xavier mckinney giants eagles
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The young defensive back speaks out on the Eagles essentially throwing their Week 17 game against Washington in January.

A jaw-dropping moment.

A “you’ve got to be kidding me” type of feeling.

The Giants organization and its fans were surely unhappy when the Eagles replaced Jalen Hurts with Nate Sudfeld toward the conclusion of their Week 17 matchup with Washington. The decision essentially closed the door on Philly winning the then-close game, which meant the Giants would be missing the postseason.

In order for Big Blue to reach the playoffs, New York needed to defeat Dallas Week 17 and Philly needed to subsequently oust the Football Team. Thanks, in part, to a late interception from then-rookie safety Xavier McKinney, the Giants did their part. Philly, of course, did not.

And now months after the Eagles’ blunder, the man responsible for that crucial Big Blue pick is expressing his displeasure over the entire situation.

“I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t [still feel angry]. I’m not gonna lie,” McKinney told Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden on the “All Things Covered” podcast. “It was tough. That was my first pick…It was a winnable game for them.”

“I turn on the game and I start watching, and I’m like, ‘Damn, they’re just about to give it up.’ They gave it up. It was rough. It was rough to see it happen like that,” the 2020 second-round pick added.

McKinney isn’t the only Giant to have portrayed unhappiness toward Philadelphia’s decision.

Head coach Joe Judge displayed his strong opinion on the matter back in January.

“There’s a number of sacrifices that have been made by all the players and coaches in this league. There’s a number of sacrifices that come along as well with the family members of the people connected to them,” he said. “To disrespect the effort that everyone put forward to make this season a success for the National Football League; to disrespect the game by going out there and not competing for 60 minutes and doing everything you can to help those players win…we will never do that as long as I’m the head coach of the New York Giants.”

You can argue the decision to bench Hurts is partly what led to the firing of now-former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.

Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.