The Eagles faced a second-and-7 at the end of the first quarter Sunday when Jalen Hurts yelled “Delaware! Delaware! Delaware!” at the line of scrimmage before taking the snap.
He then threw the ball to the left to tight end Dallas Goedert for a 14-yard gain to the Washington 47.
The play worked just like the Eagles had hoped. They proceeded to score a touchdown on the drive, their first as they overcame a 10-point deficit to beat the Washington Football Team 20-16.
So, why Delaware?
Is Eagles coach Nick Sirianni a fan of the First State? Did he have a pleasant experience at the rest stop on I-95? Or did he attend Point-to-Point at Winterthur one year? Or perhaps learn the Wing-T from former University of Delaware football coach Tubby Raymond?
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Well, no. Or at least nothing Sirianni was willing to explain, citing “competitive advantage,” other than to say: “We got a beautiful view of Wilmington on the way home in traveling” back from FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
In other words, he’s just like the millions of motorists who drive through Delaware without necessarily realizing they’re in Delaware.
“We try to go to great detail to not let those words out there, but the camera picks them up sometimes,” Sirianni said. “It’s a competitive advantage when the team knows your words. We fight like crazy to protect those words, hide those words and marry those words together to mean one thing.
“So I would be giving away a competitive advantage … (explaining) what that was. There are things named after states. … It has meaning for us, and that’s why we called it that.”
In many ways, the play showed just how detailed not only Sirianni and his staff are, but how much Hurts has to know.
Sirianni went on to explain that the play “Delaware” was formerly called something else, but changed to the First State to keep the opposing defense off-guard. Much of the play designs and calls come from self-scouting on both the All-22 video that’s available to the coaches and the actual television broadcasts.
Just like everyone watching the telecast Sunday could hear Hurts yelling, “Delaware!” the Eagles coaches can pick up certain things from watching their opponents.
“You’re constantly trying to do everything you can do so the defense doesn’t have a beat on your offense,” Sirianni said. “Or trying to (fool) them when you think they might. We have a running list of those. … That was the first time we used the word “Delaware” because we were changing it from something else, to be completely honest with you.
“Next week, now, we’re going to have to change the word again. Anything to throw the defense off, we’ll do.”
So for Hurts and his teammates, that means learning a new set of terms. If it seems like a lot for a 23-year-old quarterback in his first full season as a starter, well, maybe that helps explain how the Eagles have turned around their season from a 2-5 start to a 9-7 record with a playoff berth already in hand.
And maybe that helps explain why Hurts has impressed his teammates and coaches as a leader, and that he will return in 2022 as the starting quarterback.
After all, Hurts has shown that he can take a team to the playoffs. It’s not that he’ll remind anybody of big-arm or deadly accurate quarterbacks like Peyton Manning or Drew Brees.
That’s not who Hurts is.
This is: He’s smart and he wins. However the job has to get done. So there was no hesitation when Hurts was asked how he rallied the Eagles from their 2-5 start.
“I think you all know the answer to this question,” he said. “I come up here and say the same things to every question you guys ask. I say the same things. I talk about our process and the importance of that. I talk about the core values that (Sirianni) brought in here and how he has kind of kept consistent with preaching those things.
“We’ve connected. We’ve communicated. We’ve grown. We’ve put the work in, and we’ve just grown 1% better every day. That has been our goal. That has been our true identity. That has been who we are. With all the youth, with all the inexperience from coaching to players, we just bought in to who we are, bought in to what we could be and trusted in the grind in approaching every day the way we do.”
Then Hurts mentioned “persevering” and showing “straight grit in tough moments in the football game.”
Hurts was the ringleader.
Sure, the Eagles have players with more experience, who have been through these taut games before.
But when it came down to it, Sirianni was impressed at Hurts’ calmness, even with running back Miles Sanders out with a broken hand, Jordan Howard limited with a stinger, and Hurts himself still dealing with a sore ankle.
He mentioned how Hurts told him: “Whatever you’re going to call, call, and I’ll make it work.”
“That’s a calming influence for everybody, not just the players and not just his teammates,” Sirianni said. “But coaches, too.”
And that applies to a play called “Delaware,” or whatever it’s going to be called from now on.
Report: ‘Roughly a dozen’ Eagles have COVID
The NFL Network reported Monday afternoon that “roughly a dozen” players tested positive for COVID-19.
The list includes DT Fletcher Cox, TE Dallas Goedert and C Jason Kelce among others.
All of the players have a chance to play Saturday night against Dallas.
To rest or not to rest
Sirianni said he hasn’t decided yet whether to rest starters for the season finale against Dallas on Saturday night. The Eagles clinched a playoff berth Sunday, but they could still move up to the No. 6 seed. If the season ended today, the Eagles would be the No. 7 seed.
But since the playoffs start the following week, there is some benefit to resting players, particularly those who are playing through injuries, such as Hurts and Howard. Sirianni did say that it’s “not likely” that Sanders will play, however.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawraeonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
