What were the Philadelphia Eagles actually doing against Washington?

The Philadelphia Eagles made a number of questionable moves in Week 17.

Going into the season finale against Washington, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson looked like he was in charge of a team motivated to play spoiler despite a depleted roster. With several stars out with injury and a former franchise quarterback benched, Pederson turned to rookie Jalen Hurts to get the win — and then he didn’t.

Late in the fourth quarter, Hurts was surprisingly yanked from the game in favor of third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld, who proceeded to do nothing en route to a Washington victory that clinched them the NFC East title. This comes after defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz made it known to his team that it would not be a game of hats being handed out.

After the game, Pederson stated that the move was strictly based on trying to win the game. Yet, despite his statement, the play on the field showed otherwise. Furthermore, several players of the New York Giants were angry due in large part to the fact that an Eagles victory would have sent them instead of Washington to the postseason.

It does not look as if Doug Pederson and the Philadelphia Eagles were trying to win.

If Doug Pederson was truly trying to win said Sunday Night Football game, what about not taking the points on a fourth-and-goal instead of attempting a futile play on fourth down? Furthermore, if you wanted to really give Nate Sudfeld some reps, why could they have put the game out of reach early and then experiment. At that point, no one would have criticized the move. Instead, they, meaning players on the roster, are livid.

Hurts was not given the fair shake, especially with the number of injuries that the roster has sustained this season and how there was not much in the cupboard, to begin with. Defensively, the Eagles did a fine job of limiting Washington’s offense. Now, they have been basically hung out to dry.

There can be as much speculation as to what took place Sunday Night. Maybe the Eagles wanted to lose on purpose, or they just wanted a higher draft pick? No one will know for sure. But if you truly believe that Pederson was trying to win that game, you are sadly mistaken based on the evidence we have.