Giants coach Joe Judge suggested the Eagles did not put forth full effort in their 20-14 loss to the Washington Football Team on Sunday night. The result kept New York out of the NFL playoffs.
The Eagles pulled starting quarterback Jalen Hurts after three quarters in favor of Nate Sudfeld, a 2016 sixth-round draft pick who hadn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2018. Their late-game play-calling was also seen by many people as a tanking ploy to secure a higher draft pick.
MORE: Eagles’ Pederson says he was ‘coaching’ to win in Week 17
Judge, speaking at a Monday news conference, said his team would never approach a contest like Philadelphia did.
“To disrespect the game by going out there and not competing for 60 minutes and doing everything you can to help those players win, we will never do that as long as I’m the head coach of the Giants,” Judge said.
Joe Judge drops the hammer on Doug Pederson and the Eagles for their effort Sunday night, without ever mentioning their names …
pic.twitter.com/Lyrlh0YkBg— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) January 4, 2021
MORE: Eagles’ approach to Week 17 called a ‘disgrace’
The Giants (6-10) needed Washington (7-9) to lose in order to claim the NFC East, which this year has been considered one of the worst divisions in football history. They beat the Cowboys earlier Sunday to give themselves a chance to get into the postseason.
Watching Sudfeld flounder, then, was frustrating for the organization. Sudfeld completed 5 of 12 passes for 32 yards and an interception. While Hurts hadn’t performed particularly well before being pulled, most would agree he gave Philadelphia the better chance to win.
Judge repeatedly mentioned the sacrifices his own players and staff had made, only to see what he believed was a performance that damaged the integrity of the game.
“There’s a number of sacrifices made by the coaches and players in this league,” Judge said. “There’s a number of sacrifices that come along as well with the family members and the people connected with them.”