Getty Fletcher Cox was named the fourth-best player in the NFL.
The Philadelphia Eagles absolutely loathe the New York Giants. This has been a known fact for years, just ask Brian Westbrook. But just in case it wasn’t already abundantly apparent to those not familiar with the NFC East, Fletcher Cox has set the record straight.
The Eagles All-Pro sat out Sunday night’s season finale with a neck injury but he let his Twitter fingers do the hard-hitting after the game. Cox, who has spent nine seasons in midnight green, started the festivities by trolling Eli Manning after the two-time Super Bowl MVP said he didn’t like the Eagles. One day later, Cox was at it again when former offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz — Manning’s old teammate in New York — joined the fray.
The Giants-Eagles feud has considerable new juice heading into 2021, doesn’t it? The two storied franchises have met 176 times with the Eagles leading the all-time series 88-86-2. Philly has dominated the head-to-head matchups in recent years by winning eight of the last nine games dating back to 2016.
“They were our biggest rival,” Westbrook told the New York Post in October. “The Giants had a bunch of really good players and you would see them during the offseason and there would be some healthy trash talk during the game, but they always had our respect and we had theirs. When you play opponents you respect, it’s always a good rivalry. That’s what the Giants were for us.”
Has that respect been lost following TankGate? Giants head coach Joe Judge thinks so. They will play each other twice next year but no dates have yet been announced. Get your popcorn ready!
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Calls for NFL to Investigate Eagles Tanking
There have been several calls for the NFL to launch a full-scale investigation into claims of tanking in the Eagles’ 20-14 loss to the Washington Football Team. Okay, cool. One problem, there is nothing in the rule book that says it’s illegal to pull your starting quarterback. In fact, contending teams do it all the time in the last week of the season when they have nothing left to play for.
For example, the Kansas City Chiefs benched Patrick Mahomes in favor of Chad Henne in their meaningless season finale. Sure, the Eagles did it in epic fashion — pulling Jalen Hurts in the fourth quarter of a three-point game during “Sunday Night Football” — but it wasn’t illegal.
Sal Paolantonio is calling on Roger Goodell and the #NFL to open an investigation on the #Eagles decision to pull Jalen Hurts in the 4th quarter of last night’s game.
For Sal Pal’s full appearance: t.co/lEwQrjIs7E
The move has launched a thousand tirades, including a tone-deaf one from ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio. The Philly-based reporter told the Dan Patrick Show that the NFL should do a “forensic investigation of what went down.” Whatever that means. But, as NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero pointed out, it has always been the league’s policy to let the clubs decide how to manage their rosters.
The NFL’s longstanding position has been that it’s solely the club’s decision regarding who to play, for now long, etc. So while the circumstances tonight are unique, the #Eagles aren’t the first team to play backups in Week 17, and the league historically hasn’t gotten involved.
Pederson Looking Out for Eagles ‘Best Interest’
Doug Pederson — the man who made the decision to bench Hurts for third-stringer Nate Sudfeld — keeps defending the move in press conferences and radio interviews. The gameplan included getting Sudfeld some snaps and it didn’t matter what the scoreboard read.
On Monday, the Eagles head coach explained how it had more to do with how their season played out, especially their struggles on offense. The Eagles had expected to be fighting for a playoff spot and Sudfeld needed to be evaluated in the season finale.
“We wanted to be playing in the postseason. That’s our goal every season. So, this year, this game, this season, didn’t come down to last night,” Pederson told reporters. “We were playing for our lives in a playoff game four, five, six weeks ago where every game mattered, and we failed even then. I’ve got to look at the whole thing, do what’s in the best interest and try to win a game any way possible.”
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