Eagles star Haason Reddick collected NFL's second best fourth-quarter pass rushing grade in 2022

Let's take a quick trip down memory lane. It's Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season. The Philadelphia Eagles have traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to face the Carolina Panthers. It feels like both teams are playing in an oven, and it's Philly's defense that has kept the Birds in the contest for most of this one as Jalen Hurts and the offense has gotten off to a slow start.

Darius Slay is having a great day. He has two picks off of Sam Darnold's arm. Eventually, the offense makes a few plays of its own and carries its weight.

T.J. Edwards eventually blocks a punt on special teams. Hurts puts Philly ahead on the scoreboard thanks to a keeper on a read-option (he celebrates by doing Cam Newton's Superman pose in the end zone). QB1 hits DeVonta Smith for a two-point conversion one play later. Steven Nelson seals things with a pick of his own, and everyone dressed in midnight or kelly green goes home happy. You can't write a better script.

Another positive came out of that day. The Birds got an up close and personal look at Haason Reddick. He terrorized Jalen Hurts and the Eagles' offense to the tune of eight tackles, two sacks, and two additional QB hits. This performance after stacking four tackles, a sack, and two forced fumbles versus the Birds in 2020 as a member of the Arizona Cardinals. Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman had seen enough and decided to play the 'If you can't beat him, join him' game.

Philadelphia inked Reddick to a three-year, $45 million deal on March 16th of 2022. There isn't a Birds fan in the Delaware Valley or anywhere else on Planet Earth that doesn't know how that worked out. Let's just say things have gone well.

The 2023-2024 season marks year two of Reddick's run in the City of Brotherly Love. If last season was any indication of what's yet to come. We can expect to see some fireworks.

Anyone searching for evidence of how well Haason Reddick performed for the Eagles in 2022 needn't look any further than a recent PFF article.

Pro Football Focus recently offered a nice drop discussing their top-graded edge rushers. They graded the NFL's best based on seven different situations: overall pass-rush grades, third and fourth-down scenarios, fourth-quarter situations, rushing without the aid of a blitz, snaps where defensive stunts were utilized, play-action scenarios, and snaps where the defenders were lined up along the defensive line's interior.

As it turns out, our guy Reddick was pretty clutch when you look at the numbers. He earned a grade of 90. 4 when Philly wasn't blitzing. That ranked him fourth in that category.

He earned an overall pass-rush grade of 90. That tied him for fourth place with Trey Hendrickson. His 90.9 grade in fourth quarter situations earned him a second-place finish in that category. His teammate Brandon Graham tied for third place in fourth-quarter pass-rushing efficiency and third with a 91.6 mark when being aided by called stunts. Both are back in 2023. We should have a lot of fun.

Here's some of the explanation for Reddick's rating.

"Pass rushers from the NFC East stood out when it came to the fourth quarter. Even though Micah Parsons recorded only the sixth-most pass-rushing snaps in the fourth quarter, he led all edge defenders with 31 total pressures. While Philadelphia’s Haason Reddick was tied for second in total pressures, with 29, he was tied for the most sacks, recording seven in the fourth quarters of the 2022 season."

- Zoltán Buday, PFF

We are aware that some of you obsess over stats and numbers like we do. We totally get it. Check out what Number 7, the New Jersey native, did in his first season with the Birds.

Reddick produced 49 tackles, 16 sacks, 26 additional QB hits, five forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. What will he do for an encore? We won't have to wait long to find out, but if we're being honest, we're pretty pumped.

Whatever he has up his sleeve, we're expecting something excellent to happen. His six year resume already features 372 tackles, 47 sacks, and 16 forced fumbles. Yep... It's much more fun having this guy on our side than trying to create blocking schemes to stop him as an opponent.

Here are a few other Eagles stories to keep you busy.