Eagles’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson calls out Saints after handing former team first loss: ‘Top what?’ Sep 22, 2024

C.J. Gardner-Johnson spent his first three NFL seasons with New Orleans, but he gave no love to his former club after the Philadelphia Eagles came back to beat the Saints, 15-12, in Week 3.

“Listen, we keep receipts,” Gardner-Johnson said. “What’d I tell y’all in the locker room? See y’all Sunday. … They got rid of me. I ain’t get rid of them. They’re still in me. It’s still tatted on me. I ain’t worried.”

Gardner-Johnson and the Eagles defense harassed the Saints most of the game, which was a big statement for a unit that was less than dominant in the first two games of the season. The Eagles were stunned in Week 2 when the Falcons marched down the field for the game-winning touchdown.

The Saints, meanwhile, rolled into Sunday’s game as the NFL’s highest-scoring team, with 91 points. The Eagles held them to three points until the fourth quarter and 12 all game, as New Orleans had trouble getting in rhythm all game, totaling only 219 yards.

Naturally, Gardner-Johnson saw the opportunity to take a shot at the league’s supposedly top-rated offense.

“Top what? Top what? Top what? Top what? Top what? Ain’t nothing get over that top,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Shoutout to (Darius) Slay, shoutout to (Quinyon Mitchell), shoutout to Avonte (Maddox), shoutout to Reed (Blankenship), shoutout to (Kelee) Ringo, shoutout coach (Christian Parker), shoutout coach (Joe Kasper). Best secondary in the league, that’s the case.”

Derek Carr had only 59 pass yards entering the fourth quarter. He led field-goal and TD drives in the final 10 minutes but threw a game-ending pick to the Eagles’ Blankenship after Saquon Barkley’s TD had put them ahead for good.

Carr was 2-of-5 passing for 56 yards and the interception on deep shots (20-plus yards downfield), according to Next Gen Stats.

“They didn’t go over our head all day. … It’s cool,” Gardner-Johnson said. “We’ve got the best secondary, best D-line, best front seven in the league right now, and I’m popping it. I’m popping it because at the end of the day, they’re saying we was down and out, going by last week. Now, look atcha now.”

Gardner-Johnson also wasn’t afraid to call out his former team for the way they played, accusing the Saints of “playing dirty” and calling them “front-runners.” He singled out Saints defensive tackle Khristian Boyd’s blind-side tackle on Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith, calling it “a cheap shot” and “the dirtiest s— I ever saw in football.”

Smith left the game after the fourth-quarter hit and was evaluated for a concussion.

But Gardner-Johnson wasn’t finished. He spent most of the time talking postgame about his defense’s performance and also about how the Saints weren’t as good in his mind as everyone else seemed to make them out to be.

“Everybody was saying we’re coming in against the No. 1 team and all this, man,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Listen, at the end of the day, it’s football. It’s only Week 2. How are you the best offense or best team if there’s only been two weeks played? S—, we got what, 17, 16 weeks to go?

“So at the end of the day, we had to just tune out the noise, understand who we were and go out there and play Eagle ball, and that’s what happened.”