Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni celebrate Eagles’ underrated TNF hero

In Week 11, the Philadelphia Eagles got contributions from all over the field in their dominant win over the Washington Commanders.

Players like Saquon Barkley and AJ Brown showed up in a major way, sure, but did you know Jalen Carter played every single defensive snap in Week 11? Or that Quinyon Mitchell didn’t surrender a single yard to Terry McLaurin despite covering him most of the game? While Grant Calcaterra didn’t end up recording a catch in the game, he did the Eagles one better, recovering a Dallas Goedert fumble that kept the Eagles’ offensive drive alive and prevented the Commanders from getting the ball back when the final outcome was very much still up in the air.

Discussing Calcaterra’s recovery with reporters after the game, Sirianni celebrated the Eagles TE2 for getting his head up and making plays when the ball was in his hands, as playing his role to the best of his abilities is part of why the Eagles are so successful.

“Good things happen when you get to the football. We talk about that on defense. We talk about that on offense. When you’re hustling to the football, getting to the football, playing with relentless effort, good things happen. And I think that we’ve made a big emphasis on after the catch, ‘Who can you flip and find,’ meaning who can you flip and find and get a block on him to be able to spring that thing open even more,” Sirianni told reporters.

“So that was just effort by Grant of trying to set his teammate off to get a big gain. Then he was around the football to be able to pick that up there. In 2022 I think [former Eagles WR] Quez [Watkins] lost a similar fumble in this game against the Commanders where it was on a deeper pass, but they were able to recover it. That was a huge recovery.”

While Calcaterra may no longer be earning the bulk of the TE snaps after the return of Goedert, he is still making plays for the Eagles, which Sirianni believes can only spell good things for the SMU product’s future.

“Grant continues to do things with the ball in his hands, without the ball in his hand, whether he is the No. 1 tight end, the No. 2 tight end. We’re winning football games because Grant is playing good football,” Sirianni told reporters. “It takes everybody. Not everybody’s role is the same, but everybody’s role is vitally important. That’s team football, and that’s where you’re proud of the guys for just playing good team football together.”