Controversial Hit Overshadows Stellar Outing by Seahawks' Jadeveon Clowney

PHILADELPHIA – Starting off their second offensive drive, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz took the snap and looked to hit running back Miles Sanders on a screen as he snuck behind a caravan of linemen.

But the Seahawks defense wasn’t fooled, as defensive tackle Poona Ford alertly picked up Sanders out of the backfield, forcing Wentz to pump fake and roll to his right. With the play dead in the water, the fourth-year signal caller tucked the ball away and scrambled hoping to simply get back to the line of scrimmage.

On a play that altered Sunday’s wild card matchup dramatically, Wentz dove forward as he was tackled by safety Bradley McDougald. Running full steam ahead in pursuit, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney flew in from behind with what appeared to be a late hit, launching himself shoulder pad-first into the quarterback’s back and appearing to make helmet-to-helmet contact.

The Carson Wentz head injury happened on this hit by Jadeveon Clowney pic.twitter.com/08VrYddOTV
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 5, 2020

Officials didn’t throw a flag for unnecessary roughness, drawing the ire of a passionate home crowd as well as Wentz’s teammates. Moments later, Wentz departed the sideline for the locker room with a concussion, forcing the Eagles to move forward with 40-year old backup Josh McCown.

Over the next three quarters, boos rained down from the crowd any time his name was called and the “worst fans in the world” as Clowney coined them took it way too far expressing their vitriol through threatening posts on his personal Instagram account. As he waved to fans coming off the field, the angry jeers persisted.

Jadeveon Clowney ladies & gentleman 😤😤😤@clownejd x #SEAvsPHI pic.twitter.com/5BsrUwlwBf
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) January 6, 2020

Discussing the play in the locker room after the game, Clowney reiterated numerous times that his intent wasn’t to injure Wentz and he hoped the quarterback was okay.

“I didn’t see anything. I was just playing fast and he turned like he was running the ball, so I was trying to get him down. It was a bang-bang play. 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.”

When pressed about why Clowney wasn’t penalized by a pool reporter, referee Shawn Smith explained the decision not to throw a flag.

"[Wentz] was a runner, and he did not give himself up. We saw incidental helmet contact, and in our judgment, we didn't rule that to be a foul."

Among the many Eagles players who didn’t agree with that explanation and felt the hit warranted at least a 15-yard penalty, left tackle Jason Peters told reporters he confronted Clowney on the field after witnessing a replay.

"He was mouthing, I was mouthing back at him,” Peters said. “I just told him, 'Man, that's a dirty play.’ And he's like, 'My bad,' and we just kept playing.”

Unfortunately, the questionable hit overshadowed an otherwise stellar effort by Clowney, who bounced back after a quiet outing against the 49ers in the season finale. Playing through a core injury, Clowney rarely left the field on Sunday, finishing with five tackles, two tackles for loss, and a late sack on McCown to help thwart a Philadelphia scoring drive.

After sitting out most of the practice week to manage his injury and rest up for game day, coach Pete Carroll indicated the rejuvenated, disruptive Clowney “felt the best he’s felt in a while,” setting the tone for the entire Seahawks defensive line while playing over 80 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.

“He really was on fire. His impact with the rest of the guys and the way he was playing – I don’t know if it was all in his numbers,” Carroll said. “I think he had a sack, but it was just the way he was competing in this game. His mentality was really there.”

It's evident based on the simple fact Clowney has to have his workload monitored so carefully that he’s far from 100 percent healthy. Due to the nature of his injury, it wouldn’t be safe to assume his body will respond as it did last week after an increased workload and his condition will continue to be evalua by day.

But Sunday was the first time in weeks where Clowney made a substantial impact in the trenches for Seattle, an excellent sign heading into a tough divisional matchup. If he can replicate his performance against the Packers, the Seahawks will have much better odds at pulling the upset and winning at Lambeau Field for the first time since 1999.