It was a terrible look, and there's really no way of getting around that indisputable fact. Yanking Jalen Hurts in favor of Nate Sudfeld for the final quarter, when the result of the game impacted the playoff fate of the opponent as well as the New York Giants, stood in stark contrast to the way the majority of the teams treated their final games.
Philly's Doug Pederson wanted to get his third-string quarterback some work and he chose to do so in a 17-14 game when the Giants needed an Eagles win to steal the pathetic NFC East. With some assistance from Pederson, Washington was able to maintain the lead and therefore won the division with a 7-9 mark.
It looked bad, especially when Sudfeld turned the ball over twice in his limited work. For all of the tanking talk that permeates sports nowadays, it's rare when a coach makes a decision that seemingly puts winning on the backburner. That's what Sudfeld's insertion looked like, and predictably the fallout was loud and self-righteous.
While I agree that the move made little sense – what was to be gained by giving Sudfeld a cameo at that point? – the reaction has been over the top and short-sighted.
First, Hurts played three quarters of the game and was largely ineffective. He rushed for a pair of scores, the first of which came on a drive that was greatly aided by the officials who called three questionable third-down penalties on Washington to keep things going on the march. Hurts failed to find the end zone on four cracks from inside the 5 late in the third quarter, firing a fourth-down pass into the turf in front of a wide open receiver.
So, there's no evidence that Philly would have won the game had Hurts stayed in. And Hurts certainly wasn't playing well in the first place.
More importantly, the hue and cry coming from the Giants is laughable. You want to win your division? Find a way to do better than 6-10. It's hard to complain about any chances you "earned" when you win six games. The Giants got exactly what they deserved – nothing.
Again, Pederson is under fire and he should be. It was an odd decision and offered the appearance of impropriety, and that above all else is a no-no at the professional sports level. When it looks like our teams aren't trying to win then all integrity is lost. And that's what the final NFL game of the regular season looked like.
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January 05, 2021 at 11:12PM
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Week 17 NFL Notes: Time To Move On - Patriots.com
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