Bryce Young and Panthers are latest victims to fall to 'joyful' Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are 11-2 after taking down Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers in Week 14. It wasn't one of those comfortable wins considering the Birds barely won, 22-16, and it took a big-time pass breakup by Darius Slay in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory. However, it was still a joyful […]
The Philadelphia Eagles are 11-2 after taking down Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers in Week 14.
It wasn't one of those comfortable wins considering the Birds barely won, 22-16, and it took a big-time pass breakup by Darius Slay in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.
However, it was still a joyful win for Philly, and finding the joy through blood, sweat, and tears has been a major key to the Eagles' success this season, according to head coach Nick Sirianni.
"The journey should be the joy, coming into work every single day," Sirianni said leading up to Sunday's matchup against Carolina. "There are obviously moments you have after games. There are moments you have throughout the week. But I think that the most special thing is the time that you spend grinding out the week together, the work that goes into it. As boring as that sounds, or as not joyful as that sounds, there is joy in the process.
"That’s what we talk about a lot. Yeah, we’re focused on the next game, but it’s been fun. I think you can see our team having joy. I think you really can see that from how they celebrate together."
While the Eagles couldn't put up a perfect game versus Carolina, there were still moments to celebrate, aside from Slay saving the game.
Running back Saquon Barkley rushed for over 100 yards for the ninth time in a game this season. Zack Baun logged his third sack of the year, building upon his Pro Bowl season resume. And C.J. Gardner-Johnson came up with a momentum-changing interception while tight end Grant Calcaterra caught his first career touchdown.
And those are the moments Eagles and coaches players need to remember before turning around and critiquing themselves after a win.
"I said to the coaches, 'Remember how much it hurts when you lose?' You got to enjoy a victory no matter what the expectation was," Sirianni said. "My expectation was that this was going to be a hard game because this is a team that keeps getting better. So, enjoy it. And put your head down and work."
The Eagles will look to continue their nine-game hot win streak when they welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Linc next Sunday.
"What I said to the guys was, 'Everybody has the will to win. And we all want to win but are we all willing to do the things that winning requires?', Sirianni continued. "And I think that this team does."
