Eagles fans have been treated to some stress-free football against some bad football teams in recent weeks.

The stress returned against the Jaguars, as the Eagles’ defense and Saquon Barkley looked elite in a 28-23 victory on Sunday.

And that’s mainly due to a botched call, and some very bad ones, from Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni.

Before Dallas Week comes, let’s take a moment to reflect on a stock that’s on the rise, and one that continues to freefall even as the Eagles improved to 6-2 on the year:

Hit 📈 — The entire defense

The Eagles’ defense might be better than their offense right now (we thought we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a strong honorable mention to DeVonta Smith who caught passes of 46 and 25 yards on the game’s hugely impactful fourth scoring drive Eagles).

In their last four wins, the defense has been incredible, creating turnovers, getting timely stops and improving their tackling to a level that at times seems dominant – and it certainly did that against Jacksonville.

“What I know is that you will be what your ways are,” Sirianni said ahead of Sunday night’s win. “If you work hard at tackling and work hard at catching the football, then you have a better chance of succeeding. We just want our habits to reflect the way we play with our efforts, the way we look in practice, the way we look with our physicality, the way we look with our details.”

Here’s a look at the last four games for the Eagles’ dominant D:

The defense can only play opponents according to the schedule, and that should have had its way with the Jaguars on Sunday. But three forced turnovers – one on special teams on a big hit from new healthy safety Sydney Brown, and another, a Zack Baun pick on a botched Travis Etienne reception, made this one look like a joke early on could be. And a third in the end zone from Nakobe Dean to decide the game for the Eagles as things got way too close for comfort.

The potential shutout did not reach the second half, as the Jaguars turned it into a game a few times with Vic Fangio’s looser defense. But the overall numbers were still very solid.

The secondary held Trevor Lawrence to just 16-for-31 for 169 yards. The defense selected the one-two punch of Etienne and Tank Bigbsy, limiting the duo to 46 yards on the ground. And only one offensive score found pay dirt, the other coming on a questionable turnover.

Josh Sweat had a big third down sack on the Jaguars’ opening drive to set the tone, and another on a fourth-quarter third down. The entire defense allowed just three third down conversions on 10 attempts.

The Cowboys, who could be without Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb next week, could give the Eagles defense another chance to look really solid in this very cooperative part of the Eagles roster.

MORE: Eagles improve to 6-2 despite stumble in second half in win over Jaguars

Stock down 📉 — Nick Sirianni’s decision making

It happened again.

Sirianni simply cannot be trusted to make decisions on fourth down and two-point conversions. Anyone who regularly plays “Madden” could make these decisions better than the much-criticized head coach.

In what was far too close for a comfortable win Sunday, the Eagles captain repeated his performance in an early-season loss to the Falcons, where he made virtually every wrong decision and the Birds blew a late lead.

Against Jacksonville, Sirianni essentially decided to take eight points off the board. Here’s how:

• On a fourth-and-3 in the second quarter, Sirianni went for it, 10-0, at the Jacksonville 22-yard line and a pass from Jalen Hurts to Brown fell incomplete.
• Late in the second, after a touchdown, Sirianni used a penalty as an excuse to go for two from the 1-yard line, a QB sneak coming up short.
• After a touchdown in the third, Hurts tried to score again with his legs on a two-point attempt but was stopped short.
• After giving up 16 points, including one on a bizarre (and miscalled) turnover, the Eagles went for it again on fourth down, deep into Jake Elliott’s field colt. And with just one yard to go, they didn’t make the push or give it to Saquon Barkley, who racked up more than 100 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Two field goals on chip shots and two extra points made this game redundant. In addition to the Elliott fantasy owners, who got completely screwed in this one, the Eagles made it much more difficult for themselves. There’s no reason to constantly overthink or try to be the smartest guy in the room – as Sirianni did a few other times with fake Brotherly Shoves during the game. Short of the Eagles’ star player getting injured, the decisions make no sense.

When Sirianni finally called Elliott’s name, it nearly cost the Eagles the game again. Just outside the two-minute warning, he had his kicker attempt and missed a 57-yarder with 2:11 on the clock. If you go for the win here on fourth place, the game is won. Make or miss a field goal attempt, the Jaguars stay alive with a one-possession deficit. The missed FG gave the Jags excellent field position just behind midfield. Another monumentally wrong decision.

Sirianni doesn’t call the plays or plan the offense or defense. He is a delegator and a culture shaper of the clubhouse. But on game day, he has one job: get these calls right.

The game was a nail-biter and any replacement-level coach could have prevented it from getting so close. A monster play from Barkley and two crazy catches from Smith got the Eagles out of trouble again.

If the Eagles keep winning, the aching head coach will keep his job. But this kind of football is not going to win in January.

MORE: The crucial plays of Eagles-Jaguars

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