PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles may not have gotten the result they wanted in Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but Nick Sirianni still came away encouraged by what he saw from rookie Cam Jurgens.
On his day-after-game Zoom call, Sirianni said he was “pleased” with Jurgens’ play, even as the offense sputtered and the loss hung over the performance. Jurgens then reported concussion-like symptoms on Monday, though it wasn’t clear whether that happened before or after Sirianni spoke. The coach did not address it, and NFL concussion protocol may have kept him from saying more.
Sirianni’s assessment was straightforward.
“I'm pleased with where Cam is. Obviously, we didn't put out there the product that we want to put out there offensively yesterday, and then also combine that with a loss.
There's going to be plays he wants back, but there's good moments also. I think that's the consistency of everybody, from our coaches to our players, has to be the thing that continues to rise.
That's Cam, that's everybody. But Cam is definitely doing good things and like us all, got to be more consistent at times as well.
Even so, Jurgens’ afternoon drew plenty of attention online after a couple of rough clips circulated on social media. One came on a critical third-and-goal from the 2, when he pulled right and knocked the ball loose from Jalen Hurts. Hurts kept possession, but the timing of the play was thrown off and the Rams stuffed him for no gain.
Another came on a third-and-one sweep that went nowhere. Jurgens missed badly on the block, the play lost five yards, and the Eagles settled for a field goal.
Lane Johnson’s situation may end up drawing even more attention. The right tackle missed Sunday’s game for personal reasons, and the team didn’t learn he would be out until only a couple of hours before kickoff. After the game, former Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham said on a postgame show that Johnson could retire immediately rather than wait until the end of his 14th NFL season.
Asked Monday if he had learned anything more about Johnson’s status, Sirianni did not offer any update.
The late scratch left rookie third-round pick Markel Bell in the starting lineup. Veteran reserve Fred Johnson had already been ruled out 48 hours earlier with a knee injury, so the Eagles had to adjust again at the last minute.
If Lane Johnson remains unavailable, Bell could be looking at a second career start. This time, though, he would have more time to prepare and could take a heavier share of first-team reps during the week.
Sirianni said Bell showed enough to build on.
“I think Markel did some really good things,” said Sirianni. “…by no means did he play a perfect game, but he did some really good things. I think that watching the tape with the team (Monday), he had some really good movement on some double teams, and second-level stuff that we were able to show (to the team during their rewatch of the game on Monday), and highlight and point out for his teammates to see. …I thought he was solid.”
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