Eagles’ Jordan Matthews Calls Out Patriots For ‘Disrespectful’ Drop Kick

There’s a reason the Philadelphia Eagles came out strong against New England after the Patriots’ attempted drop kick in the second quarter.

The Patriots were up 14-0 on Sunday after a Danny Amendola touchdown midway through the second frame when head coach Bill Belichick tried something a little out of the ordinary. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski pitched the kickoff to special-teamer Nate Ebner, who attempted a drop kick that the Eagles’ Seyi Ajirotutu jumped on at Philly’s 41-yard line.

The Eagles went on to score 35 unanswered points, and wide receiver Jordan Matthews provided a little context for that after the game.

“I don’t think anything surprises you with the Patriots,” Matthews said, per CSN Philly. “I mean, they ran like a triple reverse pass to Tom Brady, so nothing can really surprise you. But in a sense it is kind of like, man, you know, that’s disrespectful. They’re trying to go ahead and get the ball back that quickly so they can put points on us. We’ve got men in our locker room, too. …

“When a team’s trying to do that and trying to impose their will on us the way they were trying to, it was important for us to go out and score that next drive. And we were able to go do that.”

While it might be a little much for a team to be offended by its opponent trying to win, there’s no doubt the spark worked for the Eagles in their 35-28 victory over the Patriots. Plus, not everyone on the Eagles saw it as a need for revenge.

“They were pulling out all the stops,” tight end Zach Ertz said, per CSN Philly. “They have a lot of respect for us. Ultimately, it didn’t really work for them. (Ajirotutu) made a great play recovering the ball. It was kind of a surprise, but we kind of expected the unexpected against these guys.”

Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images