The Philadelphia Eagles were shocked in Week 15 by the Minnesota Vikings which led to a lot of frustration on the sidelines by players. The Eagles defense allowed three rushing touchdowns in the 48-30 loss while Nick Foles never appeared on the same page as his receivers. After a pass was intercepted, receiver DeSean Jackson blew up on the sidelines.
Minnesota's Shaun Prater intercepted a pass that was intended for Jackson. The receiver was open the entire play, but Prater picked it off at the Minnesota 5-yard line. Jackson was so frustrated he just tossed his arms into the air instead of attempting to tackle to defender who put up a 30-yard return before Riley Cooper brought him down. Jackson then went to the sidelines and was so upset that coaches and teammates had to hold him back.
"Frustration," Jackson said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's part of the game. I feel like I was open. I guess Nick wasn't able to see me right away. It took a little bit for the ball to get there."
Head coach Chip Kelly and wide receiver Jason Avant had to go over a calm Jackson down. The receiver did not have a good game in general. He had a rushing touchdown nullified earlier in the game after an illegal block penalty was called on Foles. After losing another score to an interception, Jackson had had enough.
"We had a lot riding on this game today," Jackson said. "In my eyes, I know how big of a game this was. That's why I was trying to do everything I can to win this game. There was a little bit of frustration here and there on the field."
Now all of his teammates are downplaying the sideline spat caught on camera. Jackson was targeted 16 times during the game, catching 10 for 195 yards and a score. However, it was the two missed opportunities that cost the Eagles the game and make their playoff chances even more cloudy. Kelly insists the team will work through things and the fight was merely a result of one bad game and not a bigger picture. Foles echoed those words saying he appreciated Jackson's passion and it was good for the team.
"DeSean is a competitor and he wears his emotions on his sleeve," Foles said. "He was frustrated with what was going on because he wants to win so badly and he wants to make plays so badly. I understand DeSean and I understand the frustration. You just let him cool down a little bit and then he is all right. He just has so much heart and passion that he wanted to make a play and I didn't put him in a good position. The one thing that I said to him out there was to stay with me. I am going to keep firing them at you and he stayed with me the whole game. We will have a better relationship because of it."
