After the Giants took care of business against the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon, Giants fans everywhere geared up for a night of forced support of the division rival Eagles against the Washington Football Team. An Eagles win, and New York would be your NFC East champions.
Instead, Philadelphia showed little interest in actually winning the game.
The Eagles lost, 20-14, in a game marred by questionable decision-making down the stretch that was indicative of a team that was very much aware that it could secure a superior draft spot by losing an otherwise meaningless game.
Philadelphia opted against a game-tying chip shot field goal attempt late in the third quarter and ended up turning it over on downs. On its next possession, Doug Pederson benched quarterback Jalen Hurts—who scored the team’s only touchdowns of the night—in favor of Nate Sudfeld, who’s been on the team for four seasons and had previously appeared in just three games. Finally, the Eagles jumped offsides on a fourth-down and inches in Washington’s clock-killing drive late in the game, essentially sealing their fate.
Predictably, those around the league had some thoughts while taking in such a blatant tanking operation, chief among them Giants players. Check out some of the best of the rapid reactions:
