Getty Eagles center Jason Kelce attempted to fire up his teammates with an emotional speech.
The Philadelphia Eagles committed 12 total penalties for 115 yards in Week 16, including six false starts from their makeshift offensive line. Head coach Doug Pederson pinned them on Jalen Hurts’ cadence but a former three-time Pro Bowl left tackle had a sightly different take after breaking down the tape.
Tra Thomas, who spent 11 years in midnight green, reviewed the game film on Monday and blamed All-Pro center Jason Kelce for miscommunications on the pre-snap snafus. One false start was clearly on tight end Zach Ertz for moving early and another one was squarely on right guard Isaac Seumalo. But Thomas pointed out that the other four penalties were all on Kelce who snapped the football too late.
Pederson talked about Hurts’ teammates getting used to the rookie’s voice while mentioning crowd noise to a lesser extent. There were roughly 30,000 fans in Dallas on Sunday cheering on the Cowboys despite COVID-19 restrictions in other cities like Philadelphia.
“Some of it’s the different cadence. Getting used to Jalen’s voice,” Pederson told reporters after the game. “It’s something that we’ve coached him up to be better at. To obviously be louder. It was the first time with crowd noise, but that wasn’t really a factor today. It’s something that, it can’t happen.”
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Eagles Flexed to Sunday Night Football
The Eagles are out of playoff contention but that didn’t stop the NFL from flexing next week’s game into the league’s marquee spot on Sunday night. Washington will come to Lincoln Financial Field with a chance to clinch the NFC East title with a victory. Kickoff is slated for 8:20 p.m. and the Eagles are one-point home underdogs.
.@WashingtonNFL know a win puts them in the playoffs.
The @Eagles want to stop them.
Week 17 SNF is coming!
The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys will play at 1 p.m. The Giants can win the division if they beat the Cowboys and the Eagles beat Washington. And the Cowboys can win the division if they beat the Giants and the Eagles beat Washington. So the matchup matters for everyone except Philly.
The Eagles are 3-1 in prime-time games this year and 2-0 on “Sunday Night Football.” Jalen Hurts will be the Eagles starting quarterback for a fourth straight week. He holds a 1-2 record since taking over for Carson Wentz.
Pederson ‘Fully Confident’ in Job Security
Pederson has been dealing with questions about his future for the entire month of December but now that the Eagles are uninvited to the postseason party, they are coming faster and more furious. The head coach refused to say whether he’s been given any assurances from team owner Jeffery Lurie, but Pederson remains confident he’ll be back.
He referenced his track record — three playoff appearances in five years, plus a Super Bowl — as reasons why he shouldn’t be fired. The 52-year-old also hinted at wanting more personnel control moving forward.
“I feel fully confident to be the head coach of the Eagles in 2021,” Pederson told SportsRadio 94WIP’s Angelo Cataldi. “The thing I’m most proud of this football team, we have been in the postseason three of the last five years since I’ve been here and that’s pretty good. We have won a championship here. There is always going to be evaluation in the offseason and my job is evaluated as well. I fully expected to be the coach next season and I welcome the opportunity to get things right, get things fixed and take this team into next season.”
Eagles’ Doug Pederson “Fully Confident” He’ll Return t.co/utRpr3juSS
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