Eagles news: Haason Reddick keeps proving he was a slam-dunk acquisition
During the 2020 and 2021 NFL regular seasons, the Philadelphia Eagles got a couple of good looks at Haason Reddick. In Week 15 of Philly’s 2020 campaign, as a then-member of the Arizona Cardinals, he sacked Jalen Hurts once and stuck his head in on four more tackles. One resulted in a loss of yardage. Two forced fumbles were the result of his effort. He was truly a headache for a team looking for a win with a young quarterback making his second career start at the time. He caused an even larger migraine for the Birds a little less than ten months later.
Reddick joined the Panthers in 2021, and by the time the Eagles met Carolina in Week 5 of last year’s campaign (and Haason racked up six tackles, two sacks, and two additional shots on Jalen), Philadelphia determined that they had seen enough of Reddick on the other sideline. They elected during the most recent offseason to sign him to a three-year, $45 million deal during the most recent offseason.
Thank goodness they did. He’s been a welcomed addition to Philly’s pass rush this season.
Haason Reddick continues to be a bright spot on an oft-criticized defensive unit.
It’s been an up-and-down Eagles season from a defensive perspective. They’ve been criticized for their run defense. Their coordinator, Jonathan Gannon, is seemingly under fire regardless of what he does positively or negatively.
There are times when you’d never know that Philly has also notched some impressive statistical showings. The numbers, though sometimes misleading in terms of how games are playing out, still can’t be ignored.
No other NFL team has more interceptions. The Eagles are top-ten in completion percentage by opposing quarterbacks. Ahead of their game versus the Tennessee Titans, they’re tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the third-highest sack total with 36. Only the Dallas Cowboys (45) and the New England Patriots (39) have more. One of the Pats’ sacks came in Week 13 this past Thursday.
Haason is a huge reason for Philadelphia’s success. With eight sacks on the season, he stands alone as the team’s leader in that category. Every single one of them has come on third down, or fourth down, or they’ve resulted in turnovers. When you talk about game-changers, that’s the textbook definition. You can’t discuss the increase in sack production from last season to the current without discussing him. He’s been a joy to watch.
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Reddick and the Eagles get their next test versus a talented Titans squad. We’ll most certainly know more about J.G.’s unit after that. They’ll have their hands full with Derrick Henry all afternoon, but as we discussed earlier, they’ll be without C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Robert Quinn. Both are inactive for Week 13’s game.
DeVonta Smith and Zach Pascal have battled groin injuries. Both were full participants on Friday. The hope is that they’ll play on Sunday and play well. Philly will need all available hands on deck if they want to win this one.