Wild Card Sunday is here. Before the Eagles take on the Packers, here are five thoughts I currently have about the Birds...
Which Eagles EDGE rusher will step up against Jordan Love and the Packers?
There's a single defensive player on the Eagles who remains a holdover from that iconic Super Bowl-winning squad: Brandon Graham. Unfortunately for both Graham and the Birds, the franchise legend's season came to an end against the Rams back in November with a triceps tear. It might ultimately be a career-ender, too, given that Graham had said frequently that 2024 would be a farewell tour.
Which pass-rusher will carry the torch in the postseason with Graham sidelined?
It all leaves the Birds' defense with a weird mix amongst this crew.
Graham had 13 Eagles playoff games to his name. Now the elder statesman is Josh Sweat, who wasn't even a guarantee to be on the roster this season and isn't a three-down player. Sweat is in age-27 season and is the lone active EDGE rusher on the NFC champion team two years ago and had a bit of a bounce back campaign in 2024, registering eight sacks. Nolan Smith has thrived after a lackluster rookie campaign, putting up 6.5 sacks and nearly tripling the amount of snaps he played this season compared to last. Jalyx Hunt was anticipated to have a de facto red shirt year as a raw Day 2 pick out of Houston Christian, but Hunt has played his way onto the field with a ferocious motor and has even overtaken big-money free agent signing Bryce Huff, who still appears quite low in the pecking order after returning from a long injury absence.
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They'll be trying to take down Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who was sacked just 14 times this season. His sack rate of 3.19 percent was the third-lowest mark in the league. Love was sacked just once in the Eagles' Week 1 win over Green Bay in Brazil. With the contest turning from São Paulo to South Philadelphia this time, the Birds will be hoping to pressure Love and the Packers even more.
Who will step up? I'll go out on a limb and say Hunt, going on with the team's "Let's Hunt" playoff social media mantra, has a sack in his first ever playoff game.
That's before even getting into the way interior rushers Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams will be relied upon, too.
Lane Johnson should've been named First-Team All-Pro. Should Jordan Mailata have been too?
All-Pro voting was released this week,. Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson was a Second-Team selection. That was Johnson's third Second-Team nod. He has also been named to the All-Pro First-Team twice, really building up his Hall of Fame case.
Johnson was beaten out for the First-Team RT spot by Detroit's Penei Sewell.
This, in turn, popped up in the Eagles' locker room this week:
Sewell is an incredible player and, just two seasons into his career, already feels destined to be fitted for a gold jacket one day, but for 2024 at least, Johnson was the choice at right tackle.
As an added note: Jordan Mailata was probably better than Johnson this year at OT and also named to the All-Pro Second-Team behind First-Team left tackle selection Tristan Wirfs from Tampa Bay. Mailata was PFF's No.1 tackle this year. Wirfs played in 16 of 17 games compared to Mailata at 12, so if that was the deciding factor, I get it, but heading into the postseason, the Eagles still probably have the best LT and RT in the NFL.
Saquon Barkley's history in the playoffs
Eagles superstar running back Saquon Barkley has just two career playoff games to his name after spending his first six pro seasons playing with a laughingstock Giants franchise. They both came following the 2022 season. In New York's upset Wild Card win over Minnesota, Barkley rushed for just 53 yards, but did so at 5.9 yards per carry and added two touchdowns on the ground. In the Giants' next game, they ran into a great Eagles defense that held Barkley to just 61 yards on the ground in a 38-7 thrashing at the Linc.
So, that's 114 career rushing yards in the postseason. There's a good chance Barkley beats that number outright against Green Bay.
The coldest Eagles game I ever attended
It should be in the mid-30s on Sunday when the Birds and Packers kickoff. That has me thinking. What's the coldest Eagles game I can recall being in the house for?
Not counting anything where I've sat in the press box, but in my pre-journalism days, the coldest I remember being was the Christmas Day game in 2017 against Oakland. Freezing. On pro-football-reference, they list it as 29 degrees with 15 MPH winds at kickoff. The years have made it seem even colder in retrospect. The fact that it was a miserable game the Birds nearly lost as they looked to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC only added to things.
Bundle up if you're tailgating and/or heading to the Linc for the Wild Card Round!
Was the 'Nest of Death' ever an Eagles fan nickname at Veterans Stadium?
Let's end with something a bit more esoteric. Friday and Saturday were my scheduled off days this week. I spent a lot of time watching old Eagles playoff games from the Andy Reid era on YouTube, harkening back to my childhood. I watched the following games in full:
• 2001 Wild Card Round against Tampa Bay
• 2001 Divisional Round against Chicago
• 2002 Divisional Round against Atlanta
• 2003 Divisional Round against Green Bay
When watching that matchup with Michael Vick and the Falcons, the FOX broadcast team described the old 700 Level at Veterans Stadium as the "Nest of Death," something I have never once in my life heard.
No shot. That sounded like more anti-Philadelphia propaganda from the mainstream sports media to me!
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