Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith left Sunday’s game early with a concussion after a hit from New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Khristian Boyd. Former Saints standout C.J. Gardner-Johnson, since traded to Philly, didn’t hold back after the game.
Gardner-Johnson called that play the “the dirtiest (expletive) I ever saw in football, bro. Y’all obviously saw forward progression was stopped. For them to take a cheap shot on one of our key players, it goes to show what type of team that is.”
Gardner-Johnson has his own history with the New Orleans Saints that likely plays a part into at least his assessment of the team as a whole.
Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata was more measured in his response, though like his teammate he called it a dirty play. Mailata was admittedly conflicted on whether Boyd was setting out to deliver a cheap shot: “Did I think it was dirty? Yeah. Did I think it was intentional? No — ah, I don’t (expletive) know. I’ve got to watch it.” Boyd, of course, maintained he was just playing football and not looking to injure Smith. Mailata acknowledged that the defensive tackle was trying to make a play.
The truth of it all is the play could have been avoided, but it was a bang-bang play. Boyd shouldn’t be considered dirty for this play. It looked like he was genuinely trying to deliver a big hit to close out the play. It wasn’t necessary, but it didn’t appear to be malicious either. You obviously wish Boyd would have pulled up, because it would have kept Smith from suffering this injury.
