December 11, 2022
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — As a guy who made a game-winning play in the Super Bowl once, simply making the postseason isn't the biggest deal in the world to Brandon Graham. The Eagles clinched a playoff berth in their 48-22 beatdown of the Giants on Sunday, as Graham, at age 34 and in his 13th NFL season, recorded his second-ever three-sack game.
Graham brushed off the next playoff appearance for this team, saying, "We're not done yet," and rightfully so. This guy's been at the pinnacle of the sport. The goal for every member of this organization goes well beyond simply hosting a game at Lincoln Financial Field in January. Continuing to get ageless performances like this from Graham, however, will go a long way in getting the Eagles in a position to hoist the Lombardi Trophy once again.
The Eagles' pass rush suffocated Giants quarterback Daniel Jones all afternoon, sacking him seven times with a whopping 12 QB hits.
The relentless bull rush from Graham, the one that put him forever into Philadelphia lore back in February 2018, was on display at the Meadowlands.
It was a bad day to be Giants rookie right tackle Evan Neal:
Brandon Graham sacks Daniel Jones.
— DIE-HARD 🦅 Fans (@Eaglesfans9) December 11, 2022
Giants are flagged for illegal formation and the Eagles decline the penalty.
Graham with his second sack of the day pic.twitter.com/J7yopDU0ZA
Brandon Graham earns his third sack of the day pic.twitter.com/CjamnxjTbR
— DIE-HARD 🦅 Fans (@Eaglesfans9) December 11, 2022
The effort there from New York tackle Matt Peart compared to that of Graham says everything. Peart is a former third-rounder and a backup who took one look at Graham bursting off the line and gave up. Graham, meanwhile, is still all-out even in a gigantic blowout and with his namesake already forever included in the story of this franchise. That's the BG difference.
The Eagles' sack bonanza continued once the game was no longer in doubt, but that's actually an element to this game that I credit the pass rush for. There was no letting their foot off the gas. There was a clear vision of domination on both sides of the ball. Neither the offense nor the defense would be comfortable with a simple 27-14 win. This had to be a punishing performance that let the entire division know who the favorite is and continue to make any national pundit who doesn't believe this is the best team in football look foolish. It would be, and resulted in, an absolute stomping.
It's a single game, but this is increasingly becoming a recurring outcome for this defensive line. Howie Roseman wisely signed Haason Reddick, who picked up his 10th sack of the season in East Rutherford. Josh Sweat is taking a leap. The DT rotation is ridiculous. The Eagles have so much depth and it's making every single guy better. Come late in games, Jonathan Gannon's defense is built to out-work and out-hustle tired offensive lines with his well-rested players.
"I just feel like we're hungry," Graham said about this pass rush. "If anything, man, those boys motivated me even more today, making my rushes count."
Making this 2022 campaign for Graham that much more impressive is that he's coming off an Achilles tear that he suffered in Week 2 of the 2021 season. The way modern athletes come back off seemingly catastrophic injuries every year amazes me, but a dude approaching his late 30s and playing some of the best football I've seen of him even after he missed almost the entirety of last year blows my mind.
From an outside perspective, the Eagles' Week 12 loss to the Giants at MetLife Stadium was their worst performance all of last season. Graham stood on the sideline for that game, still recovering from his season-ending injury, as a poor New York team etched out a 13-7 win. History did not repeat itself.
"That was talked about, just how they did us last year," Graham said after the game about if there was any extra motivation for this one. "It was on my mind to be out here, to be the best I can be this year, let them know I still got some more juice left in the tank. I'm just having fun, honestly."
He sure is bringing the juice. Graham is up to 8.5 sacks in 2022. For a player that will go down in team history like him, Graham actually doesn't have a 10-sack season to his name. His career high is 9.5 back during that magical 2017 run. He's inching closer.
Perhaps it's another momentous performance from BG that gets him that elusive 10th sack. Eagles fans would assuredly love for it to come against Dak Prescott in a win on Christmas Eve. That'd top the holiday wish lists in Philadelphia, right?
Whether it comes this season or not, the Eagles and Graham are set up for another 2017-like pass rush attack, one that could be bringing the pain in February in Arizona, not just on a rainy December day in North Jersey.
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