Philadelphia Eagles: Well at least Lane Johnson had a good day

Well, you can’t blame Lane Johnson for another Philadelphia Eagles loss.

After an implosion in Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season, there wasn’t a Philadelphia Eagles fan on the planet that wasn’t checking every single injury report to see what Lane Johnson‘s status was for Week 2. He had been saying that he was going to play, but when he first said it, there weren’t any team physicians or actual reports that were saying the same thing.

Philly released their final status report on the Friday leading up to the game, and as he had been for most of the week’s worth of practices, Johnson was a full participant. On Sunday, we knew he wouldn’t be one-hundred percent, but we also knew that even if ’65’ had some physical limitations he’d still better than most of the other right tackles in the NFL. Sean Mcvay called him the best of the NFL’s bunch at the position.

It isn’t just Philadelphia Eagles fans. The stat gurus have also taken notice.

Following Sunday’s game, the reviews of Johnson’s performance have been through the roof. He continues to add on to a resume that quietly has made him a true argument for Hall of Fame consideration. Everyone has taken notice. Love them or hate them, most of us can’t stop looking at what the stat gurus over at Pro Football Focus have to say.  How did Lane do in their eyes?

Take a look for yourselves. This is good.

Week 2 was the first time that Lane Johnson and Carson Wentz have been on the field since QB1 tackled him in Week 12 of the 2019 season. The right side of Philly’s offensive line has been stabilized with Johnson’s return and Nate Herbig‘s insertion at right guard. They both communicated well versus the Los Angeles Rams regardless of what the outcome was, and as stated above, his zero pressures allowed on 43 pass-blocking reps is a stat that can’t be overlooked.

Hold on for a second. Didn’t this guy battle Coronavirus before camp? Didn’t he just have ankle surgery not too long ago? That only adds to the legend that is Lane Johnson.

Here are a few other things of note. He was also the highest-graded run blocker out of all offensive linemen in the league and the highest-graded offensive tackle in Week 2. It’s great to see him back on the field. It’s a big reason why an Eagles offensive line that gave up eight sacks in Week 1 didn’t give up any in Week 2.