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While Cris Collinsworth has become a household name among NFL fans, the former receiver turned media member isn’t the most popular guy around. Taking a look at Twitter during Sunday Night Football will confirm that reality: you’ll see complaints about him repeating “here’s a guy,” criticisms of his analysis, and just about everything in between. During Week 17’s Philadelphia Eagles-New York Giants game, though, Collinsworth earned some rare praise.

In the fourth quarter, Eagles coach Doug Peterson made a bizarre quarterback change, benching Jalen Hurts for Nate Sudfeld. While Cris Collinsworth never accused Philadelphia of tanking, he still called out the decision before the final whistle.

Cris Collinsworth isn’t the most popular broadcaster around

While calling football games on TV may seem like a pretty sweet gig, there is one major downside to the job: talking for three hours on live television each week will open you up to plenty of criticism. Cris Collinsworth has experienced that reality firsthand.

After wrapping up his playing career with the Cincinnati Bengals, Collinsworth broke into the media. He eventually made it to NBC, where, in 2009, he replaced the legendary John Madden in the Sunday Night Football booth. As you might imagine, that move has put him in the social media spotlight.

If online commentary is anything to go by, NFL fans love Collinsworth’s signature ‘slide’ into the broadcast booth. After that, though, things seem to go downhill. The color commentator tends to repeat “here’s a guy” throughout the game, which can irritate some listeners; others feel he’s too positive about certain players or like he holds a grudge against certain clubs.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback change stole all the headlines on Sunday Night

Under normal circumstances, every week of NFL action will produce at least a few questionable decisions. In Week 17, however, one stole the show: the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback change.

For a bit of context, the Eagles were hosting the Washington Football Team on Sunday Night Football. While Philly was already eliminated from playoff contention, the game still mattered. If Washington won, they took the division title; if Washington lost, the New York Giants would make the playoffs.

Early in the fourth quarter, though, Eagles coach Doug Pederson pulled Jalen Hurts and put Nate Sudfeld into the game at quarterback. That move, in effect, surrendered the game; Sudfeld only completed five passes, in addition to throwing an interception and losing a fumble, as Philadelphia fell 14-20.

While the immediate assumption was that the Eagles were tanking—losing the game slightly improved their draft position—Pederson insisted that wasn’t the case. In his postgame press conference, he explained that he was coaching to win and had been planning to give Sudfeld some snaps.

Cris Collinsworth earned some rare praise by criticizing the Eagles’ move

By the end of a Sunday Night Football game, social media is usually skewering Cris Collinsworth for something that he said. After Week 17, though, he actually earned a bit of praise for his comments about the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback change.

“I just couldn’t have done what Philadelphia did,” Collinsworth said in the game’s dying moments. “I just simply could not have done it. You’ve got men out there who are fighting their guts out, trying to win the game, and I’m not blaming anybody. I, personally, could not have done what they did.”

While Collinsworth never directly accused the Eagles and Doug Pederson of tanking, the implications of his statement were clear. Al Michaels agreed, noting that Philadelphia made their quarterback change during a three-point game, not a meaningless blowout.

Although he’s usually criticized for being too positive, those comments earned Cris Collinsworth some praise for calling things how he saw them.

“Credit to Cris Collinsworth for eviscerating the Eagles organization for what we’ve seen tonight,” Todd Fuhrman tweeted. Former quarterback Dan Orlovsky also chimed in simply tweeting, “Well said @CollinsworthPFF.”

By the letter of the law, the Philadelphia Eagles did nothing wrong on Sunday night. The fact that their decision is indirectly earning Cris Collinsworth praise, however, tells you everything you need to know about how NFL fans feel about it.

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Joe Kozlowski

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie.

Growing up loving Shaquille O’Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he’s continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives.

As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He’s barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe’s big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level.

Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.