Eagles C Jason Kelce shares a heartfelt testimonial on Lane Johnson and the value he brings to the offensive line
Every Eagles fan knows how valuable Lane Johnson is to the offensive line and the offense as a whole.
During his 10-year tenure in Philadelphia, the Eagles have gone 79-47-1 while Johnson is healthy and on the field. When he’s sidelined, Philly has posted a 12-21 record. He set the NFL record for most consecutive pass plays without allowing a sack (928 and counting) earlier this season. He’s just an absolute stud, through and through.
On Christmas Eve in Dallas, Johnson went down with a torn ligament in his abdominal area and is set to miss the remainder of the regular season. Reports surfaced Wednesday that Johnson will put off surgery until the offseason and instead go through rehab for the next 2-3 weeks in preparation for the playoffs.
Even if Johnson isn’t at 100 percent, an 80-85 percent Johnson is still better than nearly every tackle in the NFL. Just ask his running mate Jason Kelce, who appeared on Sports Radio 94WIP Thursday morning to explain just how good Johnson is and how hard it’ll be for the Eagles to play without him.
Kelce on the Eagles All-Pro tackle
“He’s been the best pass blocking right tackle for some time now,” Kelce said of Johnson on Thursday’s 94WIP Morning Show. “There’s really not anybody through the past decade that’s even in his stratosphere other than maybe Mitchell Scwhartz.”
“IÂ don’t think people realize how much we leave our tackles on an island and how hard of a job they have week in, week out. Even against the two monsters that they went up against last week in DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons. Lane Johnson is probably, if not the most respected tackle in the NFL, certainly one of them by the players that he goes against. I’ve seen him go up against Von Miller, Khalil Mack, all of these big name guys and nothing. I mean maybe a sack or two, but that’s understandable against a premiere player in the NFL.”
“The consistency in which he does he job and ease at which he does it, by himself, is unmatched and that allows the offense to operate freely. You don’t have to worry about chipping, you don’t have to worry about lining up somebody to kind of slow down the start of the rush. All of these things impact the rest of the offense. And then you tack on the fact that he’s a veteran player, he’s been around, he’s been in certain situations so he’s knowledgeable.”
“He’s a leader so other guys gravitate toward him before the game, during the game, and afterwards. This is a big loss. It hurt us a lot as a team before. I think we have good depth right now, but nobody is going to be Lane Johnson. I think it’s appropriately being made a big deal in the media and by everybody else.”
If you needed any further evidence of how much this Eagles organization appreciates Johnson, there you have it.
Kelce knows the value Johnson brings to the offense more than anyone on the roster. He’s played alongside Johnson for the better part of the past 10 years and the duo has paved the way for some of the best Eagles offenses in franchise history.
Luckily for the Eagles, they’ll ideally be without Johnson for just one meaningful game – Week 17 against New Orleans. If Philly brings home the W on Sunday, they’ll have the No. 1 seed in the NFC locked up and will be able to rest starters for the final game against New York.
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Mandatory Credit: AP
