The Philadelphia Eagles have won three straight games, and the Week 17 victory over the Buffalo Bills was a thriller that came down to the final seconds. The Eagles welcomed Jalen Carter back to the lineup, but they also saw rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell return to the lineup.
Nakobe Dean was inactive due to a hamstring injury, and the Eagles leaned on Campbell once again. Leading up to the Week 17 game, the rookie linebacker expressed that he's focused on continuing to learn, and his performance against the Bills showed how valuable he can be for this team.
Jihaad Campbell Shows Why He's a Weapon for the Eagles Defense
In the one-point win, Campbell played in 93% of the defensive snaps (71 plays), racking up seven total tackles and two QB hurries. In addition, he was stout in pass coverage, allowing two catches (four targets) for 15 receiving yards. His performance was all-around outstanding, and Campbell had the fourth-highest defensive grade on the team at 70.3 on Pro Football Focus.
Since Dean's return in Week 8, Campbell has been pushed onto the bench and seen his playing time decrease significantly. Yet this outing against the Bills is in par with what Campbell was doing earlier in the year as the starter.
Through Weeks 1-7, Campbell was the starter and was flying all over the field for Philadelphia. He had four games with a 70 or higher overall grade on PFF, while being an effective pass defender. Although Zack Baun and Dean are the starters at linebacker when healthy, the Eagles need to find a way to get Campbell onto the field.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Campbell is ranked among the best linebackers in advanced metrics. He has a 76.9 overall grade (11th among 86 graded linebackers) and a 78.4 coverage grade (6th among 86 graded linebackers). According to Next Gen Stats, Campbell has given up just 14 catches (25 targets) for 151 receiving yards and one touchdown this season.
Campbell has even played at edge during the season when Philadelphia needed help there. He's a versatile chess piece, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio must find a way to keep him involved. Although there's no official date for when Dean will return, it's clear that the veteran has the trust of the coaching staff.
They made him the starter once he was healthy and there's no reason to expect that to change. Nonetheless, Campbell is too good of a player to be kept on the bench and Week 17 is just another example of that.
Fangio and his staff need to find answers to this good problem because Campbell could be an x-factor for this defense in the postseason.