It was a lovely 66 degrees early Monday night in Miami.
About 1,600 miles away in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it was the 1930s when Jaelan Phillips introduced his Philadelphia Eagles.
Phillips was grateful to be just where he was.
A week after being traded from the Miami Dolphins, Phillips’ debut coincided with Philadelphia’s best defensive performance this season en route to a 10-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
“I just felt really grateful,” Phillips said of his feelings for a game in which he posted six tackles, two QB hits, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a team-best seven QB pressures. “This is the first time in a while that I’ve gotten a little emotional before a game. Of course, this level and coming here. This is my first time at Lambeau [Field]walk out through this tunnel. I mean it doesn’t get any better than that. Definitely grateful. Felt amazing energy from the guys. It was just confidence and everyone playing together. We had a great game, to be honest it was really ugly. I am truly grateful to be here.”
Similarly, the Eagles were thankful to have their new pass rusher, who took center stage in an improved performance in Philadelphia that welcomed back Nolan Smith from injured reserve and Brandon Graham from retirement.
A promotion for one and a reunion for others, it added that the Eagles stopped the Packers nearly every time. After losing Josh Sweat and Milton Williams in free agency and Smith to injury, Philadelphia’s defensive performance — a hallmark of its most successful seasons — showed plenty of reason for optimism going forward.
“I’m just happy that I can come in and help the team,” Phillips said. “My biggest thing coming in, no ego, just wanting to earn the respect of my teammates and coaches and fans and everybody. All I can really do is obviously do my job and know my plays and all that, but just play with fanatical effort. That’s what I do, play in and out.”
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love was sacked three times and pressured on 40.5% of his dropbacks, leading to an offense that rarely went anywhere. The Packers mustered just 261 yards and a season-low seven points, as Phillips and the Eagles D allowed Philadelphia to collect the victory despite also scoring a season-low in points.
Phillips’ first appearance on the field has matched it off the field with his teammates, where he has adapted quickly thanks to a welcoming locker room. The boss in that regard has been the returning Graham, who had just eight snaps entering Monday, but has already made an impact on Phillips.
“BG has been amazing for me so far,” Phillips said. “I feel like I’ve known him for years already. To see the joy that he has to come out and play that game, that’s what it’s all about. And so is Nolan. I think he’s been pushing to get back on the field and he deserves it all. I thought Jalyx (Hunt) played a great game. We were all doing what we just enjoyed.”
Phillips, who had his first tackle on the game’s third snap, had big plays throughout, but none bigger than his fourth-quarter interception, Josh Jacobs. In a play Jacobs said after the game the Eagles knew was coming, Phillips and Reed Blankenship exploded on a fourth-and-1 rush for a 5-yard loss and a fumble.
“Obviously you guys saw that. I felt like he was very disruptive,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said of Phillips. “The rush was active the whole game from all sides. We did a good job of rushing as a unit. That fourth down, I think, represents the physicality that the man has. I think about his week of practice and how he goes about his business. The man, he loves football. He loves to work. You can just see the way he ran around in practice, his motor is consistent, it was constantly pushing that first night he did to run. playing as Orn, I have to watch the tape, but he did a lot of good things that you could see.”
During his four-plus seasons with the Dolphins, Phillips spent the 2023 campaign with Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator. Phillips rejoined Fangio and made an immediate impact on Monday night.
Of course, he wasn’t the only one who stood out, as the Eagles had great nights from many others such as Hunt, Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell and many more. In fact, the Dolphins’ 2021 first-round pick seemed to belong with the Eagles.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts said, “It seemed like he fit right in.”