Eagles' CJ Gardner-Johnson Should've Been Flagged For Taking Off His Helmet on Fourth-Down Stop

The Philadelphia Eagles nearly stunned the Falcons on Monday.

Philly safety CJ Gardner-Johnson made an incredible stop with five minutes left in the fourth quarter: absolutely stuffing Falcons running back Bijan Robinson on a fourth-and-1. 

It was the play of the night (at that point) as it forced Atlanta to give up the ball at the 50-yard line, with Philly up 18-15.

Gardner-Johnson, who is known for being intense, seemed to celebrate after stopping Robinson by throwing his helmet to the side. From every angle, it clearly seemed like CJGJ took off his helmet.

A nearby official almost penalized Gardner-Johnson as his helmet came off at the end of a play. However, Eagles teammates swarmed around, explaining to the ref that CJGJ's helmet fell off after clashing with the 215-lb. running back.

The Eagles successfully persuaded the official to pick up his flag. The penalty would have given Atlanta the first down, and the extra 15 yards gained would have put the Dirty Birds in a good position to either attempt a game-tying field goal or run down the clock for a potential game-winning touchdown drive (more on that later).

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Did he? Didn't he? 

That was the blazing question Monday night. Jake Elliott capped the series with a field goal, bumping the Eagles up to a 21-15 advantage.

OutKick NFL Senior Writer Armando Salguero also added that Gardner-Johnson did indeed remove his helmet, providing clear evidence of his actions… and that's how you know CJGJ did it.

The rest of the internet agreed with Mr. Salguero.

Philadelphia nearly got away with the win … until Kirk "Kirko Chainz" Cousins responded with a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive to put Atlanta back up 22-21. And the Falcons held on for the win.

Credit the Eagles for recognizing that Gardner-Johnson's foolish play could have cost them the game and for putting on an Oscar-winning performance to persuade the official, even if he was standing right before the player.

(Did Gardner-Johnson remove his helmet? Or did it fall off? Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com)

Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela