'Disrespectful To The Game': New York Giants Players Express Frustrations After Eagles Benched QB Jalen Hurts In Loss To Washington
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The New York Giants needed the Eagles to beat The Washington Football Team Sunday night in order to get a playoff berth but the Birds came up short. Now, some Giants players are questioning if the Birds were trying to lose on purpose.
Giants players took to social media to express their frustrations after head coach Doug Pederson pulled Jalen Hurts in the 4th Quarter and put in third-stringer Nate Sudfeld.
Wide receiver Daruis Slayton began a series of tweets with "Why on God's green earth is Jalen Hurts not in the game" and "This is sickening."
"You play the game to win point blank period JJ Watt said it best the other day outside of how it effects us this is just disrespectful to the game," Slayton tweeted.
Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning responded to a tweet from running back Saquon Barkley saying, "This is why we don't like the Eagles."
"Can someone make it make sense to me what's going on....?" Barkley tweeted.
Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox made sure to let Manning know the Birds don't like them either.
"We don't like you either," Cox tweeted.
Despite speculation the Eagles were trying to lose on purpose, Pederson says he was coaching to win.
"I was coaching to win," Pederson said. "Yes, that was my decision, solely. Nate has obviously been here for four years and I felt that he deserved an opportunity to get some snaps. Listen, if there's anyone out there that thinks that I'm not trying to win the game – [TE Zach] Ertz is out there, [DE] Brandon Graham is out there, [CB] Darius Slay is out there. All our top guys are still on the field at the end. So, we were going to win the game."
Pederson also says this week's plan was to get Sudfeld some snaps.
The Eagles finished the season 4-11-1 and dead last in the NFC East, which by the numbers was the worst division in NFL history.
The Birds will have the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
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