Alshon Jeffery played through broken ribs in loss to Saints

Teammates had Alshon Jeffery’s back despite his mistake costing the Philadelphia Eagles in their 20-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

Jeffery let a pass go through his hands, leading to an interception for the Saints in the final two minutes of the game, helping them clinch the victory. After his mistake, Jeffery was consoled by Nick Foles and Doug Pederson on the sideline. Teammate Lane Johnson wanted to further defend Jeffery and told the media that the wide receiver was playing through broken ribs.

Lane Johnson said Alshon Jeffery played through broken ribs. #Eagles

— Martin Frank (@Mfranknfl) January 14, 2019

Adding context to #Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery’s day. He played today’s game with cracked ribs, which teammate Lane Johnson disclosed to reporters. An MRI earlier in the week revealed the injury, but he played through it. Jeffery also hung tough answering every question post-game

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 14, 2019

Jeffery never once mentioned he was playing hurt. He did not shy from the media after the loss. He took all the responsibility for his error. He responded like a winner even after losing.

Jeffery does not need to feel badly; without him, the Eagles wouldn’t have won it all last season.