Eagles’ Brandon Graham Gets Honest About Trying to Slow Down Patrick Mahomes

Here’s the thing about luck, teams make their own.

The Eagles finished the regular season as the NFL’s No. 1 rated passing defense, Philadelphia produced 70.0 sacks, and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan knew this when he opted to block Haason Reddick — who produced 16.0 regular season sacks with a tight end. Who isn’t named George Kittle.

It wasn’t exactly luck that Shanahan left his tight end on an island against Reddick. Nor that the team that led the league in sacks generated the kind of pressure that knocked not one but two quarterbacks from effectiveness.

Mahomes very well might carve up the Eagles’ defense in the Super Bowl.

But, to write off a defense that produced 70.0 sacks as some sort of fluke, or luck, when the swarming pass-rush knocks your quarterback from the game and suggest that same defense has no chance in the Super Bowl, is downright foolish.

Undoubtedly, the Eagles will use Aiyuk’s comments as bulletin board material for the Super Bowl, as this was an angry football team when it was merely suggested the Giants would keep the divisional round close.

But, you can also bet every last asset that Aiyuk’s comments will be played on a loop on sports talk radio and every Philadelphia based podcast next fall leading up to the 49ers’ 2023 visit to Lincoln Financial Field.

Final Thought: Eagles’ Lane Johnson Is Best Offensive Tackle of His Generation

Lane Johnson was crying.

That’s how Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland found his All-Pro right tackle in the training room after being diagnosed with a core muscle injury that threatened his 2022 season.

“I was like, ‘What is going on?'” Stoutland recalled, during Super Bowl opening night on Monday. “I saw him the next day, he was much better, and I think they explained to him what other players had gone through who had a similar injury, and after that, he realized he could do this without further injuring himself in the future, and this was something he decided he was going to do.”

Johnson’s availability was in doubt leading into the Eagles’ clash with the Giants in the NFC Divisional Round, but it was the following Sunday in the NFC Championship Game, against Nick Bosa where Philly’s stalwart tackle further entrenched his legacy.

Bosa is a generational pass-rusher, and despite battling through a gruesome injury, Johnson held the potential Defensive Player of the Year to 4 total tackles, but no sacks, no quarterback hits and no hurries.

“The pain the second game wasn’t as much as I experienced the first game,” Johnson said, of his performance against Bosa. “I felt a lot more comfortable, the second time around, because I finished the game the first time. I’m just like ‘I have so many days left, I’m going to take that to the limit, and let the chips fall where they may.”

Johnson’s dominance against Bosa doesn’t just underscore his value to the Eagles’ offensive line, but serves as the latest reminder that he is the greatest to play the position of his generation.

“I thought against Nick [Bosa] that Lane played one of his best games, from a technique standpoint,” Stoutland said. “When you play a guy like Nick, you can’t be off at all. Lane knows himself really well, watches a lot of film on these guys. I’m really impressed, but it’s not a surprise to me. I think Lane’s one of the best players to ever play the position.”

How dominant has Johnson been? The 32-year-old has gone 31 games without a sack while being left on an island over 75% of snaps during the 2022 campaign, according to Pro Football Focus’ Arjun Menon.

PFF points out, only Tristan Wirfs has a higher blocking success rate than Johnson’s 97%, while being isolated more often than the Buccaneers’ offensive tackle.

“Lane Johnson’s a Hall of Fame player,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman declared Monday. “The best tackle in the league. We don’t take it for granted. We know how hard he works to put himself in that position, how much he cares, what a great teammate he is.”

Against a Chiefs’ front that features menacing pass-rushers such as Frank Clark and Chris Jones, with 20.5 sacks between them this season, Johnson will be pivotal to the Eagles’ chances of hoisting a second Lombardi.

“You have got to give a lot of credit to a dude who has a torn abdomen,” Eagles running back Miles Sanders said. “And goes out there, plays at a high level, and shuts down possibly the NFL Defensive Player of The Year. “I’m just trying to win another one for the big boy.”

If Johnson can repeat his dominance against Bosa, this time on Super Sunday against the duo of Clark and Jones, maybe then, the tears will flow from the league’s premier offensive tackle for a far different reason than they did in the training room last December.

Heavy In The Trenches is a weekly Wednesday column by Heavy’s NFL insider Matt Lombardo, bringing you insight on the latest storylines and rumblings around the league. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL.