Regular Playoff Visitors, Eagles Not Taking Anything For Granted: "Earn Your Keep"

The Philadelphia Eagles have made the playoffs in eight of the 12 seasons Lane Johnson has been in the league.

Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) spikes the ball after quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) scores against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - The playoffs aren’t guaranteed for any NFL team, though the Eagles have had a nice run of postseason trips since Lane Johnson arrived in 2013. The Eagles have made it to the postseason in eight of his 12 years, played in a pair of Super Bowls, and has one Super Bowl championship ring.

Still, the right tackle isn’t taking anything for granted.

“I've had seasons where we didn't make the playoffs on the outside looking in, so fortunate to be here,” he said. …Playoffs don't come often for some teams but yeah, I don't take it for granted. I'm about to be 35 in May so I'm enjoying my time with everybody.”

The only four seasons Johnson hasn’t been to the postseason are 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2020.

Third-year defensive tackle Jordan Davis said it best, that this is the time of year the big dogs come out and play. The Eagles have been big dogs for quite some time, and with some of the talent Howie Roseman has infused on this roster, those days may not be ending anytime soon.

Davis, for instance, has been here three years and has been to the postseason in each of those three seasons, including to the Super Bowl as a rookie.

For rookie defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, this will be their first taste of an NFL postseason when the Green Bay Packers visit Lincoln Financial Field for a wildcard playoff game on Sunday. The Eagles haven’t won a home wildcard game since 2006 and are 0-3 since then.

DeJean wasn’t quite yet 4 years old when Jeff Garcia quarterbacked that home wildcard win over the New York Giants. And despite nurturing a dream to become a pro athlete, he probably couldn’t have identified Philadelphia on a map from his hometown of about 1,000 people in Iowa. He believes he is ready for his first sip of the playoffs.

“I try to treat it the same way,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of emotions going into it, just because you understand the consequences if you lose. But I try to treat it the same going into it. I’ve been in some big rivalry games, Big Ten championships, state championships. Just continue to prepare like we have all year. That’s a big point of emphasis in our team meetings.”

He and Mitchell always have Johnson and Darius Slay to lean on, too.

“Just told them to get ready for this playoff run; stay focused, stay locked in, watch film on yourself, and be hard on yourself,” said Slay, who will make his fourth straight playoff appearance in all four years he’s been in Philly and sixth season overall. “Gotta be locked in and minimize our mistakes. Go out and execute.

“I always tell my dudes that we earned the right to be in the playoffs. During the season, you know you got another game next week. Now, during this whole week you gotta earn the week to play the next week. So we gotta put the work in this week to go earn the right to play next week. Earn your keep.”

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