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Aaron Rodgers exited Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles with a rib injury, with an initial fear of a punctured lung. Prior to leaving the game, Rodgers received a special message from his old friend Ndamukong Suh.
“He smiled at me when I first got into the game and I blew him a kiss,” Suh told PEOPLE. “Our heads nod of knowing each other like, ‘I’m going to be after you real soon. Looking forward to taking you down.'”
Suh has 5.5 career sacks on Rodgers. He came close to adding another one in Week 12 after hitting him and watching Josh Sweat bring down the Packers quarterback. The Eagles beat Green Bay 40-33 in a prime-time matchup, prompting a priceless response from Suh: “But it’s always good to be able to beat Green Bay, and especially Aaron Rodgers.”
Rodgers — sacked by an aggressive Eagles’ defense three times on Sunday night — has a long-standing relationship with Suh dating back to their days battling each other in the NFC North. The five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle started his career in Detroit and spent five seasons there before inking a one-year deal in Philadelphia on November 17. Beating Rodgers never gets tiresome.
Linval Joseph, Ndamukong Suh Looking at ‘Huge Roles’
Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has been deploying his new weapons, Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh, mostly on running downs as a way to compensate for the loss of Jordan Davis. (Editor’s note: the monstrous rookie might be coming back soon).
However, look for their pass-rushing roles to expand in the coming weeks. Those two players have combined for 96.5 career sacks, including teaming up for one against Indianapolis in Week 11.
“I’m pleased where they are at and they’re going to play huge roles as we keep moving forward,” Gannon told reporters, “and I think they’ll continue to get better and better just with our terminology, what we’re asking them to do. They’ve both been fantastic coming in here [and asking] what do we need to do to help the team win. So they’ll continue to get better.”
Jalen Hurts Named NFC Offensive Player of the Week
No surprises here: Jalen Hurts has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He was electric in a record-breaking performance versus Green Bay, one that saw him become the first player since at least 1950 to record 150-plus rushing yards, 150-plus passing yards, and multiple passing touchdowns in a single game.
He also bested Michael Vick’s franchise record for rushing yards in a single game, leap-frogging other legendary Eagles quarterbacks like Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb in the process.
“It just kind of happened that he had some big yards off schedule. That’s what Jalen does. That’s where he’s really special is that he can make those plays with his feet,” Sirianni said. “To be in a city like this with a quarterback history that this city has, and that he set a record for most yards by a quarterback rushing is pretty special. Those are some unbelievable names that he is following.”
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