Kliff Kingsbury congratulated Greg Ward for scoring on him, and here’s why (Video)

Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury fist-bumped Philadelphia Eagles wideout after his receiving touchdown, and here’s the reason why.

Week 15 featured an important NFC matchup between the Arizona Cardinals (7-6) and Philadelphia Eagles (4-8-1). The Cardinals are looking to hold onto the seventh-seed in the conference, while the Eagles aim to climb up the winnable NFC East. That makes it strange for a head coach to cheer on the other team in a game like this.

With the Cardinals leading 26-14 in the waning seconds of the second quarter, Eagles rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts connected with wide receiver Greg Ward for a five-yard touchdown. Following the score, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury rushed down the sidelines to give Ward a fist bump. But there’s a good reason for that.

According to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager, Kingsbury recruited Ward out of high school and the two have known each other for over 10 years. Hence why Kingsbury was happy to see the Eagles wideout score a touchdown.

A cool sign of respect by Kingsbury

While Cardinals fans were no doubt confused when seeing this initially, they can definitely understand why Kingsbury wanted to show his respect to Ward.

Prior to being a receiver for the Eagles, Ward was a three-star prospect who played both quarterback and wide receiver in high school. In 2013, Ward committed to the Houston, the program in which Kingsbury served as a quality control coach and quarterbacks coach (2008-2011).

Following his college career, Ward spent two stints with the Eagles, where he had immediate success, especially last season when Philadelphia’s entire starting offense was sidelined with injuries. In his two playing years in an Eagles uniform (prior to the Cardinals game), Ward recorded 74 receptions for 625 yards and five touchdowns. Ward does have a Super Bowl ring to his credit while serving as a member of Philadelphia’s practice squad in 2017.

Even though his lead got cut to six points, Kingsbury didn’t care, because he was happy to see the player he’s known for a decade score a touchdown.