Philadelphia Eagles: Cowboys players respond to Doug Pederson’s comments
Earlier this week, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson made a bold statement ahead of Sunday night’s matchup.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson wasn’t messing around this week after the team took an ugly loss on the road against the Minnesota Vikings. Knowing his team didn’t live up to expectations, the veteran head coach was already moving on and looking towards next week’s matchup against the Eagles’ NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys.
Thankfully, Dallas lost last week to the New York Jets, which caused them to fall to 3-3, leaving the Eagles tied for first in the division. This week, both teams will meet though for sole possession of first place within the NFC East.
Knowing that the Eagles didn’t do well against Dallas last season, losing both games, Pederson is coming into Week 7 with a chip on his shoulder. As he remains confident in his team, though, he accidentally guaranteed a win by the Eagles this week by simply stating, “Our guys are gonna be ready to play, and we’re gonna win that football game.”
Although Pederson denies the fact he guaranteed a win on Sunday, the narrative still blew up on Monday morning. And eventually, the Dallas Cowboys caught wind of the statements on Monday, and select players decided to respond to what Doug Pederson said.
Select Cowboys respond
Cowboys’ cornerback Jourdan Lewis was the first to respond on Monday, as reporters asked him about the comments. “That’s fine, you’ve still got to face an opponent,” Lewis said, according to USA Today. “When you put your affirmations out there so confidently, you feel like it means something way more than it’s already supposed to mean.”
Lewis wasn’t the only player from Dallas to acknowledge the comments. Second-year wide receiver Michael Gallup decided to take more of a confident approach, and do a little smack-talking back towards the Eagles. “If you need a coach, or anybody else, to fire you up, I don’t think you really should be playing,” Gallup says.
Clearly, the Cowboys locker room took Doug Pederson’s alleged ‘guarantee’ and are using it as bulletin board material for this week’s matchup on Sunday Night Football. While this game isn’t necessarily a ‘must-win’ for the Eagles, they could be in some big trouble if they do fall to Dallas for the third game in a row.