Philadelphia Eagles Got Behind Their Leader In December
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
In a season that began with Super Bowl dreams, it was shattered by the harsh reality that is the NFL. Injuries happen and just that quick, a team that was picked to be there at the end, had to limp to the finish line. But it’s what happened in-between those struggles that proved Doug Pederson is one heck of a coach.
When the Philadelphia Eagles started losing players and games, the hardcore Eagles’ fans had to point the finger and their anger at someone. Well, it was Pederson who drew the short end of the stick. But through it all, he stayed the course, believed in his team and himself and found a way to drag the Eagles out of the dark abyss.
With fans calling for Pederson’s firing, he gathered his players and went on a remarkable four game-winning streak that resulted in another NFC East title and a playoff berth. What made this great for Pederson was what he had to endure. His starting wider receiver core was lost, he had to rely on 3rd and 4th stringers to help Carson Wentz. The defensive secondary was allowing all kinds of players to expose them week after week and the ground game was being led by a rookie in Miles Sanders and an unknown in Boston Scott.
Pederson stood his ground and did what he had to do to get his team in the best position possible. They had to run the table and that’s exactly what they did. Was it easy? No, even with the teams struggling in the NFC East, nothing is ever easy when it comes to playing all your rivals in a 4-week span.
But Pederson had his guys ready to go. One loss and the Philadelphia Eagles were possibly done and the job status of Doug Pederson could have been discussed at the end of the year, But they held tight, won out, and put themselves in a position for a shot at the Super Bowl.
In a season full of holes and mistakes, Pederson did what he had to do despite the criticism he faced eery week. Some of the faults were of his own doing but the 2019-20 season for the Philadelphia Eagles was a testament of strength by their leader.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
