Eagles Call Carson Wentz Hit Dirty, Jadeveon Clowney Says He Expects Death Threats for It

The Eagles suffered a huge blow during Sunday's NFC Wild-Card Game against the Seahawks when quarterback Carson Wentz exited with a head injury after being hit by Seattle defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

On a third-and-10 run with 6:59 to go in the first quarter, Wentz took a shot to the head when Clowney made contact with his helmet and upper back. Wentz left the game and did not return. Backup Josh McCown entered the matchup, which the Eagles lost 17–9 to the Seahawks.

After left tackle Jason Peters saw a replay of the hit, he confronted Clowney about it on the field.

"I checked Clowney about it," Peters said, per ESPN. "He was mouthing, I was mouthing back at him. ...I just told him, 'Man, that's a dirty play.' And he's like, 'My bad,' and we just kept playing.

"I just kept reminding him, 'Man, stay off my quarterback.' "

Clowney said he was not trying to hurt Wentz.

"It was a bang-bang play," Clowney said. "I don't intend to hurt anybody in this league, let me just put that out there. I've been down the injury road; it's not fun. My intention was not to hurt him. I was just playing fast."

However, Clowney admitted that he expects to hear from Eagles fans about the hit.

"There might be death threats," he said and also called fans at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field "the worst fans in the world."

No penalty was assessed on the play, and NFL referee Shawn Smith explained the decision after the game.

"He was a runner and he did not give himself up," Smith said of the hit. "We saw incidental contact, and in our judgment, we didn't rule that to be a foul."

Players inside Philadelphia's locker room didn't agree with Smith.

"I thought it was late," said tight end Zach Ertz. "I kinda knew something was wrong right away–just the way he got up. Devastated for my guy. Really tough.

"I mean, it's a quarterback hit to the head. But it is what it is. I'm sure there was somebody in the way or something. They're doing everything they can to protect players, and I'm sure there's a reason they didn't call it."