Report: Eagles Had to Be ‘Held Back’ from Doug Pederson After Benching Jalen Hurts

Eagles coach Doug Pederson faced strong criticism from media and fans, after allegedly tanking Sunday night’s game against Washington, by pulling starting QB Jalen Hurts.

As it turns out, the fans and media weren’t the only ones upset about it.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “two defensive players had to be held back” from going after Pederson following the controversial QB switch.

In addition, center Jason Kelce openly questioned Pederson on the sideline.

NBC Sunday Night Football co-host Cris Collinsworth openly ripped Pederson during the live broadcast.

“Al, I couldn’t have done it. I couldn’t have done what Philadelphia did,” Collinsworth said from the NBC booth. “I simply just could not have done it. You’ve got men out there that are fighting their guts out trying to win the game. And I’m not saying, I’m not blaming anybody, I, personally, could not have done what they did.”

Chris Collinsworth finally implies the Eagles are tanking and rips them for it pic.twitter.com/RzwMpfzizr

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) January 4, 2021

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was also seen on the bench saying, “It’s not right.”

Every Giants fan is Jalen Hurts right now.

“It’s not right.” pic.twitter.com/4mNdZsONjP

— The NFL Express (@NFL_Express) January 4, 2021

While Hurts was justifiably upset, his numbers weren’t good. The rookie was 7-20 for 72 yards and a pick at the time that he was benched. Though, hurts’ mobility gave the Eagles an edge that replacement quarterback Nate Sudfeld certainly lacked.

The Eagles ended up losing to Washington, 20-14. A loss that gave Washington the division and moved the Eagles from ninth to sixth, in the draft. Though, despite gaining ground in the draft, the Eagles may have bought themselves bigger problems.