PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Sirianni is the son of a high school football coach, using what he learned from his dad into his own successful coaching career, first in college, then eventually in the NFL.
Sirianni is a bit of a coaching lifer, and knows intricate details about the game.
So it seemed a bit implausible when the Philadelphia Eagles coach confessed this week that he did not know the team was set to unveil its Super Bowl championship banner in a pregame ceremony ahead of the NFL season opener against Dallas on Thursday night.
The more educated guess is that while Sirianni surely knows there’s already enough hype and excitement around the game — the Eagles asked fans without tickets to not come to the stadium complex to avoid traffic headaches — he also wants to avoid any kind of reminder of last season’s championship.
Shut the door on 2024.
On to the Cowboys.
“The city and everybody has been talking about it,” wide receiver A.J. Brown said. “This building has been locked in. We put that to bed long ago. We’re just ready to go. That’s over with.”
The Eagles have not only struck the word “repeat,” from their vernacular, Sirianni said the Eagles won’t even take the field for the ceremony — a not uncommon practice in the NFL.
Oh, but take a look around and more than a banner will show why the Eagles are again a betting favorite (7-1, per BetMGM Sportsbook) to win another Super Bowl.
Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Jalen Carter and Cooper DeJean.
They are some of the best — if not, the best (Barkley was voted No. 1 in the NFL Top 100 list) — players at their positions and largely responsible for two trips to the Super Bowl in the previous three seasons.
While the Eagles have stockpiled talent, the Cowboys are set to play their first regular-season game since they traded star edge rusher Micah Parsons to Green Bay as part of a deal for two first-round draft picks.
The Cowboys missed the playoffs in what ended up being Parsons’ final season with the team that drafted him 12th overall in 2021. Part of the reason for the team's struggles was the hamstring injury that sidelined quarterback Dak Prescott for half of the season.
Each of the NFC East rivals are ready to move on from something. But the Eagles will gladly take the challenge of trying to win another Super Bowl against a Cowboys team still digesting another complicated move under owner Jerry Jones.
"What I got from the feel of the locker room, I don’t think there was needed, a talk, or lifting guys up over the divorce, or feeling down about themselves, or about the situation," Prescott said. “If anything, I hope it was a wakeup call to some of the guys, right? This is for our life, and every day you come in here and you approach it like it is for your life. The locker room has seemed upbeat. The pingpong games have still been going on, and we’re focused on Philly.”
He’ll be watching
While the Eagles are sitting out the banner ceremony, Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb says he will make a point of watching the Eagles’ title celebration. It burns a little deeper for a rival, and Lamb’s response is another reminder that one of these two teams has finished first in the NFC East eight of the past nine seasons.
The difference is, the Eagles have two Super Bowl titles in that span. The Cowboys have a 2-5 postseason record.
“I’m going to watch it. I’m going to watch it,” Lamb said. “Shout out to them, because I’ve still got brothers over there. It’s not really anything personal, but it’s something that I’m chasing.”
Pressed on why he wanted to watch, Lamb said, “Uh, motivation. Motivation.”
Getting healthy
The opener will be the first snaps since the Super Bowl for the bulk of the Eagles starters.
Hurts, Barkley, Brown and Smith were among the first-teamers who sat out the preseason games.
Brown, though, also missed a significant amount of practice time in training camp with a hamstring injury. Brown missed three games last season with a hamstring issue — the Eagles lost twice without him.
Brown has 261 catches for 4,031 yards and 25 touchdowns in three seasons with the Eagles.
Brown said he “feels great” and was ready to go against Dallas.
“I stayed up to beat with the plays,” Brown said. “I was working my mind more than the physical (part) during camp.”
Smith, who topped 1,000 yards receiving in 2022 and 2023, also battled groin and back injuries during camp, leaving few reps together for the first-team offense.
“That’s nothing to worry about,” Brown said.
Three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Landon Dickerson required meniscus surgery on his right knee after getting hurt in the preseason. He missed practice on Monday with a back injury, but reportedly returned to practice on Tuesday.
The newest Cowboy
In addition to the two first-round picks, Dallas acquired defensive tackle Kenny Clark in the Parsons deal. The Cowboys weren’t very good at stopping the run when Parsons was disrupting opposing quarterbacks. They thought if they were going to give up a star edge rusher, they were going to shore up the middle of their defensive line.
It appears Dallas will get its first look at Clark against Barkley’s Eagles. The question is, how much of a look with just a week to make the transition after spending his first nine seasons, and one more training camp with the Packers.
“I’m gonna try to learn the playbook as fast as I can, so I can just play as fast possible,” said Clark, a three-time Pro Bowler who was limited last season by a toe injury. “I’m in shape. I’ve been practicing in Green Bay. So whether it’s 30 plays, 50 plays, 20 plays, whatever it is, I’m going to be able to play.”
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AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed to this story.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
