Eagles Veteran Downplays Nick Sirianni's Impact on Big Win Over Ravens

The Philadelphia Eagles made it clear that they're gunning for a Super Bowl with Sunday's 24-19 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. It was a hard-fought victory against one of the NFL's most dangerous attacks, sending a message to the rest of the league that Jalen Hurts & Co. shouldn't be taken lightly.

Of course, head coach Nick Sirianni has received some praise for the Week 13 win. The 43-year-old bench boss looks like a genius after he managed to limit Raven superstars Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry's impact both through the air and on the ground — something most coaches have struggled with this season.

But while plenty of Eagles fans are crediting Sirianni with the latest win, one of the team's defenders is downplaying his coach's impact.

Eagles News: Gardner-Johnson Avoids Praising Sirianni

Following Sunday's impressive win, Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson made it to the media that his fellow defenders, as opposed to the coaching staff, deserve credit for shutting down the Ravens' top weapons.

"Coach can only say so much," Gardner-Johnson said, per Eagles insider Zach Berman. "You’ve got to want to go out there and tackle one of the best running backs in the game, want to chase one of the best (dual-threat) quarterbacks in the league. That's a 'want-to' game."

It isn't hard to disagree with Gardner-Johnson here. Sirianni can implement any game plan he wants, but it's ultimately up to the players to execute his vision. While that doesn't always happen perfectly, the combination of planning and execution was a success in Week 13.

Gardner-Johnson and the rest of the Eagles' defenders successfully limited Henry's impact, holding him to 111 scrimmage yards on 22 touches. The superstar RB was held out of the end zone for just the second time this season while his average of 4.3 rushing yards per carry was his worst output since Week 1.

While Jackson did finish with 79 rushing yards on eight carries as well as two passing touchdowns, he likely would've created more damage had the Eagles' defense not stepped up. Philadelphia managed to sack the Baltimore signal-caller three times while forcing him to fumble the ball twice.

At the end of the day, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Sirianni couldn't have bested John Harbaugh's Ravens without his players stepping up while the Eagles needed their head coach's strategy to point them down the correct path to victory.

Hopefully, Philadelphia can build off the momentum stemming from its eighth consecutive victory. There's a good chance of that happening considering that the franchise has the 10th-easiest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon.

If the Eagles can continue running the table down the stretch, they could have a great shot at capitalizing on their Super Bowl LIX odds, which currently sit at +500 (T-2nd) on FanDuel Sportsbook.

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