Zack Baun logged a game-high 12 tackles, two passes defensed, and a tackle for loss in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 24-22 season-opening win against the Washington Commanders. Seriously, this dude came out swinging, and it caught everyone’s attention. Even Tom Brady named Baun his LFG Player of the Game, saying he was “already in midseason form.” Talk about a statement in Week 1, right?
Baun’s Dominance Sets the Tone
Baun repaid that love to Brady with some serious enthusiasm, telling him, “Thank you very much, Tom. Keep calling my games! Let’s f***ing go!” And you gotta feel that energy. This wasn’t a fluke either. Sunday marked Baun’s second LFG Player of the Game honor. He earned the award last season in Week 4 when the Eagles beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You know what else is wild? The Eagles are 9-3 in the 12 games Brady has called since the start of the 2024 season. That record includes their Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and a win against the Commanders in the 2024 NFC Championship Game. That kind of track record with Brady calling games just adds to the legend.
The Commanders’ offense has definitely changed since that NFC Championship loss, though. They swapped offensive coordinators this offseason, bringing in David Blough to replace Kliff Kingsbury. But that change didn’t save them from Baun and the Eagles’ defense. Philly held the Commanders to a measly 295 yards of offense, and quarterback Jayden Daniels had a sub-50% completion percentage for most of the game. Baun himself admitted that facing a team with a new OC in their first game is a real challenge. “With a new offensive coordinator they’ve got, you don’t really know what to expect,” Baun told Brady. “They can go with this offense, or they have a background in this offense. So, you’ve got to prepare for it all. Luckily, it was the first game, so we had a lot of time to do that. But we came out and showed effort, energy and got the dub.”
Defense Leads the Way (Almost Flawlessly)
While the Eagles’ offense has had its ups and downs in recent seasons, their defense has been a rock. These guys were fifth in scoring defense last season and second the year before. That’s consistent dominance! Baun credits defensive coordinator Vic Fangio for getting the team ready to roll right out of the gate. He said, “Every year, it starts with the fundamentals , grinding, grinding, grinding. How are we tackling? How are we helping each other in coverage? How are we communicating? All of that, so, I thought it was pretty good today. Of course, there’s always some stuff for improvement.”
And speaking of improvement, Baun even admitted to one small slip up. In the second quarter, he hauled in a pass from Daniels that *should’ve* been an interception, but he couldn’t get his feet down inbounds for the pick. He and Brady had a good laugh about it after the game, with Baun even joking, “We do catch work every day, working on the toe drag. I think the…” Man, if that’s the only “negative” from a monster performance like that, you know this defense is cooking!
The Eagles are now 1-0 after a tough opener. What’s next for this squad? They gotta keep that defensive energy going, especially with Baun setting the tone like this from day one. You just know Fangio is gonna keep these guys grinding on the fundamentals, and we’ll be watching to see how they build on this momentum. This defense is no joke, and Baun is leading the charge for what could be a monster season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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