Evan Williams Hoping to Return to ‘Hair-On-Fire Self’ for Playoffs vs. Eagles

The numbers make clear the enormous impact Packers rookie safety Evan Williams has made on the defense. He’s hoping to return to the lineup for the wild-card game at the Eagles.

Evan Williams celebrates after the Packers beat the Texans. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Rookie safety Evan Williams didn’t play at all on defense when the Green Bay Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.

After missing the last three games with an injured thigh, Williams hopes to not be just on the field but having a major role when the Packers battle the Eagles in an NFC wild-card game at Philadelphia on Sunday.

“I’m honestly just happy to be where I am now, happy to be getting some of these reps and have the opportunity, hopefully, to be ready on Sunday,” Williams said after practice on Thursday, when he was limited participation for a second consecutive day.

Williams was injured during the Saturday practice before the Monday night game against the Saints in Week 16. He missed that game as well the losses to the Vikings in Week 17 and the Bears in Week 18. Not only was he sidelined for those three games, he didn’t return to practice until this week.

When he was on the field, Williams emerged as an All-Rookie contender.

After playing only special teams against the Eagles in Brazil, Williams had an interception the next week against the Colts. He got on a roll from there. During a three-game span, he had 10 tackles and two passes defensed (including the clincher) against the Rams, a forced fumble against the Cardinals and nine tackles against the Texans.

The Packers went 5-1 when he started and 7-0 when he played 30 plus snaps; on the other hand, they went 1-5 when he was inactive or played 10 or fewer defensive snaps. Incredibly, when he had even one tackle, the Packers were 10-0.

There’s little doubt pairing a healthy Williams with Xavier McKinney would give the Packers their best safety combination for Sunday’s game against the explosive Eagles.

“Evan is such a smart football player, and it comes so easy to him,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said on Thursday. “The communication back there, it’s a nice calming factor when he’s back there. I think for X, too, it allows X to kind of not have to do it all, where it allows X to say ‘All right, I’m going to play ball now.’”

Williams, like all rookies, has come a long way since the start of the season. That’s what allowed him to become a frequent starter, beginning with the win at the Rams.

“All the time I’m looking back on old film like, ‘Wow, that was me,’” Williams said. “It’s kind of funny to look back and just see some of the mistakes that you make or the film as a whole and seeing how far you’ve progressed in the whole scheme of things.

“I’ve had my fair share of injuries, so there’s points where I look back and I’m like, ‘Oh, wow, I was really healthy there, I was flying around, I felt good.’ But, at the same time, I don’t really have time to think about the past or think about the time when I was just playing with my hair on fire and not thinking about anything.”

After missing three games and getting three practices this week, can Williams get back to his hair-on-fire ways during a win-or-go-home playoff game against the powerful Eagles?

Williams was limited participation each of the first two days of the practice week. He stayed locked in mentally during his absence, though. During 11-on-11 periods, for instance, he’d watch plays from behind the defense to get a safety’s-eye perspective on things.

“It’s really all about being a part of something so much bigger than yourself and understanding that you’ve got guys that depend on you,” he said. “You’ve got guys that would, in the same situation, do everything to get back on that field. It’s the mutual trust and mutual love for each other and just understanding that even when you’re out, you have a role on this team.

“I think our locker room as a whole has a great culture and, definitely in the DB room, we’re really tight. I’ve just been doing my utmost to come back and be healthy for the guys.”

Now that he’s healthy, or at least close to it, he believes he can hit the ground running on Sunday. The challenge against the Eagles will be huge. Running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards, Jalen Hurts is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the game and there are a multitude of weapons on the perimeter.

The pass defense suffered without Williams, especially in the Week 17 loss to the Vikings.

If called upon, he will be ready.

“I think the main part of that is getting those practice reps, getting physically confident to a point to where you can look at your film at practice and be like, ‘That’s what I want it to look like once I step on the field on Sunday,’” he said.

“So, it’s really just trying to have a mixture of being smart in practice and turning it up a little to where you have those glimpses of, ‘OK, this is what I want it to look like.’ I’m hoping to be back to my hair-on-fire self come Sunday.”

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