Philadelphia Eagles: Former officiating VP calls Clowney hit ‘cheap shot’

Twice in two games versus teams that had Jadeveon Clowney on the roster, his uncontrolled play resulted in injuries to Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks, and finally, someone has taken notice.

This isn’t the way that it was supposed to be. Had Carson Wentz finished the Philadelphia Eagles first Wild Card Game with him under center, people would have been able to stomach a playoff loss, but that didn’t happen. As a matter of fact, the Eagles’ offense never really got going.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. After everything the Eagles had battled through, they had earned the chance to play a postseason game with Wentz. Now, that will have to wait. Eagles fans are ticked and for good reason.

This is the second time in two seasons that the ‘Birds’ have played a team that had Jadeveon Clowney on the roster. Last season, it was the Houston Texans and Clowney stuck the crown of his helmet into Nick Foles‘ chest. That resulted in a fine later, but Foles was able to finish the game. You just saw what happened in the first round of the playoffs this season.

This time Clowney stuck the crown of his helmet into the back of Wentz’s head. This time, Philly’s signal-caller was ruled out. This time, no flag was thrown. This time, Philly’s signal-caller couldn’t continue. Everyone’s still waiting on the news about a fine.

In both instances, Clowney’s lack of discipline could have resulted in Eagles’ losses. The first time, Philly prevailed, but as mentioned earlier, what’s most frustrating about this most recent instance is this. We’ll never know how the game would have turned out if Wentz played.

Then, there’s another component to this story. This is an Eagles fan base that had to watch their team play an NFC Championship Game versus a Carolina Panthers team that ended Philly’s chances at playing for Super Bowl. Philly lost their quarterback in that one too, when Donovan McNabb took a late hit after clearly going down. No one will ever know how that might have turned out had he played either.

Recently, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating Mike Pereira appeared on both 94 WIP-FM’s Midday Show and on The Rich Eisen Show, and he was asked about Clowney’s hit on Wentz. Here’s what he said when speaking with former Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie and Joe DeCamara.

"Well I think really the main one to me is that you have a hit on a defenseless player. Wentz’s head is in the ground, he actually hits the ground about the same time as the contact occurs. I think it was a cheap shot and the reason that I base it with that, is on regular speed video not slow motion. Slow motion distorts everything. Listen, I don’t think Clowney tried to hurt anybody, but I do think he tries to punish him and that was my opinion of the play."

Those are the words of a man who called the game for years and then, led other NFL officials to ensure that they were doing their jobs appropriately. What else needs to be said after that? If the league offices don’t fine Clowney, changes need to be made.