The Washington Commanders’ Week 16 come-from-behind win over their NFC East-rival Philadelphia Eagles had a bit more juice than normal.
The Eagles were winning most of the game despite not having starting quarterback Jalen Hurts for the majority of it, as he suffered a concussion early in the contest. The Commanders were down 14 in the fourth quarter but came back to win the game.
The exciting end of the actual game, however, may not have been as dramatic as the postgame, when Commanders tight end Zach Ertz and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni had to be separated.
Zach Ertz, Nick Sirianni Had To Be Separated
Ertz was a former Eagles player who played under Sirianni, so their end-of-game handshake would seem like a brief time to catch up.
However, when the two met at midfield, that didn’t go according to plan. Instead, Sirianni and Ertz’s postgame chat escalated, and Eagles security had to separate the two.
After the game, both Sirianni and Ertz downplayed the incident.
“Both of us said ‘congrats’ to each other,” Sirianni said after the game to reporters.
“We just exchanged holiday pleasantries and kept it moving,” Ertz told The Inquirer regarding the incident.
However, there is more to the story than what was said publicly.
In an episode of the “unCovering the Birds” podcast with Jeff McClane, McClane explained in more detail from his sources on what really happened when Ertz and Sirianni met after the game.
On the latest episode of unCovering the Birds, @Jeff_McLane dives into the reason for the postgame confrontation between head coach Nick Sirianni and former Eagles tight end Zach Ertz.
More details: https://t.co/trtnU1cTPX pic.twitter.com/v0aRe6L5Oh
— Philadelphia Inquirer Sports (@phillysport) December 26, 2024
Not surprisingly, the postgame exchange was not as pleasant as described by both involved.
“Ertz went to shake Sirianni’s hand and could tell the coach was agitated and instead gave him a high-five,” the source told McClane.
“Sirianni didn’t like the intensity of Ertz’s hand slap and mocked him because he had only one catch and told him he essentially did nothing to contribute to the Commanders’ win. Ertz took exception and got in Sirianni’s face.”
Sirianni Calls To Smooth Things Over
Everything ultimately got sorted out when cooler heads prevailed over the postgame dust-up.
The Inquirer reported that Sirianni ultimately contacted his former player via Zoom to apologize for what he said, which ultimately led to the two needing to be separated after the Eagles’ loss to Washington.