Late Saturday night, as reporters poured into the Eagles’ winning locker room, Rian Johnson was dressed, head down, forming a bee-line at the far exit.
Even after playing the entire game with a groin injury, Johnson was snappy while dodging the media.
Regardless, his performance is convincing enough.
Johnson’s teammates were more than happy to brag to him.
“He’s a fighter,” Jalen Hertz said. “He’s a true warrior and a very important part of this team. He’s been doing great things for a long time and I’m grateful to have him. We’re happy to have him, I’m happy He came clean from this.”
Johnson, 32, returned for the Hawks’ 38-7 win over the Giants in the playoff divisional round. It was his first action since tearing his adductor muscle against the Cowboys on Christmas Eve.
By the way, that adductor is still tearing. It still hurts. Regardless of whether the Eagles’ season is over, he still needs surgery to repair his groin.
But Johnson made the selfless decision to delay surgery in an attempt to bring Philadelphia a second Super Bowl. That sacrifice meant everything to his teammates.
“It means the world, man,” offensive lineman Jordan Melata said. “It meant the world. Sacrificing his body for the boys. Just being selfless and getting out of there as fast as possible. And then this week, when he said, ‘I’m ready,’ I said, ‘Crazy.'” “He looked great in training and he looked great tonight. He’s a machine.”
Johnson missed the final two games of the regular season, then rested in the wild-card round after the Eagles won the top seed and a bye week.
Johnson played 67 offensive snaps Saturday night before the Eagles pulled Hertz and several offensive linemen late in the game. Earlier Saturday night, Johnson could be seen looking uncomfortable and even clutching his injured groin. But he stayed in the game. And he played really well.
There’s no question that the Hawks’ offense is completely different, with healthy Hertz and Johnson in the roster, something the Hawks didn’t have at the end of the regular season.
Since the start of the 2016 season (including the playoffs), the Eagles are 60-29-1 with Johnson on the floor and 10-22 without him.
“Obviously with Ryan, Ryan is the best tackler in the NFL, so getting him back and shutting down a side, it’s important,” head coach Nick Siliani said. “It’s been great to have him back. He lets us go. The whole offensive line keeps us going.”
The Eagles rushed for an incredible 268 yards (six shy of the franchise record) behind their star-studded offensive line Saturday night. The team dropped only one sack the entire game.
It didn’t seem real who was running the football on Saturday. efficient. Kenny Gainwell had 112 yards and a touchdown, Myles Sanders had 90 yards and Boston Scott had 32 yards and a touchdown. Injured 34 points and a touchdown of his own.
The reason the Eagles are able to handle the ball so effectively is because of their offensive line. Getting Johnson back on Saturday was a big part of that.
“You don’t have to say much,” Dallas Goedert said. “He was the best right tackle in the game last year. It’s obviously good for us to have him out there.”
Encouragingly, Johnson was solid throughout Saturday’s game. Next week, the Hawks will need Johnson again. This time, he’ll face either DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons or Nick Bosa.
It’s not easy.
But Johnson is as tough as they come. His teammates haven’t forgotten that.
“It’s tough out there, man,” Gainwell said. “Battling an injury that kept him out for a little while, he decided he wanted to come back. It’s big there. It just shows the resilience of this team. All the hard-working guys to make sure we win.”
Subscribe to the Eagle Eye Podcast
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Music | Stapler | Art 19 | Watch on YouTube
