The Philadelphia Eagles will not be penalized by the NFL for its quarterback decisions in the week 17 final against the Washington Football Team, according to Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. Doug Pederson took Jalen Hurts to Nate Sudfeld in the fourth period, with Washington holding a three-point lead, a game that the New York Giants needed Philadelphia to win to win the NFC East title. Washington ended up winning 20-14 and winning the division championship.
While the Giants were upset with Pederson and the Eagles about the decision, Pederson defended the decision by saying that he wanted to put Sudfeld in the game – a dispute that made no sense for the eliminated Eagles. A win over Washington would have given Philadelphia the No. 9 pick in the draft, while a loss sealed the No. 6 selection – an improvement of three positions. Pederson said Hurts and Sudfeld would join the game the week before the week 17 match, which was changed to “Sunday Night Football” on the national scene.
Pederson was fired by the Eagles this week, but the Week 17 quarterback’s decision did not influence his expulsion.
“Doug said we would use as many young players as we could,” Jeffrey Lurie, owner of the Eagles, said in a video conference on Monday. “I think Doug just wanted to give Nate a chance. He deserved it. He was part of our Super Bowl winning team. He contributed to the scouting team. He contributed a lot. I think it was just with good intentions. The circumstances were not the best, maybe the communication wasn’t the best, but we would love to have eliminated Washington. “
Giants coach Joe Judge was upset by the Eagles’ decision, a decision he felt cost his team a 6-10 chance in the playoffs.
“There are a number of sacrifices made by players and coaches in this league. There are a number of sacrifices that come along with family members attached to them,” said Judge last week. “Disrespecting the effort that everyone made to make this season a success for the National Football League, disrespecting the game by going outside and not competing 60 minutes and doing nothing to help those players win. We will never do that while I am the head coach of the New York Giants. “