Reddick’s rushes leave Jags at a loss

Perhaps it took a while for Haason Reddick to adjust to being back and playing in his home area.

The product of Temple University and Haddon Heights High fresh off standout seasons at linebacker with the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals, respectively, started a bit slow this season, at the very least not producing what was expected when Howie Roseman signed him to a three-year, $45 million deal in the offseason.

But in the midst of a team-wide hunting expedition a week ago for former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in an easy win over the Washington Commanders, Reddick’s unique ability to rush the quarterback began to reveal itself. He had 1.5 sacks against Wentz and the Commanders, and then Sunday, stood out from the crowd in the way he helped take down the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Reddick had a pair of sacks of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, two forced fumbles and two recovered fumbles, all part of a five-turnover nightmare (four lost fumbles, one interception) for the young Jags QB as the Eagles won their fourth straight game to start the season, 29-21.

To get there, the Birds had to reverse early misfortunes and climb out of an early 14-0 hole. And it wasn’t only the offense that moved them to do so.

“We are (coming together), and we’ve still got some ways to go,” said Reddick, the 28-year-old Camden native who had 23.5 sacks over 2020 with the Cardinals and 2021 with the Panthers. “Right now, our thing is just getting better each week, and so far we have been doing that. We’ve got to continue to harp on the details and continue to hold everybody accountable, so that way we can rally back in games like this.

“We were on the sidelines saying, ‘there’s a lot of ball left.’ We knew the game was far from over, and we just decided to go out there, work and do our best to dominate the men that were in front of us.”

Nothing was guaranteed until the clock had ticked below two minutes remaining in the game, however. Despite Reddick’s best efforts and the Eagles defense keeping the Jags off the board in the second and third quarters, Jacksonville drove down for a late touchdown to make it a one-score game, then held the Eagles on a fourth down play deep in Jacksonville territory.

MATT SLOCUM — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick, left, celebrates after recovering a fumble by Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence during the second half Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.