Jaelan Phillips’ ‘new path, new destiny’ has Eagles defense looking like its 2024 self in domination of Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Jaelan Phillips has played football since he was 7 years old. He briefly retired from the game seven years ago, sat out a transfer season in college, and came back from back-to-back season-ending injuries in the NFL.
He’s had plenty of reason to get emotional ahead of kickoff, which is why the 26-year-old outside linebacker knew that he was in his feelings before playing in his first game for the Eagles at historic Lambeau Field.
“It was the first time in a while that I’ve gotten a little emotional before a game,” Phillips said.
But he didn’t let the moment overwhelm him. Phillips made an immediate impact and gave the Eagles the jolt they hoped he would provide when they traded for him last week. He pressured the quarterback, defended the run, and was directly involved in a pivotal fourth-down stop late in a 10-7 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Phillips was just one of many defensive contributors Monday night in a gritty — some may say sloppy — victory that pushed the Eagles’ record to 7-2. Vic Fangio’s unit has, mostly, carried the team this season and may have to continue to shoulder the load until the offense gets its head on straight — if it ever can.
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For some, it’ll be difficult to reconcile another one-score win with the Eagles’ once-high-flying offense reverting to the inconsistent form it showed before a one-game reprieve vs. the New York Giants ahead of the bye. But the guys on the other side of the ball get paid, too.
“How about that defense?” Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said. “At one point I thought the game might end 3-0. I started thinking, ‘Have I ever been part of a game that ended 3-0?’ But that’s what it takes.
“There’s going to be times where it’s going to take us on offense to put 30 or 40 points up. But if they don’t score a touchdown, it’s hard to lose a football game.”
The Packers did score a touchdown, but not until less than six minutes were left in the game.
Nowhere to run
For more than 3½ quarters, Green Bay’s offense was stifled. It couldn’t muster much in the running game, and an explosive passing attack was grounded.
The Eagles held running back Josh Jacobs to 3.5 yards a carry and quarterback Jordan Love to a 68.8 passer rating. They forced two fumbles — by Jacobs and Love — and generated three sacks. And, perhaps for the first time this season, they resembled the outfit that led the NFL in defense a year ago.
Nolan Smith returned from a five-game absence, and Brandon Graham played for the first time since coming out of retirement. But it was the new face on the edge who kept flashing throughout the evening.
Phillips had sufficient opportunity, playing 53 of 68 snaps. But the former Miami Dolphin led the Eagles with seven pressures and tied a team high with two quarterback hits. He had six tackles and a crucial fumble recovery just before halftime. Phillips also was in on the tackle for what should have been the game-sealing, fourth-down stop and fumble forced by Reed Blankenship — if not for a dubious fourth-down pass attempt from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown that gave the Packers a last-breath chance.
Phillips’ seven pressures came on 36 rushes for a 19.4% rate and were his most since Week 18 of the 2022 season, according to NextGen Stats.
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“He was very disruptive,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “The rush was active all game from all parts. We did a good job of rushing as a unit. That fourth-down play, I think, signifies the kind of physicality that the man has.”
With 1 minute, 30 seconds left in the game, and the Packers at their own 44, coach Matt LaFleur went for it on fourth-and-1. With Love in the shotgun and Jacobs to his right, Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo could be heard on the broadcast yelling, “Inside zone this way! Inside zone this way!” as he pointed to his left.
At the snap, defensive tackle Jalen Carter drove right guard Jordan Morgan back on his heels, which forced Jacobs to bounce outside. Phillips, meanwhile, had tight end Luke Musgrave on skates before he wrapped up the running back.
It appeared that Phillips jarred the ball loose, but Blankenship came in at the last second and forced the fumble and recovered it.
“My biggest thing coming in was like, ‘No ego,’” Phillips said. “I just wanted to earn the respect of my teammates and my coaches and the fans and everybody. And all I can really do on my end is obviously do my job … but just play with fanatical effort.”
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The Eagles brought Phillips to Philadelphia, first and foremost, to aid an underperforming pass rush. And his presence helped lead to pressure on 17 of Love’s 42 dropbacks, the second-highest rate the quarterback has faced this season. Love completed just 3 of 12 passes for 21 yards and was sacked three times on those drops.
But the 6-foot-5, 263-pound Phillips was just as disruptive in setting the edge. His six run tackles were a team high.
“Shoot, he’s a big body,” Graham said. “That’s what we need. That’s why we went out and got him.”
Reinforcements arrive
The Eagles entered the season with one of the smaller collections at the position. They already lost three outside linebackers to injured reserve, with Azeez Ojulari (ankle) expected back at some point, and Ogbo Okoronkwo (triceps) likely done for the season.
In Week 4, Smith reinjured the triceps he tore in the Super Bowl, and his return against the Packers coincided with Phillips’ arrival and Graham’s unretirement. The Eagles dressed six outside linebackers, but only four played on defense.
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Jalyx Hunt was behind Phillips in snaps with 43. Smith played only 19, and Graham just 10.
“I wasn’t expecting much,” Graham said. “Other than just trying to get me acclimated again, getting that feeling again, that adrenaline going. I felt good, though.”
Rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell played some on the edge in base personnel, which meant Joshua Uche and Patrick Johnson were relegated to strictly special teams duty. Phillips, to no surprise, didn’t need to be eased into the defense, having played in Fangio’s system for one season in Miami.
“It shows the athlete he is,” Carter said. “And for him to come over here and have an impact game like that, especially how the game went, low-scoring game, he’s a dog. Man, we seen it on film. He was in Miami. Vic knew him. He had good words about him.”
Did Fangio have any words of wisdom for his former protégé before the game?
“Just a firm handshake,” Phillips said.
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He got more than handshakes after the game. Phillips’ father, Jonathan, flew into Chicago and drove the 200 miles north to Green Bay to see his son in an Eagles uniform for the first time. Jaelan said he was doing a postgame interview on the field when he spotted his jersey in the front row of the stadium.
“I saw people wearing No. 50 and, like, waving at me,” Phillips said. “It was my dad’s best friend, my uncle. So, at first, I didn’t recognize and I was just, ‘Oh, someone’s wearing my jersey.’ I was like, ‘Oh, it’s my dad, my uncle.’”
Life-changing trade
It’s been a whirlwind week. Last Monday, the Dolphins traded their former first-round draft pick to the Eagles for a third-rounder. On Wednesday, Phillips said it was “literally the greatest thing that’s happened to me in my whole life, probably.”
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He doesn’t seem prone to hyperbole, even if he and his fiancée, Samantha, just announced last month that they were expecting a baby boy. A week after the trade, he was playing in “Titletown” for the first time for his new team.
“It is a completely different feeling in a different environment,” Phillips said of playing for the Eagles. “You get emotional before certain games. It was a new feeling because this is just like symbolic of a lot of change in my life, kind of a path, new destiny.
“So for this to be the first game and for it to play out how it did, I just think it’s surreal.”
