Eagles Lane Johnson "Exhausted" After Being Alone On Island

The Philadelphia Eagles right tackle was, in the eyes of his teammates, "the player of the match" in team's 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) battles with Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – Inside the heavyweight match that was Eagles vs. Steelers was a bare-knuckle undercard between right tackle Lane Johnson and outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

Hall of Famer vs. Hall of Famer?

Maybe someday they will be enshrined in Canton, but on Sunday, in the Eagles' 27-13 win, it was just fun to shine the spotlight on the two of them. Well, maybe not as much fun for Johnson, who said he had nightmares about the matchup, then woke up Sunday morning and only had one thing on his mind.

“All I was thinking about was T.J. Watt (Sunday),” he said. “I didn’t give a (bleep) about anything else. My only thought was don’t let T.J. Watt (bleeping) destroy the game because you watch the film, every film, that guy is destroying football games. As a competitor he’s the best I ever played.”

Of all games to show that, yeah, the passing game can have legs just like the running game, it had to be this game, against one of the best pass rushers in the league. But that's what the Eagles did, unwrapping a passing game that had both star receivers- A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith - go over 100 yards receiving and quarterback Jalen Hurts throwing 32 times to reach 290 yards.

"I can say my attention was on No. 90 out there, so I saw the first downs, I heard them, I went to the line of scrimmage but couldn’t tell you who caught what," said Johnson. ..."I’m exhausted. It was a hard-fought game. Those guys, they have some beasts over there."

Watt certainly got his. A player with over 100 career sacks cannot be shut down throughout a game. He had two sacks, though one was after Jalen Hurts couldn’t quite get over the line of scrimmage and the play went for no gain, which counts as a sack. The Steelers lineman also forced a fumble from Hurts.

Johnson never had any help. He was truly on an island against Watt.

Philadelphia Eagles RT Lane Johnson / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

“When you watch people play this guy, they don’t ever leave him alone,” said Johnson. “They chip him every play. They chip, chip, chip. Coaches believe in me. I’m glad they do… I knew coming in what type of game it would be. It was going to be one of those games.”

His teammates noticed.

“Big shoutout to Lane Johnson, one-on-one on an island (against) one of the  best defensive players in the league,” said Saquon Barkley. “There’s not a lot of guys in this league that’s lining up one-on-one, no help, and doing that job. We got a guy that we know is the guy.”

Johnson said he would likely celebrate the win and his play against Watt with “a couple of shots.”

Those shots would be well-deserved.

“That’s my player of the match right there, knowing he had no help,” said left tackle Jordan Mailata. “That’s my player of the match. He’s a helluva player. Like I said, I tell you guys all the time, that’s the best O-lineman in the league, by far. No one comes close.”

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