NFC Defensive Player of the Month today.
NFL Defensive Player of the Year next?
Haason Reddick had a December (and January) to remember as he registered eight sacks, two forced fumbles, 18 tackles, and a fumble recovery in the final six games of the season. He had a three-game stretch with consecutive multi-sack performances, becoming the first Eagles since 2011 to accomplish the feat.
His play was recognized on Thursday as the NFL named Reddick the NFC Defensive Player of the Month.
This has been a season of firsts for Reddick, the Eagles' big-ticket acquisition in free agency this offseason who hails from Camden, New Jersey and played his college football at Lincoln Financial Field with the Temple Owls. He earned his first Pro Bowl invite and he capped off a stellar first year in Philadelphia with, yes, his first monthly award. Next weekend, he will be playing in his first playoff game.
Reddick was one of the nine weekly award winners during the season, after the Week 4 win over Jacksonville when he had two sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
The catalyst of Philadelphia's historic league-leading pass rush that totaled a franchise- and near NFL-record 70 sacks, Reddick recorded a career-high 16.0 sacks – tied for second in the league – including a league-best 5 strip sacks, with 5 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. Among the top 10 players in total sacks, he had the fewest pass rush snaps (428) and the second-highest sack rate (3.7%).
Reddick is just the third NFL player since 1999 to produce 16.0+ sacks, 5+ FFs, and 3+ FRs in a season, joining T.J. Watt (2021) and Chandler Jones (2019). Watt won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors and Jones was second in his year. Reddick became the first NFL player to produce 10.0+ sacks in three consecutive seasons with three different teams (also Arizona and Carolina).
His 16.0 sacks are tied for the third most by any NFL player in their first year with a team (also Derrick Burgess with Oakland in 2005), behind Shaquil Barrett with Tampa Bay in 2019 (19.5) and Bryce Paup with Buffalo in 1995 (17.5).
The Eagles return to the practice field on Thursday. They will be off for the bye during Wild Card Weekend as they await their Divisional Round opponent.
