Pederson, offense undo Schwartz’s last work
Before calling it an Eagles career, Jim Schwartz had one request: Do not let Washington celebrate an NFC East championship on Lincoln Financial Field.
“We can’t let opponents put division-win hats on at the Linc,” the outgoing defensive coordinator said. “There’s a lot of pride in that. And all our focus has to be on accomplishing that this week.”
Earlier in the week, Schwartz shared his plan to walk away from the Eagles after five years and one world championship. Before he would, however, he would do what he asked his players to do in what effectively would be a postseason play-in game for Washington: Work hard.
While Washington would win the right to celebrate as it pleased with a 20-14 victory, the Eagles who played defense did not take their Week 17 assignment lightly … only to be sandbagged by multiple late decisions from Pederson.
As if to leave a calling card for what had been a mostly successful Eagles’ career, Schwartz ordered an aggressive defense that had Washington quarterback Alex Smith smothered all night by rain and attacking defenders.
That was enough for a team playing without, among others, Miles Sanders, Alshon Jeffery, Dallas Goedert, Fletcher Cox, Derek Barnett, DeSean Jackson and the scratchedwhile-healthy Carson Wentz to remain within three points of a desperate, playoff-minded opponent into the fourth quarter
he signature defensive play of the Eagles’ 11th defeat came with 4:48 left in the
third when Marcus Epps collided with would-be receiver J.D. McKissic and, before the reverberations stopped, pulled in an interception inside the Washington 20.
The Eagles would nose to the four, earning a chance to attempt what would have been a 21-yard field goal for a 17-17 tie. But in a decision that defined his eternal struggle with football arithmetic, Pederson elected to seek a touchdown on fourth-and-goal. That result was typical of the Eagles’ season, with Jalen Hurts scrambling before leaving a would-be touchdown pass short of an open Quez Watkins in the end zone.
As part of that strategy, Washington was forced to begin its ensuring drive deep in its territory, and again was stumped by Schwartz’s defense. Yet with a chance to take command, Pederson removed Hurts in favor of Nate Sudfeld, who had not played since 2018.
Having defeated the Cowboys earlier, the Giants would have won the division championship and an automatic playoff bid with a Washington loss.
Sudfeld was immediately inept, his first series punctured with an interception by Jeremy Reaves. However, T.J. Edwards quickly answered with the first interception of his career at their 41, Schwartz’s defense again providing the offense with a chance. Again, Sudfeld proved ungrateful, muffing proving incapable of handling a long snap and losing a fumble. And again, the defense held, forcing Washington into a 42-yard field goal, good for a 20-14 lead with 7:42 left
he quarterback who had been scratched for most of the season was unable to lead a late drive to victory.
“I think part of professionalism is you keep your focus just on that game,” Schwartz had said. “There’s too much at stake. It might not be at stake for us as a team with a playoff berth and things like that. But we’ve got a lot of individual things that players still can accomplish. We’ve got guys that are trying to earn their way in the league.. And we have a division opponent that’s going to come and try to celebrate on our field.”