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Big Fred shuts down top pass rusher in Eagles’ blowout win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
CINCINNATI — Fred Johnson peeked down at the folded jersey in his lap and read the message from Trey Hendrickson.
“Respect is earned”
And Big Fred earned a ton of it on Sunday afternoon.
Filling in at left tackle for the injured Jordan Mailata, Johnson shut down one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL and then got a chance to swap jerseys with him after the Eagles’ 37-17 win over the Bengals.
“I think I did good,” Johnson said of his battle with Hendrickson. “A lot of things to improve on. A lot of things to celebrate. But back to the drawing board this week, watch the film, get it corrected and move on.”
Johnson was better than good.
In fact, Johnson allowed just 1 pressure on 22 pass blocking snaps (4.5%) against the Bengals, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That was his lowest pressure rate this season.
There were some plays where the Eagles got creative to thwart Hendrickson. They ran screens to his side, they left him unblocked and ran away from him. But there were sometimes when Johnson just had to block him 1-on-1 — and he held his own.
“You can’t really control how the plays are called,” Johnson said. “You might need people in other places and people doing other things. You can’t really control the draw. … When they needed me to execute, I tried my best.”
In Johnson’s 13 snaps in pass protection against Hendrickson, he surrendered just one pressure. That pressure rate of 7.7% was the second-lowest allowed to Hendrickson by any offensive lineman all season with a minimum of five matchups, per Next Gen Stats.
Entering Sunday’s game, Hendrickson had 7 sacks in 7 games after a 17 1/2-sack season in 2023. He has been to the last three Pro Bowls and is one of the best and most underrated pass rushers in the NFL.
And since Hendrickson lines up almost exclusively on the right side of the defensive line, everyone knew it would…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-fred-shuts-down-top-110000523.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-10-28 11:00:00
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