Nakobe Dean protects souvenir after calling game vs. Jags originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Nakobe Dean made his way into the postgame press conference room at Lincoln Financial Field with a football tucked high and tight.
Sorry … not A football — THE football.
As in, the football Dean picked off late in the fourth quarter on a pass from Trevor Lawrence to D’Ernest Johnson in the end zone to seal the Eagles’ 28-23 win. Facing an improbable and disastrous collapse, the Eagles needed a play and the third-year linebacker came through.
Dean called game.
“I just can’t get off of Nakobe and the play he made at the end of the game,” quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “So a hell of a play. A big-time moment.”
The Eagles at one point were up 22-0 on the Jaguars before a series of unfortunate plays and questionable decisions helped Doug Pederson’s team claw their way back into the game. The Eagles were clinging to a five-point lead when Lawrence began to drive them down the field after a Jake Elliott field goal miss.
The Jaguars made it all the way down to the Eagles’ 13-yard line with under 2 minutes remaining when Lawrence threw up a pass to Johnson in the end zone. Lawrence clearly liked his running back 1-on-1 against Dean but Dean high-pointed the ball and came down with it.
Ballgame.
“It’s a play that I knew they had,” Dean said. “They have good backs that can run good routes. I know Saquon (Barkley) scored on it earlier in the game, a play that was kind of like that out of the backfield, a stutter and go. I got beat on it in training camp against Kenny Gainwell. I had seen in quite a bit. I had seen it in college. Got beat on it a couple times in practice too.
“I kind of was waiting on it. It was an opportune time. It was high red zone. They knew what we was in. They knew 3×1, when we’re at the end of the game. They got the read right and I just made a play.”
The route Dean was talking about against Gainwell happened in front of a huge crowd at the public practice at the Linc this summer. It was a rough moment in training camp but Dean clearly learned from it. He said he even talked to Hurts and Gainwell about the play gained some insight.
Dean said when he saw Johnson stutter-step, he expected to see the ball come his way because Hurts and Gainwell said there’s a good chance it’s the primary route on that play. And he knew if Lawrence liked that matchup, he was going to pull the trigger.
“It’s just a credit to how much we work and how much time we put into this thing,” fellow linebacker Zack Baun said. “It’s not natural. You have to work at it every time and I’m really happy for him.”
It was a really nice time for Dean to pick up his first interception in the NFL.
“It was good. It was good to call game,” Dean said. “I wasn’t doing much else that game. I don’t know how many tackles I had. Other guys on defense had big games. I know Zack went crazy. Coop (DeJean), another big 4th-and-short stop. A lot of guys were flying around on defense and we was making a lot of plays.”
The Eagles took Dean in the third round out of Georgia back in 2022 and he basically had a redshirt rookie season behind T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. The plan was for him to take over as the MIKE linebacker in 2023 but he missed most of the season with foot injuries.
In 2024, the Eagles signed former first-round pick Devin White and expected White to be a starter but Dean simply beat him out in training camp. And he’s been putting together a strong season ever since.
“I think we’ve all just had a ton of confidence in Nakobe and he continues to get better,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “I can’t remember if I told you guys this or not, but there isn’t a night that he’s not in there just grinding. I think one thing that makes him special is his mind and leadership.
“He’s constantly working on that. I’m walking downstairs late one evening and he’s still in there watching tape. He has a special work ethic, which allows him to make special plays like he did today.”
Earlier in Sunday’s game, Baun picked off a pass from Lawrence in the first half. This was the first game with an interception from two Eagles linebackers since Jeremiah Trotter and Carlos Emmons did it on Sept. 3, 2000 in Dallas.
And both of those footballs will find a new home in the NovaCare Complex this week.
“We got this thing now that we’re putting all our takeaway balls in the linebacker room,” Dean said. “We got one from last week from Zack’s forced fumble and it’s good to add two more. Because we’ve been harping on it, like, we need to take the ball away. And we’re finally starting to take the ball away and we’re hoping to continue to take the ball away.”
Last week, Baun was able to punch out a football late in the win over the Bengals. Dean recovered that fumble in Cincinnati and returned the football to Baun.
So on Sunday, when Dean forced a bad throw that led to a Baun interception in the second quarter, Baun returned the favor. He gave the ball to Dean.
“It’s huge,” Baun said. “And it’s huge for the team. Obviously, I like when we do it. And hopefully, we have a lot more balls at the end of the season.”
The Eagles had just two takeaways through the first six games of the season. They had two last week and added three more on Sunday against the Jaguars. Three of those five have come from the linebackers.
That meeting room is going to be full pretty soon.
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