Philadelphia sports fans are notorious for getting under an opposing team’s skin. But it’s not often they do it to the home team.
That may have been the case though in the Eagles’ 20-16 victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns.
Entering the game after their bye week, the Eagles were 8-point favorites over a Browns team that has struggled all season on offense. However, a questionable play call at the end of the first half preceded a blocked field goal the Browns returned for a touchdown to tie the score at halftime.
The Philly fans, predictably, were unhappy as the teams headed to the locker room. And among the cascade of boos were chants of ‘Fire Nick!’ – referring to head coach Nick Sirianni.
The Eagles eventually righted the ship, with a 45-yard DeVonta Smith touchdown reception midway through the fourth quarter providing the winning margin. But as the team was closing out the victory, Sirianni turned around to jaw with some fans behind the team’s bench.
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On Monday, Sirianni apologized for how he handled the moment.
‘I’m sorry and disappointed at how my energy was directed at the end of the game,’ Sirianni said in a news conference. ‘My energy should be all in on coaching, motivating, right, and celebrating with our guys. And I’ve got to have better wisdom and discernment of when to use that energy, and that wasn’t the time.’
When initially asked after the game about his outburst, Sirianni downplayed the significance.
‘When I’m operating and having fun, I think that breeds to the rest of the football team,’ he said. ‘If I want the guys to celebrate after big plays, then I should probably do that myself, right?’
The win improved the Eagles’ record to 3-2, a half game behind the Washington Commanders in the NFC East standings.
While his antics generated postgame criticism from both local and national media, Sirianni claimed it was just good-natured give-and-take with the city’s historically demanding fans.
‘It was just all out of fun,’ he said. ‘We thrive off the crowd when they cheer for us. We hear them when they boo. We don’t necessarily like it. I don’t think that’s productive for anybody. When they cheer for us, and when we got them rolling – we love it.’
(This story has been updated with new information and headlines.)
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