Eagles Rumors: Sirianni Showed Players Conor McGregor Hype Video Ahead of Saints Game

The Philadelphia Eagles face a critical matchup on Sunday, attempting to avoid a 1-2 start on the season while taking on the surprisingly undefeated New Orleans Saints.

Head coach Nick Sirianni, in an effort to inspire the team, showed his players a video of MMA fighter Conor McGregor on Saturday:

He has employed a number of tactics in an attempt to pump up his team:

Sirianni came into the 2024 season on the hot seat after the Eagles started 10-1 last season before undergoing a comprehensive meltdown, losing five of their final six games in the regular season and a Wild Card Round matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs.

That prompted a number of changes, including at both offensive coordinator positions, with Kellen Moore installed to run the offense and Vic Fangio brought aboard to rework the defense. The Eagles also reworked their secondary and signed superstar running back Saquon Barkley to give an already dangerous offense even more weapons.

The Eagles opened the season with a strong win against a solid Green Bay Packers team, but disappointed in Week 2, losing a tight game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Eagles weren't full strength for the contest—superstar wideout A.J. Brown was unable to play due to injury—but nonetheless had a win within their grasp and let it slip away.

Of major controversy was a third-and-short call late in the fourth quarter inside the red zone. Rather than call a straight run that forced time off the clock, regardless of whether it got a first down or not, the Eagles more aggressively sought to win the game, calling a run-pass option on the perimeter for Jalen Hurts.

The call itself worked—Hurts threw the ball to a wide open Saquon Barkley, who would have easily gotten the first down. But Barkley shockingly dropped the pass, stopping the clock and giving the Falcons plenty of time to drive down the field and score what would be the game-winning touchdown.

"They were running a certain defense and junking it up in the middle, so we were trying to go on around the outside, and it didn't work," Sirianni told reporters regarding the crucial third-down decision.

"The decision to pass it there, again like I said, when there were junking it up inside, with it being fourth and three to go for it, I thought with them not having any timeouts, I wanted them to be down a touchdown and see if they could drive the field," he added. "And they did."

The Eagles did get the ball back with time to push for a field goal, but Hurts threw an interception.

Regardless, it was the sort of decision that riled up fans in Philadelphia and further called into question whether Sirianni was the right man for the job. A win against the Saints would quell some of that talk, but a loss and 1-2 start—especially given the huge expectations for the Eagles heading into the season—would provide even more fodder for angst-ridden fans still sour from last season's collapse.