Daily News | Eagles’ Reed Blankenship picks off Aaron Rodgers, making the improbable play that his father foretold
Reed Blankenship was sitting up against his hotel room’s bed frame on Saturday evening when the Eagles undrafted rookie’s phone rang. On the other line was his father, Troy.
Throughout his rookie season, Blankenship had been relegated to mainly a special teams role. Last week at Indianapolis, Blankenship finally made his debut on defense, appearing in an extremely limited spot as the team’s extra safety in dime packages. With less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter, starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson crumpled to the field after he attempted to deliver a hit on the ballcarrier. Gardner-Johnson, the NFL’s interception leader, required several minutes before he gingerly retreated to the home sideline. He then was immediately carted off the field; Gardner-Johnson was diagnosed with a rib injury and he didn’t return to the game.
“It’s a credit to how he approaches the game,” fellow safety Marcus Epps said. “There can be challenges coming into a game in that spot, but Reed is always in the right spot in practice reps. We have all the faith and trust in him. His preparation came to fruition on the field.Blankenship, who also finished with a team-high six tackles, shined for a majority of Sunday’s game, but there were also several teaching moments.
“We knew the Packers were going to give us their best shot,” Blankenship said. “I can’t wait to dive into the film. You have to work out the nerves out a little bit. I haven’t played a defensive snap in forever but once I made my first hit, it felt like, I’m back. Back playing the game of football. I just love football. I felt like a kid out there.
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