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Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick is done with all the hometown hype. He was noticeably amped up, with a little extra bounce in his step, for Monday Night Football. It marked his first home game wearing the uniform of the franchise he grew up rooting for.
The atmosphere was electric at Lincoln Financial Field. The fight song. The fireworks. The celebrities. The scene set the perfect storm for a dominating 24-7 victory. And now it’s over. Reddick said the “crazy” experience lived up to his wildest dreams, but he’s moved on to Week 3 and the Washington Commanders.
“I’m kind of through with the hype now,” Reddick told reporters. “Especially after playing that Monday Night Football here and just seeing how electrifying the fans was. Crazy. Atmosphere was crazy. I hope every home game is like that. But I’m kind of pretty much done with that. It’s here. The season’s underway. We about to go on to Week 3. The only thing I’m focused on is just football.”
Reddick is still looking for his first sack. He was close a few times against Minnesota, showing off a nasty Dwight Freeney spin move on one snap where he nearly sacked Kirk Cousins. Surprisingly, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon dropped him into coverage a ton. The $45 million man has 4 tackles (1.5 stuff yards) with no sacks or quarterback hits through two games.
The team released a “Mic’d Up Video” of Reddick from the Eagles-Vikings game on Friday. In it, Reddick sounds like an excited kid on the first day of school. He starts off by shouting: “It’s showtime. Let’s go dig a grave!” After the first touchdown, with the stadium speakers blaring the Eagles fight song, the linebacker admits he doesn’t know the words. “I gotta learn the fight song. I only know Fly, Eagles, Fly'” — luckily, Reddick got two more opportunities to rehearse it.
“It felt really good. We came out and executed at a very high level,” Reddick tells NFL Films. “I felt like we made corrections from last week. We just gotta continue to grow from here. Man, the crowd came out. You heard ’em. They showed major love. Keep coming out. Keep showing that love. Keep bringing that energy. We love y’all Bird Gang. Go Birds!”
Miles Sanders, Eagles Offense Using Tempo
The Eagles employed a no-huddle offense to start the game versus Minnesota. Jalen Hurts went 5-of-5 for 63 yards on that first series before running in a touchdown. It was scary how easily they moved the chains using tempo. Running back Miles Sanders saw a gassed Vikings defense out there, which only fueled the team’s desire to keep their foot on the gas.
“When you’re tired it’s hard to think out there,” Sanders said. “Especially when it’s NFL, full speed, and the way we go … we don’t give you a chance to catch a breath or anything. So just trying to keep that pedal going, it’s definitely an advantage for us.”
The Eagles also ran their highest percentage of 11 personnel during the Nick Sirianni era. Hurts was in an empty set, a shotgun formation with three wide receivers and one tight end. The alignment forced crazy mismatches, including a few plays where Sanders was lined up as a receiver on the outside.
“We went a little tempo there and it worked out well for us obviously in the first half,” offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said. “But we can do it out of different personnel groups, and it just happened to be that, that week.”
Carson Wentz vs. Jalen Hurts: Leadership Styles
Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson was asked to compare the leadership styles of Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts. The savvy veteran has been in the huddle for long stretches with both field generals. However, Johnson is way too smart to compare apples and oranges.
“They both work hard. They both talk when they need to. And, really, that’s pretty much it,” Johnson said. “I mean, a lot of us, we spend so much time with our position group. We don’t spend a lot of time with other guys, besides on the practice field, we’re always with the O-line group. Other than that, they both work hard and as far as leadership, they both get vocal when they need to be.”
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