Full disclosure: SU watched the Michigan – Northwestern basketball game last night and then The Night Manager on Netflix afterwards (very good, by the way. Enjoying this show a lot). I was following the score of the Eagles – WFT game but did not turn it on. I did watch the Giants – Dallas game that afternoon in its entirety.
I know A LOT of people are pissed off this morning that the Eagles pulled the starting QB and put in the never-used 3rd stringer in the 4th quarter of a close game. Apparently, this guy was horrible and that was the game.
SU says that you need to take care of business and not rely on others on the last game of the season. This happens all the time in baseball when you need a team to lose and the opponent ends up resting their regulars and starting some minor leaguer in their MLB debut. Same thing in the NBA. You need some other team to lose and they are playing the Lakers on the last game of the year. But the Lakers rest LeBron and Davis and that is that. Is it fair? Probably not. The Giants were 6-10 and should have beaten the Eagles in Philly except they mistakenly threw a pass to Evan Engram (as in All Pro Engram which is beyond me) to clinch the game in the final minutes, and of course, he dropped it.
Now, NBC put this game on Sunday night figuring the Eagles might actually try their hardest right until the end. If they had known that Pederson was going to do this, they may have swapped out for another game. It was a bad look for the NFL for sure. The Eagles ended up with the #6 pick in the draft vs. #9 by losing.
The Giants should be super motivated to play the Eagles next season. Of course, they should have been super motivated this year and won that first game. But coaches have long memories and those games next season should be fun and interesting.
OK, Giant fans, let’s hear from you. Are you outraged? Was this a travesty? The floor is open.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Is a 6-10 team allowed to complain about the circumstances under which they missed the playoffs?
Probably not. I agree with that in this case as this is an embarrassment.
Yeah, but as Collinsworth pointed out, Hurts was in essence the backup quarterback already and there was much more value in seeing how he would respond to the late game pressure than the guy they put in who was clueless and would never play anyway
I think Doug Pederson got confused and thought that last night was a preseason game that was rescheduled due to COVID.
Fair point on Hurts who is the back-up. Coach says the plan was to play the back up in the 4th quarter all week long.
It was definitely disappointing as we heard all season long that NFL teams (re: the Jets and Jags) are going to play their hardest because they are all competitors at heart and aren’t going to purposefully tank. I don’t know that you could ever put the Eagles into the conversation as a classy organization but you certainly can’t do that now. As a 6 win team the Giants can’t feel too bad about it but the Eagles definitely embarrassed the league with their flagrant throwing of the game. I’m sure Goodell will do nothing but he should at least fine them.
In my opinion, the giants had such a terrible season that they had no business being in the playoffs anyway. My opinion is that teams have no responsibility to other teams, only to themselves and their fans. Hopefully, though, the giants can build on their more successful second half of the season and perform better next year.
Nah, it shouldn’t have gotten to the point where the Giants needed help. Can’t rely on others. Wish the Giants had tanked better last season and gotten Chase Young.
What the Eagles did on the last regular game of the season was putrid. The League was able to pull off a terrific feat in getting every game in. Furthermore, If Hurts is going to be you QB of the future wouldn’t you want to know now whether he has it in his makeup to come from behind and win a game? Lastly, what’s the difference between a 6 and 9 pick anyway. That’s crap. And as a bonus, Philly played hard and had the right to really try to win the game. The fan as well as their team got really short changed here. Is that how you ant the regular schedule to end…. with a 3rd string QB playing? That’s pitiful.
I am not even a Giant fan and I thought what Pederson did was revolting. Forget about the Giants not deserving to go to the playoffs at 6-10, and frankly, even if they were 10-6, when you put your fate in someone else’s hands, you can’t complain. To me, Pederson has to answer more to his own team, who was giving a valiant effort despite being shorthanded, only to have the person in charge decide that this was like a 6th grade rec league game and give the person sitting on the bench some playing time. Before last night, I thought there was no way he deserved to be fired, but if I was Jeffrey Lurie, I would demand and explanation and would be inclined to let him go. Just awful.