The Eagles run game has struggled through two games to open the 2026 season, and that was the main focus when head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters on Monday, following the team’s win in Tennessee.
Sirianni highlighted the sacrifice that Cam Jurgens made by being willing to move over to left guard, acknowledging that the majority of his time this offseason and through training camp was at the center position. He noted that there are opportunities for some cross training within walkthroughs,
and Jurgens did play right guard in the past.
“But, [Cam Jurgens] sure got a lot of reps this week at [left guard] and thought he came out against a really good defensive front and played a solid game.”
As for the slow start for the Eagles run game, Sirianni said that it’s a collaborative effort, from coaches to players, so it’s not just on the running backs or offensive linemen. He explained that it takes every player on the field to be successful in the run game, and it’s a full team effort to be better – which he knows they are capable of doing.
“And we’re close. We are close. But it goes back to when you’re close, it’s never just one thing. It’s the entire group working as a whole. We have to be committed to it still and keep grinding away at it, but we know we have room to improve there in our run game.”
The head coach also talked about the number of negative plays through two games, to which he pointed mostly to the run game, but also blamed penalties and sacks.
“Negative plays, you always want to stay on track. It’s hard to move the ball forward. Let’s say you get a kickoff at the 30-yard line, and you’ve got to go 70 yards. Well, it’s hard to go those 70 yards if you’re moving backwards. Regardless of if it’s a sack, a negative run, a penalty, even a drop pass that doesn’t move it forward at all, a missed throw, whatever it may be; It’s hard to go the length of the field when you’re moving backwards. That’s always going to be a point of emphasis of what we need to do.”
Sirianni took an opportunity to applaud Tank Bigsby for always playing extremely hard and having some dirty runs.
“I think about that one that’s down near the goal line where he keeps his feet driving and gets us all the way down to the three and then caps it off [with] the touchdown. Obviously, a great sequence there for Tank. Tank made a tackle on special teams yesterday on punt that was pretty awesome to see. Tank’s a guy that constantly — he’s such a good teammate and he’s constantly doing the little things he needs to do to help the team win. It’s great to see him be rewarded with a touchdown yesterday and a couple nice runs. You knew he would be ready to go. I thought he played solidly.”
