all the wins or Super Bowls. Just wants Nick fired. I do not understand that. I get that Sirianni can be a frustrating coach, but going to a pair of SBs and winning one isn’t something to be dismissed casually. The Detroit Lions have never been to the SB. Do you know how bad they want to go to one, let alone win one? Cleveland Browns fans would probably kill to go to a SB. Bills fans have been to four big games, but lost them all. Those fans desperately want to know what it is like to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. The Vikings also lost all four SBs they went to.

If you could talk to a SB fan from pre-2017, they would tell you winning the SB would be a life-changing event. Watching them win in a blowout so you can enjoy every second would be like asking to win the lottery. But we got to live that experience. And it is absolutely worth any frustrations you have with Sirianni. Hell, he might have two rings if the first game wasn’t played on an ice skating rink.

Sirianni is burning through the goodwill the SBs bought him. That’s why it is important for him to have good answers for Lurie. That 2024 title doesn’t give him a lifetime exemption. We saw that with Doug Pederson. You better keep winning games and putting out a product the fans want to see. That isn’t happening now and must be fixed. Lurie will hopefully ask tough questions and push Sirianni for real answers.

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Jalen Hurts is a very frustrating player right now. He played well at Tennessee and then in the first half vs Chicago. He was okay in the first half on Sunday, but really struggled in the second half. There is no question that pressure has been an issue. Still, if you’re a star QB making megabucks, you’ve got to be able to find a way to get the job done.

And there are times when plays are there to be had and he’s not on time or on target.

The Eagles must block better. The DL must be more disruptive. And Hurts has to get back to playing like a star QB. He’s got the ability. We’ve all seen him do great things. This team needs him to step up.

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