Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson pulled off a shocker when he benched Jalen Hurts in exchange for backup Nate Sudfeld early in the fourth quarter against the Washington Football Team on Sunday night. The move outraged Eagles players and coaches who were blindsided by the decision, resulting in several confrontations.
According to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, two defensive players had to be restrained from going after Pederson. Jason Kelce and another offensive starter asked Pederson why Hurts was pulled with the Eagles down just three points.
Hurts himself was upset with the move. While he apparently knew there was a chance Sudfeld could play, he didn't understand why the swap was made in these circumstances, even though he was struggling. The rookie had two rushing touchdowns, but he only threw for 72 yards on 7-of-20 passing and an interception.
When asked about his reaction, Hurts said that he was only focused on winning the game:
“As a competitor, I play to win,” he said. “You have to trust [Pederson’s plan].”
Sudfeld wasn't any better than Hurts, completing just 5-of-12 passes with an interception as the Eagles suffered a 20-14 loss to finish the season with a 4-11-1 record. Washington won the NFC East with the victory.
Pederson defended the decision immediately after the game and then doubled down on Monday, implying that Hurts' struggles on the field led to the quarterback switch:
“We were struggling just a little bit to move the ball,” he said during a video conference call. “Defensively, they kept us in the game with a couple of takeaways late. And my plan was to get Nate in the game.
“Nate’s a guy that’s very capable of running our system and executing, and [had] an opportunity to pull that game out last night.”
This loss did help the Eagles move up in the draft order from the ninth pick to the sixth pick in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. Whatever the rationale behind Pederson's decision may be, there were plenty of people upset with how things played out, including
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