Eagles won’t be punished for tanking finale
The Philadelphia Eagles will live to fly another day.
The NFL decided not to punish the Eagles after its questionable decision-making late in the Week 17 game against the Washington Football Team, according to the Associated Press.
The Eagles and ex-head coach Doug Pederson were accused of intentionally tanking the game after benching quarterback Jalen Hurts in the fourth quarter for third string QB Nate Sudfeld, who hadn’t thrown a pass in an NFL game since 2018, when they were only down by a field goal. Sudfeld was picked off and fumbled a ball and the Eagles ended up losing 20-14.
The loss handed Washington a playoff spot and the NFC East title, eliminated the Giants from postseason play, and secured the No. 6 pick in the draft for themselves (up from the No. 9 they were projected for).
Some of the projected No. 6 draft prospects include Alabama Heisman-trophy winning wide receiver DeVonta Smith, ‘Bama cornerback Patrick Surtain II and LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase.
The game enraged many around the division, especially the Giants.
“To disrespect the game by going out there and not competing for 60 minutes and doing everything you can to help those players win, we will never do that as long as I’m the head coach of the New York Giants,” Giants head coach Joe Judge said after, but not just because his team had been eliminated. He went off on the Eagles because of how they didn’t respect the sacrifices players had to make this season just to play during the coronavirus pandemic.
“(To) test before coming; to sit in meetings spaced out; to wear masks; to have shields over those masks; to go through extensive protocols; to travel in unconventional ways; to get text messages at 6:30 in the morning telling them practice is gonna be canceled, we have to do a virtual day,” Judge listed. “To tell them please don’t have your family here for Thanksgiving; please avoid Christmas gatherings; we know it’s your wife’s birthday, let’s make sure we put that one off to the offseason. There’s a number of sacrifices that come along as well with the family members of the people connected to them.”
Even Eagles players were critical of the decision.
“Man, if I’m being honest, nobody liked the decision, nobody,” RB Mile Sanders said in a radio interview.
Still, the league found nothing wrong with the quarterback move and Eagles ownership supported Pederson’s call (even though they fired him at the conclusion of the regular season).
“I think Doug just wanted to give Nate a chance,” owner Jeffrey Lurie said. “He deserved it. He’s been part of our Super Bowl-winning team. He contributed to the scout team. He contributed so much. I think it was just with good intentions. The circumstances weren’t the best, maybe the communication wasn’t the best, but we would have loved to have eliminated Washington.