Everyone knows that this is not true
The 256th game of the NFL season, played in prime time on NBC, is usually a great aperitif for the playoffs. Last year, the 49ers won the Seahawks at Sunday Night Football showcase to beat NFC West and gain the advantage of playing at home in the playoffs. This year, he left everyone watching with a bitter taste in his mouth.
The Giants, having defeated the Cowboys earlier in the day, just needed the Eagles to beat Washington to be crowned champions of the NFC East. Washington played as a team that knew it was on the brink of the postseason. Eagles players also played hard, but their coach did not.
Early in the fourth period, Doug Pederson gave Jalen Hurts the hook and put third career striker Nate Sudfeld into the game as a defender. Sudfeld was terrible and the Eagles lost without resisting.
After the game, Pederson explained his decision.
“Yes, I was training to win,” said Pederson. “Yes, that decision was mine alone. Nate has obviously been here for four years and I felt like he deserved an opportunity to take some pictures.
“Listen, if there’s anything out there that thinks I wasn’t trying to win the game, [Zach] Ertz is outside, Brandon Graham is there, Darius Slay is there. All of our best guys are still on the pitch at the end. We were going to win the game. “
The charitable interpretation of this quote is that Pederson thought he could give Sudfeld a chance to play while trying to win the game. Everything the national TV audience saw from Sudfeld should make it clear that there was no way that could be true. The game ended the moment Sudfeld entered the field. Pederson is right: the two stars who were not inactive remained in the game, but in the most important position on the field, the Eagles were playing against a guy who looked as ineffective and defeated as the Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci against Philadelphia earlier this season.
The uncharitable interpretation is that Pederson was lying to hell when he said the Eagles were trying to win the game. Pederson may point to the presence of Ertz, Graham and Slay as evidence that he has not given up on the game entirely, but there is simply no way to reconcile this with his decision to put Sudfeld in charge of the crime. Even though Hurts easily played his worst game of the season, it is ridiculous to suggest that the Eagles had a better chance of winning with him on the bench.
Pederson added on Monday morning that he was also trying to assess some of the players further down the depth chart.
If assessing the future of the Eagles’ defenders was the goal, then Hurts should have played the whole game. The biggest decision the team will have to make in this off-season is whether Hurts will remain in the starting lineup and make Carson Wentz the most expensive reserve in the league. Each additional snap Hurts gives – especially in a game in which he fought against an elite defensive line – helps make that decision easier.
This is also not a college, where a benchwarmer gets some action in the final game of the season as a reward for working over the years. Unless you are a playoff team unable to improve your ranking, players want to win every game in the regular season. The only other time that Sudfeld saw extended gameplay was in the final game of the 2017 season, when the 13–2 Eagles rested Nick Foles against the Cowboys after having already won the home advantage.
Players and fans of the giants (including me) are understandably upset because the Eagles’ lack of effort ended up deciding the division race. (The Giants could also have taken their fate out of the Eagles’ hands by winning more than six games.) Fans of 30 other non-Washington NFL teams should also be upset because the Eagles turned the game into a mockery, and that Pederson had the audacity to claim that it was not a scam.
The best of SI
The giants’ players were angry at the Eagles launching the game. … The Dolphins lost their chance in the playoffs, but it is silly to suggest that they pass your Tagovailoa. … The national title game clash between the states of Alabama and Ohio looks quite familiar. … how the wheels emerged from the Patriots dynasty.
Around the sports world
Lamar Jackson is the first QB to race for 1,000 in two different seasons, but he didn’t know that. … Mason Rudolph and Myles Garrett, a year after the infamous helmet-shaking incident, shook hands after the Browns-Steelers game. … The Cowboys could have beaten the Giants if Mike McCarthy had challenged a questionable catch call, but he didn’t think it was as obvious a call as any. … Drew Brees is expected to retire after this season. … The NHL is planning two outdoor games on Lake Tahoe in February.
This quote from Jason Kelce from a few weeks ago is much more relevant now
The Eagles farce took the Jets off the back page
While everyone watched the Eagles ashamed, Stephen Curry burst to a 62-year career high.
Derrick Henry is the rare running back who had a slow start in his career before breaking into his early 20s
How is this possibly bothering the passer?
AJ Brown’s route was great, but Ryan Tannehill’s shot was no flaws
Give that man your money
This guy had a day
Titans fans will be talking about the “single doink” for years to come
Name the returning Player of the Year award in honor of Alex Smith and make it the trophy
Jayson Tatum in the clutch!
Boomer has a long nap in his future
Very complicated!
In a division as unpredictable as NFC East, how could they choose the same team?
This will be hung in every dental practice in Buffalo
Ridiculous skill
Adam Gase lasted a full five hours after the final Jets game
Bill O’Brien delayed this team for many, many years
Caribbean winter leagues are great because you have cool baseball highlights at the height of winter
Unfortunately, he will not recreate his Gray Cup parade
Jimbo did not want to participate in that Gatorade bath
Breathtaking video
Imagine if he had lost
Not sports
Ratatouille: the musical (which I reluctantly watched but actually enjoyed) raised more than $ 1 million for charity. … The Mandalorian it was the most pirated program of 2020. … Movie ticket sales in the U.S. fell 80% in 2020.
The solar system is really cool
Someone brought her husband’s “Magic: The Gathering” cards to Antiques Roadshow and they were rated up to six digits
A good song
Send an email to [email protected] with any feedback or follow me on twitter for about a decent baseball joke a week. Bookmark this page to view previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the latest edition every day. By popular request I made a Spotify playlist with the song featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard Page throughout each day for more unusual sports stories.