‘We’re by no means where we want to be’

It just shows that our hard work is paying off, but we know it’s not time to get complacent,” Reddick said. “We gotta keep going, we gotta keep pushing, and we need to continue to have that dominating mentality. It’s not about right now – it’s about working toward our goal, to get to where we want to be at the end of the year. We need to put in the work and fine-tune the details every day.

“That’s our mentality as a group. Each and every week we want to win against the man in front of us. That’s our philosophy.”

Reddick is one of the league’s top pass rushers, having recorded 12.5 quarterback sacks in 2020 when he played with Arizona and then following up with 11 sacks last year as a Carolina Panther. The Eagles signed him as the prize of their free-agency class to help out with the pass rush. More pass pressure equals more mayhem equals more takeaways.

That’s a winning formula for Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon.

And that’s what the Eagles are doing up front – creating havoc. Even though they had a modest four quarterback sacks in the opening two games, the defense made the most of the pressure. James Bradberry intercepted a Jared Goff pass in the opener – Goff was pressured up the middle by tackle Marlon Tuipulotu to force the errant throw that linebacker Kyzir White tipped to Bradberry – and then in the Monday night win over Minnesota, consistent pressure up the middle and good edge pressure forced Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins into three interceptions.

The important number isn’t always the sack totals, but it sure does feel nice when they are part of the equation.

“We knew it was going to happen with the group that we have,” Reddick said. “This is very exciting, to be part of something like this. But we have to continue the hard work and (keep) improving. I hope that at some point we look at the first game of the season, even though that was a win, and we look back and say, ‘Look how far we’ve come.’ We just want to get better and better and better.

“When we all got together back in the spring, we looked at our defense on paper and felt good about things. But it’s different going out there every week and doing it, so that’s what is in the process of happening. We’re going to just keep pushing and pushing and getting a little bit better each time out.”

Next up, Jacksonville. The Jaguars pounded the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday and have a strong blend of a power running game and the high-level skills of second-year quarterback Trevor…