Adjustments are a part of the game at every level of football. They’re also an ongoing tale of Nick Sirianni’s era as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach. Once upon a time, during his first season at the helm, the Birds suffered an embarrassing loss vs. the Las Vegas Raiders.
An adjustment was made. Shane Steichen took over as the play caller and unleashed an overpowering rushing attack. Fast forward to the present, and Coach Steichen is gone and leading his own team, the Indianapolis Colts.
In Philadelphia, the vibes are a little better than they were during a three-game losing streak. We are almost a whole week removed from sweet revenge and the thumping the Eagles put on the Raiders.
Adjustments are also mental and emotional. Lately, Nick Sirianni has been preaching the idea of recapturing the ‘joy’ as he prepares his team for the final three games of the regular season. The message seems timely as we’re all enjoying the holiday season, but more important than that was knowing that what he said has had some impact.
Nick Sirianni felt joy, not relief, after Eagles snapped 3-game losing streak with shut-out win over Raiders. pic.twitter.com/LjY8W8sp3q
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) December 16, 2025
“Joy comes from winning “
Jalen Hurts on Nick Sirianni preaching for the Eagles to have joy and play with joy every week and to enjoy the process pic.twitter.com/7CENGLOS9o
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) December 16, 2025
In addition, Coach Sirianni’s message has been about getting his team to find their love again. It isn’t a bad idea during what has been a stressful season. Reed Blankenship and Cooper DeJean took that advice to heart, taking some time to hand out game balls to their teammates.
Reed Blankenship and Cooper DeJean, the Exciting Whites, share some love on Exciting Mics.
Two players couldn’t have taken more different paths to the same starting lineup. Blankenship was an undrafted rookie free agent who had to work his tail off and battle for a spot on the Eagles’ roster. DeJean had first-round talent. He was an elite cover guy and return man at the NCAA level, which is why Philadelphia was fortunate to have an opportunity to draft him in Round 2.
They hit it off immediately, developing a bond on and off the field. They also earned a nickname, ‘The Exciting Whites’. That gave way to the Exciting Mics podcast, where they recently showed love to some teammates for their performances during the Week 15 win.
Week 15 game balls 🦅 pic.twitter.com/Y9minzySpe
— Exciting Mics (@excitingmics) December 19, 2025
Now, that’s the joy Nick Sirinani is talking about. Sure, we get the stoicism and the laser focus. We can all appreciate the level of dedication this team invested in ensuring they wouldn’t let recent success handicap their pursuit of future wins.
Still, it’s okay to ‘stop and smell the roses’ as they say. It’s OK to enjoy the journey and play loosely. That’s exactly what Nick Sirianni’s message is all about. No one should worry; he and his team will invest the proper amount of focus into preparing for and beating the Washington Commanders on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Eagles’ DB duo exemplifies Nick Sirianni’s message about team first
