Eagles nothing but a punchline thanks to Pederson’s tank job
You’ve got to think before you tank, and that’s why the sports world is looking at the Eagles with such scorn.
In a season built of mistakes, substituting third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld for starter Jalen Hurts, who had run for two touchdowns in a close game Sunday night was the piece de resistance.
An Eagles loss to Washington and the Birds would own the sixth selection in the draft. A win and they fall to the ninth pick while giving the New York Giants the NFC East pennant.
The Eagles lost 20-14 thanks largely to Sudfeld, who hadn’t played all year and performed like it. Truth be told, Hurts might not have been able to do much in that fourth quarter either. But what a ridiculous strategy and infantile explanation for benching Hurts, who, you should know, was puzzled by the move.
How the hell do you keep a straight face saying that Sudfeld, who threw an interception and lost a fumble, gave you a better chance to win than Hurts? Guess we now know why Jim Schwartz stepped away as defensive coordinator. Imagine dealing with that backward thinking for five years.
NBC TV analyst Cris Collinsworth was beside himself watching the clock wind down on Eagles-Washington.
“I couldn’t have done what Philadelphia did,” Collinsworth said. “I just simply could not have done it. You’ve got men out there that are fighting their guts out to win the game. And I’m not blaming anybody. I personally could not have done what they did.”
It was the worst executed play in a season of bad plays. Pederson may be joining Schwartz in another year or so. Eagles fans don’t forget. The tanking baggage will follow Pederson everywhere just as it did Sixers outcast Sam “Tank” Hinkie, who at least knew how to get away with it. Called it the process, right?
Pederson earned himself
a national reputation, too. Not just Pederson, but owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman. At the least they’re responsible for actions of the head coach.
With a few hours to sleep on it, Pederson stuck with his story. Kind of, sort of.
“I’ve thought about that quite a bit and quite frankly I look at the entire body of work, I look at the entire season and it’s definitely not the season that we all had anticipated,” Pederson said. “Our offensive struggles have not been about one position group or one guy. It’s been a multitude of issues that we’ve had. And again, last night in
that game we were in a situation where we failed to score as an offense there at the end of the third quarter. We were struggling just a little bit to move the ball. Defensively we kept in the game with a couple of takeaways. And my plan was to get Nate in the game. Nate is a guy that is very capable of running our system and executing it. It was an opportunity to pull that game out last night. It’s not, it’s not where any of us wanted to be. This year, this game, this season didn’t come down to last night.”
The sudden use of Sudfeld couldn’t have been just Pederson’s idea, although he
took credit for it. Roseman and Lurie had to be aware of the plan. They’re equally responsible. Down the road someone is going to tell the real story of this odious script.
Hopefully it was one of the topics discussed among Carson Wentz, Jason Kelce and Zach Ertz, who around 1 a.m. Monday, in their civilian clothes spoke for about 45 minutes in front of the Eagles’ bench. Kelce is a diehard you play the game to win guy. A few weeks ago, he applauded the Eagles and Pederson for just that. He wasn’t available for comment. Neither was Wentz, who politely declined comment per the Eagles.
The Eagles’ defense, shorthanded as it was, played well enough to beat Washington, which has struggled offensively most of the year. Quarterback Alex Smith showed incredible courage playing on a tight calf that is one of the most painful and limiting injuries a mobile quarterback can have.
Veteran Brandon Graham said he had no doubt Pederson wanted to win. What he really seemed to be saying was the defense wanted to win.
“We went out there all week saying how we wanted to go out there and win the game and make sure that we don’t have them celebrating on our watch,” Graham said referencing Washington. “Especially as a defense because we knew Jim Schwartz, this was his last game with us. It was tough not sending him off the right way.”
Graham shied away from the actual tank talk reminding all that his job is to play hard.
For the Eagles, who used to pride themselves on being the gold standard, this is an ugly chapter deserving of an apology. If Bill Belichick had done something like this, there would be an investigation. On his worst day Belichick never could conceive of anything so stupid.
Pederson and whoever thought subbing quarterbacks was a good idea turned Sudfeld, the Eagles and the city into a punchline.