Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham had a few choice comments in the smoldering aftermath of his team’s loss to the Washington Football Team in the regular-season finale.
New York Giants coach Joe Judge publicly took issue with the Eagles’ decision to replace Jalen Hurts with third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld during the Sunday night game. In Judge’s view, that move went a long way toward guaranteeing that Washington — and not New York — would capture the NFC East title, and in doing so give the Eagles a better first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
“Some people just didn’t like the decision, because they want to see Hurts in there, but at the end of the day, this game didn’t mean anything for us. We were still going home, so why not see who else you got out there?” Graham told 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia on Wednesday. “And if people have a problem with it, don’t put yourself in that position. The Giants, don’t put yourself in that position. Win your game.”
Graham, 32, also took issue with the comments of teammate Miles Sanders, who said that “nobody liked the decision” to play Sudfeld. Graham also dismissed the notion of players getting bent out of shape over the decision.
“Miles, I don’t think he was on the sideline or anything,” Graham said. “He probably didn’t hear coach when he was talking about other guys getting the opportunity.
“People that were getting restrained, I didn’t see that all. That must’ve been fake news, what they call it. Like us as a defense, we went out there trying to win for Coach (Jim) Schwartz.”
The Eagles (4-11-1) ultimately dropped a 20-14 decision to Washington. As a result, they landed the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
