The news wasn’t all good for the Philadelphia Eagles after Sunday’s Wild Card win over the visiting Green Bay Packers.
Linebacker Nakobe Dean is expected to have an MRI on his knee Monday morning, NFL Network is reporting. The first-year starter was carted off the field in the second quarter of the 22-10 victory.
He was seen using crutches after the game, and now NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport say he is believed to have suffered a significant knee injury that could end his postseason.
This would represent a tremendous blow for a defense that ranked first in yardage and second in points.
Dean’s injury occurred while stopping Packers tight end Tucker Kraft for a three-yard loss on a short pass from Jordan Love. He initially looked as if he was about to stand before resting on one knee and remaining on the field as he waited for medical attention.
‘Dean sniffed that one out,’ one fan remarked on X.
Nakobe Dean #17 of the Philadelphia Eagles is carted off after sustaining an injury in the second quarter of a game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night
Another wondered: ‘I really can’t figure out how he got hurt so bad on this.’
A standout at Georgia from 2019 through 2021’s national championship season, Dean has proven to be a versatile linebacker, capable of making plays behind the line of scrimmage or in pass coverage.
This season, while making 15 starts, the third-round pick recorded nine tackles for a loss and an interception.
‘You hate that,’ Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said of Dean’s injury after the game, as quoted by NBC Philadelphia’s John Clark.
Hurts, who played collegiately at Alabama before transferring to Oklahoma, then pointed out that Philadelphia’s defense is comprised largely of his old college rivals from Georgia.
‘I think one thing that I learned was just the bond that those Georgia guys have, and how they play,’ Hurts said. ‘I think that that’s had a great influence on our defense, because there’s always a confidence, there’s always an intensity there and swagger about themselves.
‘I think that feeds through the whole defense, and I think it’s very similar to all the guys that come from Alabama and the SEC and that have seen each other and played alongside one another, or watch guys play in that conference or in college.
‘But I think he’s a pivotal piece to our defense and he’ll be missed. I’m praying for a speedy recovery.’