Eagles embarrassed themselves, NFL by tanking Washington game (Opinion)
Forget about the fact that a Philadelphia Eagles victory over the Washington Football Team would have gotten the New York Giants into the playoffs. Forget about all the players the Eagles had on their injury list, along with listing quarterback Carson Wentz and running back Miles Sanders as healthy scratches.
This isn't about that. This is about those Eagles that were left, playing their hearts out only to have the game be taken from them by their coach, whom they're supposed to trust to put them in a position to win it. The same trust the NFL and NBC have when they put your team on national television, hoping for a competitive game that will decide playoffs. What they got was a national embarrassment.
With the Eagles down 17-14 in the third quarter, thanks to two rushing touchdowns by quarterback Jalen Hurts, they pulled Hurts in favor of Nate Sudfeld, who according to profootballtalk.com, "threw an interception and then fumbled a shotgun snap for two giveaways in six plays." Washington goes on to win the game 20-14 and will host a playoff game next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Pederson afterward said it was totally his decision and he was coaching to win the game. There should have been a drummer's "badumpump" after that. But if he's telling the truth, he should have a lot of explaining to do to owner Jeffrey Lurie and team president Howie Roseman when they meet on Tuesday.
The tanking also taints the Washington victory, which caps an incredible story that includes head coach Ron Rivera battling cancer and quarterback Alex Smith's incredible comeback from near death to take the team to the division title.
More so, the game taints the integrity of the entire National Football League. Ex-Eagle Herm Edwards once said, "you play to win the games." Edwards actually said it after he left the Eagles and was coaching the New York Jets.
Speaking of the Jets, what's the difference between Pederson pulling his quarterback in a close playoff deciding game and former Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams going with an all-out blitz, which cost the Jets their first win against the Las Vegas Raiders and Williams his job. The difference here is Pederson still has his, at least for now.
Former Giants linebacker and current Giants game broadcaster Carl Banks thinks Pederson may be trying to get out of Philly.
If that's the case, Pederson would be better off driving the birds Lombardi Trophy around the Lincoln Financial Field parking lot a la George Costanza, not throwing the efforts of his team, which looked like it was on it's way to an upset, as well as the integrity of the league out the window. They didn't deserve that. Neither do we fans.
The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.