Eagles veteran taking jab at Patrick Mahomes, blaming turf after Super Bowl loss is weak
By Jerry Trotta
The consensus among NFL media is that the Dallas Cowboys closed the gap on the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.
That better be the case after the Eagles clinched the NFC's top seed with a 14-3 record and waltzed their way to the Super Bowl. Luckily for Cowboys fans, Philly's magical season ended in gutting fashion as they squandered a 10-point halftime lead against the Kansas City Chiefs en route to a 38-35 loss.
The Cowboys community owes Patrick Mahomes and Co. a debt of gratitude for preventing the Eagles from winning their second title in six years.
Still, until proven otherwise, the Birds are the class of the conference and NFC East. They're in a position where they can talk trash on every team not named the Chiefs. The other 30 teams in the league are fair game.
It appears that's clear to everyone but the Eagles, as veteran Brandon Graham took a shot at Mahomes (of all people!), insinuating that the regular season MVP and Super Bowl MVP exaggerated his ankle injury in the final game.
Cowboys fans will laugh at Eagles' Brandon Graham calling out Patrick Mahomes
"(Patrick) went in there on the sideline (and) he's looking like he's hurt," Graham said last week on JAKIB Sports' "Sports Take" podcast. "Get him, we gotta get to him. And he came out, you can tell how tough he is but that boy acted good. He sure put that face up like (he was hurting)."
It's unclear if Graham was speaking for the entire Eagles locker room, but this is an interesting take from the 35-year-old pass rusher.
Mahomes suffered what was later diagnosed as a high-ankle sprain in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Jaguars.
It's an extremely painful injury that typically sidelines players multiple weeks. He played through the injury and looked relatively healthy in the Super Bowl until the second quarter when Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards rolled up the ankle on a open field tackle, forcing the QB to limp to the sidelines in visible pain.
Mahomes didn't miss a snap and played some of the best football of his career in the second half, going 13-of-14 for 93 yards and two touchdowns (133.9 passer rating). He didn't play like a QB who tweaked his already-injured ankle, but it's incredibly weak of Graham to pose the idea that Mahomes acted or dramatized the injury.
Almost as weak as blaming the turf for the Eagles' zero-sack performance.
"I'm telling you, that O-line, boy, they got blessed. I'll say that," Graham said. "When we looked at the film, there was a couple of times where if Sweaty (Josh Sweat) don't slip, boy, strip-sack. Especially that first drive, that first drive where he threw it across the middle to (Travis) Kelce. He was right there, man, he slipped. We could not believe it."
"When we looked at the film, when I finally looked at it like, man, oh man. We gonna get that on the get-back. It's coming back. That's coming back but, like I said, credit to Kansas City -- it's all love. Them boys, they played, too."
The Super Bowl was four months ago and Graham is still complaining about the turf as if only one team had to navigate it.
It's duly noted that the loss will stick with Eagles and Graham for a long time -- likely until the start of next season -- but the team has not handled the defeat graciously.
Playful or not, calling out a clearly-injured player and blaming the turf for not getting home at said injured player is as pathetic as it gets.