One of NFL’s most respected voices praises Eagles HC Doug Pederson

Following a Week 15 win, one of the NFL’s most respected voices took some time to show Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson a little love.

He’s weathered a firestorm of criticism throughout the 2019 regular season, but following a Week 15 win, some of the constant assault has calmed. There are a ton of reasons why the Philadelphia Eagles have underachieved, but while some of those reasons are valid, injuries and a lack of execution in key spots by important players, for instance, no one will allow Doug Pederson or his team to use those reasons as excuses.

Two straight wins over divisional opponents have put the Eagles in position to win the NFC East with a Week 16 win over the Dallas Cowboys. It won’t be easy. Dallas has won four straight meetings, three that the Eagles tried to win (they sat their starters in Week 17 of 2017’s season), but be that as it may, Philly’s looking to end the streak.

On the Monday following Philly’s Week 15 win, Peter King, in his weekly Football Morning in America column named Coach Pederson as his Coach of the Week.

Here’s a quote:

"Doug Pederson, head coach, Philadelphia. Playing with a crew dominated by backups, the Eagles’ offense, sputtering for much of the year, scored 60 points in its last 86 minutes between the Monday night comeback over the Giants and the Sunday beatdown of Washington on the road. Philly scored the last 20 points in a 23-17 overtime win over the Giants, then put up 37 in the win at Eagle-crazy FedEx. Pederson and offensive coordinator Mike Groh deserve credit for getting a bunch of green Eagles to play big in playoff-type games in December."

Now, the goals are simple. Win this next game versus the Cowboys. Then, take care of business versus the New York Giants in Week 17. If the ‘Birds’ do that, they’ll reach the postseason.

We can argue all day about their chances, but here’s one thing that we can agree on. Carson Wentz can use the playoff experience. One of the most important games of his young NFL career and one of the most important games of Pederson’s coaching career is one the horizon.