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The Eagles have enough work to repair the external damage caused by Sunday night’s apparent decision to lose Washington. They apparently also have a lot of work to do to repair the internal damage.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia investigator reported that “many Eagles players and coaches were shocked and furious” about the decision to remove fullback Jalen Hurts for Nate Sudfeld in the second half of the Week 17 game.
According to the report, two defensive players had to be ‘withheld’ to confront coach Doug Pederson. McLane also reports that center Jason Kelce (pictured) and another offensive starter are approaching Pederson for an explanation of the move.
Pederson explained after the loss that he was trying to win the game. Pederson gave a shaky response on Monday when asked again about the perception that the Eagles were not trying to secure a win that would drop Washington from the playoffs and deliver the NFC East title to the Giants.
The incident places a dark cloud over the team at the end of a lost season. To clear it away will require a lot of candid and candid conversations. Eventually, Pederson may have to admit to his players (at least to his team leaders) that the goal was to improve the team’s draft position, or to potentially harness the steam to make the starter 2121. the team to make a more reasoned and deliberate decision on the quarterback position next season, given their belief that Carson Wentz’s poor season could be a departure.
The Eagles have benefited significantly from pandemic protocols that keep reporters out of the locker room in the mournful and real moments after a game. This problem still hasn’t gone away quickly – and the Eagles offered nothing in the aftermath of the game to satisfy the dissatisfaction due to the seemingly deliberate decision not to beat Washington in the final game of the 2020 regular season.