Now you understand maybe just a little bit more why the Eagles think of their locker room as a 70-man team, rather than the focus of 53 active players on the roster. There are times in the course of a 17-game season when every single player is on notice and needed and ready if called upon.
Sunday in New Orleans was one of those games, referred to by Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore as "a huge example of next-man-up game at many positions."
He's right. In that 15-12 win over the Saints, the Eagles lost right tackle Lane Johnson, right guard Mekhi Becton, wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Britain Covey, and cornerback Darius Slay during the course of 60 minutes. They entered the game knowing wide receiver A.J. Brown wouldn't play.
The roster was stressed in Week 3 of the season. But guess what happened? The Eagles didn't flinch. Not even a little bit. Fred Johnson and Tyler Steen came off the sidelines to play right tackle and right guard, respectively. Rookie Johnny Wilson played the most snaps of his career and veteran Parris Campbell bumped up from the practice squad to help at wide receiver. Kelee Ringo played 11 critical snaps at cornerback with Slay sidelined.
The Eagles came away with the win and learned something about their roster: They've got players who can win football games through and through.
"My job as the head coach is to give them opportunities. What I mean by that is not necessarily opportunities in a game, but opportunities in practice," Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. "That's walkthroughs, the developmental walkthroughs that we have every single day. We really take pride in that and then, at the end of practice, the developmental periods. They're getting reps there in those periods and those plays add up.
"Everybody's role is not the same, but everybody's role is important and really buying into that, that's first, and then providing that opportunity so that they can develop their talents."
Johnson and Steen have worked together throughout Training Camp and the preseason with the second-team offensive line and that time together paid dividends on Sunday. Johnson made a pivotal block to help spring running back Saquon Barkley on his 65-yard touchdown run and then, for just a moment, reflected on a carer that started in Pittsburgh, continued in Cincinnati, stopped briefly in Tampa Bay, and then resumed in Philadelphia where he spent the second half of the 2022 season on the practice squad and then last season as a reserve who played just 35 snaps on offense all year.
Not since 2021 had Johnson started a game (with the Bengals), so he has stayed sharp despite almost zero live action.
"It's been a long time since I played ball, what three years? I don't know, y'all go look at the stats, three solid years since I played real snaps," Johnson said. "After that touchdown with Saquon, I almost cried on the sideline. I'm not going to lie, I got emotional. I got real emotional because I thought I'd never be back in action. Everybody knows some of my story. This has been a long time coming and when I saw him run in and score I got real hype and I was just grateful for the moment and ready to go back out and do it again."
Steen, a third-round pick last season, battled with Becton in Training Camp for the starting job at right guard, suffered an ankle injury, and stayed sharp while Becton started the first three games.
When he had his chance on Sunday, Steen made the most of it.
"It was obviously a little frustrating, whenever anybody gets hurt, especially when you as a player get hurt because you want to be able to show what you can do on the field and stuff like that," Steen said. "Obviously, it was frustrating, but just knowing that my coaches and my teammates believe in me and just keep improving every day and keep trying to get healthy, so that was kind of my mindset every day."
Same with Campbell, who caught 2 passes for 13 yards, playing 36 snaps.
"Parris had some good moments when he had to step in and play when guys went down and shuffling some things around," Sirianni said. "He's just a good person and a hard worker. Tough kid. He's been through some ups and downs in this NFL journey. He knows that he's got to take advantage of his opportunities when he gets them, and I thought he did some nice things."
Next up? Stay ready because, as the Eagles and every player in the NovaCare Complex were reminded, you're only one play away from having your role change dramatically.
