Haason Reddick was flying around Soldier Field on Sunday like a man possessed. Sacking the quarterback, forcing fumbles, jumping on loose balls, breaking up passes – whatever was needed, by any means necessary. The stud linebacker billed himself as the Weapon of Mass Destruction when the Philadelphia Eagles signed him this offseason. He’s lived up to all the hype.
Reddick borrowed the thumbs up, thumbs down scene from the movie Gladiator after his second-quarter sack on Justin Fields. The 10-yard loss forced the Chicago Bears to punt on a crucial 3rd-and-16 play. The Eagles went 91 yards on 9 plays on the ensuing possession to take a 10-6 lead. Reddick’s vital, game-changing sack seemed to ignite what had been a stagnant offense, although the 240-pounder didn’t see it that way.
Haason Reddick is unbelievable. 😤
“You always want your defense and offense playing well but it wasn’t vital as if we had to pick up the offense or something,” Reddick told reporters. “On defense we simply try to control what we can control. We can’t do control what the offense do, whether they are putting up points or not putting up points. That’s not our problem. Our problem is to go out there no matter what happens and try and keep them from scoring points. We keep that mentality. We never worry about what our offense does.”
Sack number 12 this year for Haason Reddick, such a dawg.
Reddick recorded two sacks on the afternoon to push his season total to 12, which leaves him half a sack shy of tying his career high. It wasn’t just Reddick, though. The entire defense feasted against Chicago: Josh Sweat had two, Javon Hargrave had two, with Avonte Maddox adding a key forced fumble. They finished with 6 sacks and 6 quarterback hits on the elusive Justin Fields.
“We feed off of each other’s energy, that’s another thing,” Reddick said. “It’s like once one guy gets one, then another one goes and gets one, then another one gets one, and the next thing you know, we’re all getting sacks.”
Reddick Praises ‘Great Talent’ Justin Fields
The Eagles may have survived the Bears on Sunday, but dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields had plenty of wow moments. The second-year player is electric when he breaks free into the open field, especially after he turns the afterburners on. Elusive? Yes, that’s putting it mildly. Fields ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds.
“Man, what a competitor. Honestly, he’s a competitor, a great talent, you know, he broke two on me today, and broke a few tackles,” Reddick said. “But we knew that would happen, we just continued to play no matter what happened. We knew at the quarterback spot that they had a great talent there, and for us it was about no matter what happens keep going, keep hunting, keep getting after them.”
This is a touchdown run by Justin Fields. I don’t care that he stepped out.
Head coach Nick Sirianni echoed Reddick’s amazement after Fields racked up 95 yards on 15 carries on his defense.
“I do think Justin Fields is special,” Sirianni said. “He’s got some special abilities and I know our quarterback is special as well. But give Justin Fields a lot of love right there because you see it on the tape and then you see it live and you see how good he is. You can see it up close and personal, and he’s special. It’s good for the NFL, two young quarterbacks going at it today, that are going to be good quarterbacks in the NFL for a long time.”
Both must watch TV, for real 🤝
Jalen Hurts Blames Slow Start to ‘Numb Hands’
Hurts wasn’t making excuses for his two early interceptions. That’s not his style. But the Eagles starter did admit to having numb hands in the first quarter, something caused by the freezing cold temperatures in Chicago. The thermometer read 17 degrees, but the wind chill make it feel like 5 degrees. Hurts warmed up with a glove on his throwing hands, then shed it because he couldn’t get a good grip on the football.
“Early in the game I couldn’t really feel my hands, it was too cold,” Hurts said. “I didn’t really have good vision on the field personally, just a lot of different things going on.”
Jalen Hurts says he overcame poor vision and little feeling in his hands
“The great teams, the great players find a way”
When a reporter reminded him of the upcoming cold weather about to hit Philadelphia in January, Hurts replied: “It ain’t Chicago.”
Another soon-to-be-classic Hurts’ line. Perfect and to the point, although January football at Lincoln Financial Field – assuming the Eagles lock up home-field advantage – is nothing to dismiss. It will be bitterly cold in the coming weeks.
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‘That’s Not Our Problem’: Eagles Defensive Stud Sounds Off on Offense’s Struggles