The Philadelphia Eagles rested most of their offensive starters in the regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders. But one notable exception was DeVonta Smith. And the reason behind it was straightforward. Smith was closing in on the 1,000-yard mark, head coach Nick Sirianni asked if he wanted to play, and the receiver didn’t hesitate to say yes. That decision, however, came with one moment that clearly frustrated the HC, and he explained exactly why.

“I was a little upset with him (Smith) that I told him, ‘Make sure that you get out of bounds,'” Sirianni said while addressing why he let Smith play in Week 18. “And he caught that very first play of the game, and he lowered his shoulder to get a couple of extra yards. And you know, I wanted him to go out of bounds on that particular one.”

Given the Eagles had a home playoff game looming, they couldn’t afford to take unnecessary risks with key players. That’s precisely why most starters were sidelined. But with Smith just 44 yards shy of 1,000 on the season, Sirianni felt comfortable making an exception, albeit with clear instructions.

On the Eagles’ first offensive snap, quarterback Tanner McKee connected with Smith on a 1st-and-10 pass. Smith hauled in the ball for a 17-yard gain at Philadelphia’s 49-yard line. But per his HC, instead of stepping out, he lowered his shoulder to fight for extra yards. From the sideline, Sirianni wasn’t thrilled.

Still, once Smith crossed the 1,000-yard threshold, the Eagles wasted no time pulling him from the game. McKee targeted Smith three times for 52 yards, pushing him to 1,008 receiving yards on the season. That total made Smith the Eagles’ leading receiver in 2025, narrowly edging out teammate A.J. Brown, who finished with 1,003 yards.

Smith and Brown also etched their names deeper into franchise history. They’re the only duo in Eagles history to each post 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. And they’ve now done it three times (2022, 2023, and 2025).

“I feel like that’s something that every receiver you want to get that,” Smith said of hitting 1,000 yards. “Of course, the goal was a little higher. I feel like as a receiver, not just a receiver — receiver, running back, I feel like that’s something everyone wants to accomplish.”

Sirianni made it clear that the decision to play Smith was calculated. The coach gave his receiver a chance to hit a meaningful milestone, and then made sure he was protected once the job was done, with the postseason firmly in mind. And after that went down, Smith didn’t shy away from appreciating Sirianni for allowing him to hit the 1,000 yards mark.

DeVonta Smith appreciated Nick Sirianni for allowing him to play in Week 18

Whether Nick Sirianni should have played DeVonta Smith against the Commanders is a debate for another day. What matters now is the bigger picture. The Eagles are headed to the postseason and will face the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round next week. And Smith will enter the playoffs fresh off yet another 1,000-yard season. After reaching that milestone, the receiver appreciated Sirianni for giving him the opportunity in the first place.

“Definitely appreciate the relationship we have,” Smith said. “Sometimes it feels like him being the coach, he wants it more than us. It’s great when you have a coach like that, that’s backing you up to complete those milestones.”

Of course, the Eagles’ priority in Week 18 was avoiding serious injuries with a home playoff game looming. But Sirianni later explained that allowing Smith to play wasn’t reckless. According to the head coach, the team felt comfortable based on the type of routes Smith was running and how the plan was structured.

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“We were safe with him as far as what kind of routes we were running and what he was doing. And so that was something that we decided to do, and obviously you can’t rest everybody.”

And this wasn’t the first time Sirianni has gone out of his way to help Smith reach a milestone. Back in Week 18 of the 2021 season, the head coach made a conscious effort to put Smith in a position to break the franchise rookie receiving record previously held by DeSean Jackson.

Fast forward to now, and Smith has joined an elite company. He’s just the fifth player in Eagles history to record three 1,000-yard seasons, alongside A.J. Brown (four), Harold Carmichael, DeSean Jackson, and Mike Quick. Now, the focus shifts to the postseason. Whether Smith can carry that momentum into the playoffs remains to be seen. But the opportunity is right in front of him.