Just after Jordan Matthews half-high-stepped his way into the end zone to cap a 78-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, the Eagles’ receiver celebrated.
He threw a few fake punches, tossed his fists in the air and jumped up and down a la Rocky. It was a fine celebration, well choreographed, well executed.
But it came with the Eagles down three scores. And that didn’t sit too well with plenty of fans watching the eventual 40-17 loss.
Sitting alone at his locker after the game, Matthews defended his celebration.
“It was 14 minutes [left] in the game, so I don’t know who is mad about that,” he said. “If you think we’re out of the game with 14 minutes left, then you don’t watch football. You know what I’m saying?
“I’m trying to get my guys motivated. You want us to score and just walk off? No. There’s been times in games where, you know, it’s definitely been out of reach, there hasn’t been much time left and I’ve scored and I’ve handed the ball right back to the ref. I’m smart, you know. I understand the flow of the game. But there’s 14 minutes left in a football game in the defining point of the season in December. So if I score and just go to the sideline, that doesn’t do anything for anybody on my team.”
Matthews’ touchdown and the subsequent extra point made the score 37-17 with 14:43 left in the game. The Eagles got the ball just two more times after the touchdown. One drive ended with a turnover on downs; the other ended with an interception.
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The 78-yard touchdown catch was the longest catch of Matthews’ career and his 159-yard performance was the best of his career too. Matthews had just 149 combined yards in his previous five games.
Earlier on Sunday, the Giants were down 35-14 early in the fourth quarter against the undefeated Panthers. They ended up losing the game, but did briefly tie it at 35-35.
So, it was unlikely the Eagles were going to come back down 20 points in the fourth quarter, but not impossible. Matthews, who is pretty reserved for an NFL receiver, took the time to explain his position late on Sunday night.
And he wasn’t worried about the perception from fans or anyone else.
“I don’t worry about perception. That’s whatever,” Matthews said. “We’re out there on the field. Me and these guys gotta go to battle. If somebody does something and they’re going to celebrate to get everybody going, that’s what we’re going to do. There’s a time and place for everything. If there’s two minutes left in the game and it’s out of reach, of course you’re going to walk back to the sideline. It was the beginning of the fourth quarter. … I think I’ve seen teams come back in those situations. We weren’t able to do it today, but we’ll find a way to get these next two.”