The Washington Football Team won the NFC East and is heading to the playoffs, but not without controversy that had nothing to do with the franchise. In Washington's 20-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night, the Eagles pulled starting quarterback Jalen Hurts in the fourth quarter of a three-point game for Nate Sudfeld -- who hasn't thrown a pass since 2018.
Basically, Washington was handed the game by Philadelphia -- with the New York Giants needing Washington to lose to the Eagles to win the NFC East (with a 6-10 record). The Eagles, already having rested eight starters on the depth chart, had nothing to gain by winning the season finale.
Whether the Eagles violated the integrity of the game is up for debate. Washington head coach Ron Rivera fails to see any wrongdoing from Pederson and the Eagles -- and he's not apologizing for winning the game either.
"Well, honestly and truthfully, it honestly doesn't matter. You play whoever is out there. I'm not going to apologize for winning," Rivera said to reporters Monday. "Apparently, that's what everybody wants me to do is apologize for winning. I'm not going to. You play the game as it's set up. Nobody complained when Pittsburgh did what they did last night against Cleveland. I mean, come on. This is just the way it is."
Rivera mentioning the Steelers will generate some controversy, considering Pittsburgh started Mason Rudolph in the Week 17 finale where the No. 2 seed was still in play -- though the Steelers would have played on wild card weekend with a win anyway -- and the Cleveland Browns were needing a win to clinch a playoff berth. Cleveland edged Pittsburgh and clinched the berth, but the Steelers' action was at the expense of the Dolphins. Miami needed a win against Buffalo or a Cleveland, Indianapolis, or Baltimore loss to get a playoff berth. The Dolphins lost to the Bills and none of the other teams lost. Miami missed the playoffs at 10-6.
If Ben Roethlisberger plays, does Pittsburgh beat Cleveland? Does it matter?
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Rivera will stick up for Pederson -- who was quarterback for the Eagles in 1999 when Rivera was the linebackers coach -- and he certainly isn't going to tell another team how to run the franchise. If the Eagles won, they would have picked No. 9 in the draft. Instead, they'll pick No. 6, while Washington captured the NFC East title, becoming only the third team since the 2002 realignment to get in the playoffs with a losing record.
"We got into the playoffs. We're 7-9. I've been 7- 8-1 in the playoffs. I was on an 8-8 team that was in the playoffs. You don't apologize for getting into the playoffs. You apologize for losing in the playoffs, at least I believe you do," Rivera said. "But you don't apologize for getting in.
"It's been a hard role for us. Nobody seems to care about that. Nobody seemed to care two weeks ago when we didn't have some of our best players. Nobody cared last week when we didn't have them. So, why should we be concerned if a coach decides to do something he believes is best for his team?
"That's what I think people need to understand. This is just the way the game is played and the way a lot of things happen. A lot of people are happy about it, and a lot of people aren't happy about it. That's just tough. That's the way it is. So many things have happened in this world that are tough and are hard. This is just the game that we're playing, and we're going to play it as it comes to us. I'm not going to apologize. I'm not. That's just the way it is."
