After Week 3, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer reportedly apologized to his team for questionable late clock management decisions against the Ravens in Rio de Jainero. Another NFC East coach, Nick Sirianni, has now been forced to do the same in London for a similar kickoff decision.
The Eagles took a two-point lead with under 10 seconds remaining against the Jaguars on Sunday, but after Sirianni and his staff opted to not have Jake Elliott kick the ball into the end zone for a touchback, Ameer Abdullah had a huge 53-yard return to set up a winning kick for Cam Little.
In the span of a few seconds, the Eagles collapsed, going from a likely win to a loss. Had they told Elliott to kick into the end zone, chances are, things would have played out differently — and Sirianni took full blame for the lost postgame.
Here’s what Sirianni had to say about the Eagles’ questionable kicking decision against the Jaguars.
MORE: How the Jaguars came back to stun Eagles in London
Nick Sirianni called out for Eagles collapse vs. Jaguars
Elliott gave the Eagles a 17-16 lead in London with eight seconds remaining. Afterward, rather than kicking into the end zone to force the Jaguars to make a play to get into field-goal range, Philadelphia had Elliott kick the ball into the hands of Abdullah.
Abdullah found room for a gain of over 50 yards, easily putting the strong-legged Little into field-goal range before the Jaguars pulled off the last-second win.
The final sequence for the @Jaguars to get the win in London was truly WILD. https://t.co/5viJ5yIdIX
— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026
Elliott confirmed after the game that it was the game plan to kick the ball in-bounds.
“We decided to keep it in there and try to make a tackle,” Elliott said.
Jake Elliott confirms the plan was to kick the ball in bounds. Says it is something they practice. https://t.co/JBZEm6ZedO
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) October 11, 2026
Postgame, many NFL fans and analysts questioned Sirianni and his staff’s decision to not just take the touchback.
Why in the heck is Sirianni not kicking that ball in the end zone for a touchback??? Complete mismanagement of that situation
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) October 11, 2026
The Jaguars had no timeouts left. Not kicking the ball through the end zone is pure coaching malpractice. Sirianni, my God man.
— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) October 11, 2026
Both Brian Schottenheimer and Nick Sirianni got their late-game kickoff strategies COMPLETELY WRONG. Ravens had a timeout…Schottenheimer should’ve kicked it normally. Jags had ZERO timeouts? Sirianni should’ve kicked it through the end zone. Both decisions were wrong. https://t.co/5QUUag9sUL
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) October 11, 2026
The Eagles lost this game https://t.co/S1nsC1WC2z
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 11, 2026
“I can’t even comprehend what I just watched, the fact that Nick Sirianni put the Eagles in a position to lose this football game … it was nothing short of coaching malpractice.” @DHx34 on the Eagles loss to Jaguars. https://t.co/CCxNDOLGiZ
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 11, 2026
MORE: How Eagles-Jags began with two ejections, nullified TD
Nick Sirianni explains Eagles’ decision to not kick into end zone vs. Jaguars
The first question Sirianni was asked at his postgame presser in London was about the non-decision to kick the ball into the end zone.
The Eagles head coach took full accountability for the loss.
“Our guys fought their butts off. … I didn’t make the right decision, and I lost us that game. And that’s what I said to our guys,” Sirianni said. “I [didn’t] make the decision that I should make at the end of that game, and I cost us that one. And I put that fully on me.”
“At the end of the day, I didn’t make the right decision. … There’s no other way around it.”
I give credit to #Eagles HC Nick Sirianni for admitting his mistake vs the #Jaguars: “I cost us that game. That one’s on me.” “There’s no way around it … I just didn’t do my job in that situation.” (📹 @EliotShorrParks) https://t.co/n6gzwDKAby
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 11, 2026
With the Eagles falling under .500, they’re facing a lot of early-season adversity, something that’s been rare under Sirianni. They’ll head into a matchup against the Panthers next week at 2-3.
“It’s gonna hurt for a while,” Sirianni said. “But I’m gonna put my chest out, stick my head up, and get better from it. I’m gonna own it, and move forward.”


