It’s that time of year again: Eagles fans take out all of their frustrations on the Christmas spirit, à la the infamous game in 1968 when they threw snowballs at Santa Claus.
After losing 33-13 to the Cowboys on Sunday, surrendering sole possession of first place in the NFC East and control of their playoff destiny, fanatics urged offensive tackle Jordan Mailata to stop singing Christmas carols. They’re referring to the charitable follow-up Christmas album recorded by Mailata, Lane Johnson, and Jason Kelce.
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Asked about the comments on the “Marks and Reese” show on 94WIP, Mailata couldn’t help but laugh.
“That was hilarious. I’ve been in Philly a long time, so I knew that was going to come around, I ain’t going to lie to you,” he said. “When it did, I was like, ah, you kind of manifested it. But that was funny, I ain’t gonna lie. That was funny.
“Philly is a prideful city, and they feel like they’re out there with us on the field. So, I get it, I totally get it.”
The Eagles drafted Mailata in the seventh round in 2018. He made his NFL debut in 2020, appearing in 58 games (53 starts) since then. After getting acclimated to the pace of the game in his rookie season, he’s been one of the best tackles in football, raking in the top 10 among tackles, according to Pro Football Focus — his 82.5 player grade this season, ranks fifth among 84 players at his position.
Mailata isn’t one to shy away when he makes a mistake. In the Eagles’ 28-23 win over the Cowboys in November, he admitted that Jalen Hurts cursed him out after missing a block.
“We have a high standard,” Mailata said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “And tonight, first half, didn’t reach our standard. … He let me know because we have that relationship where he can yell at me and cuss at me, tell me what he really thinks because I am not going to take offense to it.”
Mailata certainly didn’t take offense to fans urging him to stop singing either.
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Manuel Gomez may be reached at [email protected].
