What a difference a week makes.
Less than one week after going from the lowly Miami Dolphins to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in a trade, veteran edge rusher Jaelan Phillips was making plays for his new team on Monday Night Football.
The Eagles came out with a 10-7 win in a defensive slugfest. The rest of the NFL came away seeing a revamped Philadelphia defense that has only seemed 1-2 players away all year.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski called Phillips the NFL’s “Biggest Winner” after his stellar debut.
“The Eagles traded a third-round pick to acquire pass-rusher Jaelan Phillips at the trade deadline,” Sobleski wrote on November 11. “That trade is already looking like a win-win for Philly and the player. The 26-year-old pressured Jordan Love multiple times throughout the night and finished with four solo stops, two assists, and a tackle for loss. He also recovered an early fumble and helped stonewall Josh Jacobs on 4th-and-1 late in the fourth quarter.”
Eagles Pulled off Blockbuster Trade for Phillips
The trade filled perhaps the biggest hole on the roster for the Eagles just one day before the NFL trade deadline.
“The Eagles are acquiring DE Jaelan Phillips from Miami for a third-round pick, per sources — the sides have been discussing a trade for week,” NFL reporter Albert Breer wrote on his official X account on November 3. “Philly DC Vic Fangio was with Phillips in Miami in 2023.”
Phillips, a 2021 first round pick (No. 18 overall), had been one of the hottest names in trade rumors leading up to the deadline. He has also missed 25 games over the last 2 years with injuries.
” … He only has 2 sacks this year, but he leads the Dolphins in QB pressures,” The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia said on “The Ringer NFL Show” podcast on October 28. “He’s a free agent at the end of this season, so it’s not like you’re making some kind of big commitment and taking on a bunch of risk. He can help you now. So, he’s a fit, and maybe you re-sign him at the end of the season.”
“After acquiring Jaelan Phillips, the Eagles are still projected to have eight draft picks in 2026 (1,2,3,3,4,4,5,5) — that includes potentially receiving three total compensatory picks for Milton Williams (3rd), Josh Sweat (4th) and Mekhi Becton (5th),” ESPN’s Jordan Reid wrote on his official X account.
NFL Blown Away by Phillips’ Philly Debut
Phillips received praise across the board for his debut with the Eagles.
“The Eagles couldn’t have scripted a better debut for Jaelan Phillips. Just a massive difference maker for that defense — caused the fumble to close-out the game, recovered a fumble, played the run, 6 total tackles,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account. “Monster.”
“HELL OF A DEBUT,” ML Football wrote on its official X account. “New Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Jaelan Phillips had one of the all-time great debut games for Philly … Phillips is a game changer.”
“Jaelan Phillips says he got emotional before the game and a big reason why after the game: he realized his dad and his uncle came from Chicago to see him make his Eagles debut here at Lambeau Field,” NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark wrote on his official X account.
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