The Philadelphia Eagles suffered a 20-14 defeat at the hands of the Washington Football Team on Sunday, which ended with a bit of controversy. Philly head coach Doug Pederson took out starting quarterback Jalen Hurts in favor of Nate Sudfeld early in the fourth period in what was then a three-point game. The Eagles ended up losing the contest, which incidentally, improved their draft position.
After the game, Pederson was asked about his controversial decision, and whether or not it was an intentional attempt to lose the game. The 52-year-old denied all accusations, and explained how it was all about giving Nate Sudfeld some playing time:
“Nate has been here for four years, and I felt he deserved an opportunity to get some snaps,” Pederson said, via Tim McManus of ESPN.
Jalen Hurts, who took over the starting QB gig from Carson Wentz, backed his coach's decision, and even went on to say that he was advised about the game plan beforehand:
“As a competitor, I play to win,” Hurts said. “You've just got to trust Coach with that.
“I know Coach had a plan to go about it the way he did and stuck to his plan.”
What made Philly's loss even more controversial is how it allowed Washington to clinch the NFC East title. An Eagles win would have resulted in the New York Giants winning the title via a tiebreaker, which clearly did not come to be.
Giants fans were understandably incensed by Doug Pederson's decision, and it goes without saying that there's no way they will be accepting his explanation here.
Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky came out with a statement via Twitter expressing his disgust with what had just transpired:
That was a mockery pic.twitter.com/llXwIiRDwt
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 4, 2021
Whatever the case may be, this is all water under the bridge now. At the end of the day, it appears that the winners here are the Eagles, as this loss could potentially have a significant impact on their campaign next term.
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