Eagles hope 6th 9-1 start in team history is Super Bowl sign

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Sirianni whipped off his visor, stood on a bench and shouted in pumped-up excitement toward a small group of Eagles fans that had come to root for their team in yet another victory.

The Eagles coach was just getting started in letting his emotions spill as he left the sideline. Sirianni was red-faced as he walked to the locker room and wiped away tears after a short embrace with general manager Howie Roseman. Then, following a 17-16 win Sunday over the Indianapolis Colts, Sirianni didn't give away the game ball to the star of the game. For this win, Jalen Hurts, who rushed for the winning TD late in the fourth, tossed one to his coach.

"I know as he walked off the field he got a little bit emotional," Hurts said. "I guess I didn't help when I tossed him the ball. Coach doesn't get enough credit for what he's done and what he's been for us."

What he's done is help put the Eagles on a historically promising path.

Philadelphia is 9-1 for the sixth time in franchise history, joining the 1949, 1960, 1980, 2004 and 2017 seasons. If some of those years sound familiar to Eagles fans, it's with good reason -- each one reached a championship game. The 1949 and 1960 teams won

NFL championships and the 2017 team won the franchise's first Super Bowl.

The Eagles lost the Super Bowl in the 1980 and 2004 seasons.

The win over Indy came with flair, as the Eagles trailed 13-3 headed into the fourth quarter and rallied to win. The Eagles won after trailing by 10-plus points in the fourth for the first time since Dec. 20, 2010 against the New York Giants.

Sirianni was fired up for another win, yes, but also because he got to stick it to the Colts after they fired his mentor, coach Frank Reich. Reich was the one who hired Sirianni in 2018 for the start of a three-year stint as the Colts offensive coordinator.