C.J. Gardner-Johnson calls Saints' hit on DeVonta Smith "dirtiest" he's ever seen
An emotional victory for the Philadelphia Eagles over the New Orleans Saints Sunday didn't come without a price. The Eagles lost several players with injuries during the 15-12 win, the biggest being DeVonta Smith.
Smith was knocked out with a concussion and stayed on the ground for several minutes after officials were reluctant to blow the whistle at the end of a play. As several Saints defenders pulled Smith back, defensive tackle Khristian Boyd came at Smith's blindside and knocked him down.
While it appeared Boyd was going after Smith's shoulder pads in the collision, Philadelphia's starting safety, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, didn't see it that way.
"Man, that's the dirtiest s--- I ever saw in football, bro," Gardner-Johnson told reporters. "Y'all obviously saw that forward progression was stopped. And for them to take a cheap shot on one of our key guys, it shows what kind of team that is. They're front-runners."
The official not blowing the whistle when Smith was dragged back by several defenders instigated the Boyd hit, but that was one of several plays that put the Saints defense into question. Offensive tackle Trevor Penning received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after blocking Darius Slay past the sideline and into the bleachers where the players sit. Slay was injured on the play.
All the Eagles could discuss was Smith's injury and his well being. Boyd was not given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
"I'd seen him (knocked) out, and that's when I waved to the training staff, like he's out cold. It was scary," offensive tackle Fred Johnson, who filled in for Lane Johnson in the second half, said. "You never want to see (something) like that, especially on a play where he catches the ball, and he's running backwards for like five steps."
"It's on the refs to call that play dead, and take the necessary action when he's hit late," he said. "DeVonta's size, and so a lineman hitting him after five steps of him catching the ball, it's unprofessional. They're going to look at it and see that they need to take necessary actions."
The Eagles weren't happy about what happened, even though Boyd reached out on Instagram wishing Smith well. Boyd said he would never "deliberately try to give someone a serious injury."
"Either way it goes, man, that got no place (in) football," Gardner-Johnson said. "You always talk about CD this, CD this, but let's talk about playing dirty on their side. At the end of the day, the league will handle it."