LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — The heated rivalry between the Eagles and Commanders boiled over in the fourth quarter Saturday night, when three players were ejected after a fight broke out among several members of both teams in the aftermath of Saquon Barkley’s 2-point conversion that increased Philadelphia’s lead to 19 points with about 4 1/2 minutes left.
Two players on Washington’s defense — lineman Javon Kinlaw and safety Quan Martin — and one Eagles player — offensive lineman Tyler Steen — were disqualified after being flagged for unnecessary roughness during the brawl in the 29-18 victory that allowed Philadelphia to clinch a second NFC East title in a row.
There was some punching, a ton of pushing and shoving, and a lot of jawing, too, as the scrum spread across the grass. Six flags were thrown by officials as the chaos ensued.
“I guess it was a theme. … The fans were fighting … and I guess it carried over to the game. It’s chippy out there, and we have a lot of history with this team, especially since I’ve been here,” said Barkley, who gained 132 yards on 21 carries and scored a touchdown. “This team don’t like us. It’s just the truth. And we don’t like them, either.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn didn’t directly answer the question when he was asked at his postgame news conference whether it was disrespectful for the Eagles to go for 2 after the late TD in a lopsided game.
But Quinn did issue something that sounded akin to a warning, noting that these NFC East rivals meet on Jan. 4 in Philadelphia to close the season.
“If that’s how they want to get down, all good,” Quinn said. “We’ll play them again in two weeks.”
When Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner was asked a question about respect, too, this is what he had to say: “It is what it is, Bro. I don’t care. Is it disrespectful? Maybe. But we’ve still got to stop them. That’s how I look at it.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he was not running up the score and considered his decision a simple case of numbers, preferring a 19-point lead to an 18-point edge.
“We wanted to make sure we went up that way, just in case. That was what our math told us in that particular case,” Sirianni said. “It’s a division game. It’s always back-and-forth. … That’s the team we played in the NFC championship game last year. I know how badly they wanted to beat us. I know how badly we wanted to beat them. We’ve always got to keep our cool in moments like that. But that’s NFC East football. … They’ve got tough guys. We’ve got tough guys.”
Eventually, when order was restored, and Wagner, Barkley and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts spoke with each other on the field.
Barkley said later Wagner made a point that the Eagles running back understood: “Hopefully you don’t break your hand just to say you’re a tough guy. It’s not really worth it. And you lose a lot of money” because of fines.
“We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be smarter,” Barkley said. “I’ve got to be smarter. I shouldn’t put myself in that situation. It’s really not worth it.”
Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin understood why Eagles coach Nick Sirianni decided to go for 2 there. And like his teammate Wagner, McLaurin was not offended.
“Eagles vs. Commanders, man. That’s how it goes. … There’s a lot of history, obviously. They were beating us. They’re not going to throw in the towel. They’re not going to take it easy on us. They were going for 2 to bury us. As a team, it’s not like you’re going to tell them, ‘Don’t go for 2.’ We have to stop them,” McLaurin said. “I don’t really take any bad blood from what they did, but you don’t want to see the game get out of hand and guys possibly getting hurt. It comes with this rivalry between us and them. I don’t think that will ever change, to be honest.”
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