Former Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel said head coach Nick Sirianni “lost the game” after Philadelphia’s 19-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Samuel said on the “Say What Needs To Be Said” show.
Samuel criticized the decision on the ensuing kickoff with eight seconds left, saying Sirianni should have called a squib kick. He told the show the live return that followed cost the Eagles the game, the Fox News/Outkick report said.
After Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal put Philadelphia ahead 17-16, Jacksonville’s Ameer Abdullah returned the kickoff 53 yards and Cam Little kicked a 57-yard walk-off field goal as time expired. The loss dropped the Eagles to 2-3 and gave Jacksonville its third straight victory, the report said.
Sirianni acknowledged after the game, “I didn’t make the right decision and I lost us that game,” and said he had told his players he was taking responsibility, the report said.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts told reporters he was not the person making the decision about the kickoff and that play-calling was the coaches’ responsibility; Sirianni later reiterated that Hurts was expected to execute plays called by the coaching staff, the report said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
