Eagles go for 2, igniting brawl; Sirianni backs play

LANDOVER, Md. — Coach Nick Sirianni said the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t trying to run up the score against the Washington Commanders with a 2-point conversion late in Saturday night’s game that gave them a 19-point lead.

But as the play ended, an on-field fight broke out, resulting in three players being ejected: Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen and Commanders defensive end Javon Kinlaw and safety Quan Martin.

Washington players appeared to be less upset about the 2-point conversion than about what transpired after the play. The conversion gave the Eagles a 29-10 lead with 4 minutes, 26 seconds remaining as they went on to win 29-18 and clinch the NFC East.

Said Eagles right tackle Fred Johnson: «I guess they were upset, but I don’t give a f—. It’s football. You can’t control what the next person does.»

At the end of the 2-point conversion, Washington safety Will Harris and Philadelphia wide receiver Darius Cooper got into a shoving match on the other side of the line away from where the play was run. Tempers flared from there, with cornerback Mike Sainristil engaged first in a shouting match with Johnson and then another with Steen.

Steen appeared to throw open-hand punches and was on the receiving end of some as well. Sainristil swung at Steen after being on the receiving end. Kinlaw also threw a punch.

«I saw my brothers out there, so I’m going to do everything to protect my brothers,» Sainristil said.

Left tackle Jordan Mailata worked himself into the fray to «separate and protect him and be smart at the same time. We have a lot to lose,» he said.

Martin also threw a punch and, in a swarm of players, appeared to grab Steen’s face mask, emerging from the group holding Steen’s helmet.

«I was trying to protect my teammates. I [saw] some 300-pound guys taking shots at Mike,» Martin said. «I’m like, shoot I’ve got to protect my guy. … It was just guys taking shots. Offensive linemen taking shots at a DB. I got to protect my guys.»

Running back Saquon Barkley ran toward the action but was cut off by Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner, whom Barkley said reasoned with him.

«Bobby Wagner did a really good job of making it make sense to me in that moment: ‘What, you get to throw two to three punches at a helmet, hopefully you don’t break a hand, just to say you’re a tough guy?’ It’s not really worth it, and you lose a lot of money too,» Barkley said. «It’s chippy out there, and we have a lot of history with this team since I’ve been here and in the past. But this team don’t like us. That’s just the truth. We don’t like them either. But we’ve got to keep it to football.»

Sirianni said the decision to go for two was math-based. The Eagles believed it was safer to go up 19 rather than 18 in case Washington scored two touchdowns, made both 2-point tries and kicked a field goal down the stretch.

«We did that in what we thought was the best interest,» Sirianni said. «To go up one more point in my mind is not running up the score.»

Washington coach Dan Quinn was asked if going for two violated an unwritten code among coaches.

«I can only answer from my side and what I would do,» Quinn said. «If that’s how they want to get down, all good. We play them again in two weeks.»

Washington (4-11) plays at Philadelphia (10-5) in Week 18 in the regular-season finale.

Wagner said it was «maybe» disrespectful to go for two in that situation but added, «We’ve still got to stop them. That’s how I look at it.»

Quinn said he wanted to learn more about what happened, adding that the brawl isn’t something the team wanted but that he knows players are going to protect themselves. Still, he said, «Don’t like it, don’t want it at all.»

But quarterback Josh Johnson, who replaced the injured Marcus Mariota in the third quarter, said it was indicative of the team’s mindset.

«We [aren’t] going to get pushed around by nobody,» Johnson said. «You’ve got to let people know sometimes. That’s what our guys did today, they let them know. We’ll see them in two weeks.»