Eagles corner James Bradberry’s big play impresses Darius Slay: ‘How you let that man out the building?’
Bradberry's crucial interception helped the Eagles hold off Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars.
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Midway through James Bradberry’s postgame scrum with reporters, Darius Slay was compelled to interject.
The subject matter of the questions for his fellow cornerback after Bradberry had an interception in the Eagles’ 29-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars weren’t evoking the answers he wanted most.
So, midway through Bradberry chewing on an inquiry about film study, Slay offered a more cutting query for his new teammate.
“They asking the wrong questions,” Slay said, “The right question to ask is how the Giants let this man walk out the building. That’s the question you’ve got to ask.”
“How you let that man out the building like that?” Slay added before letting out a dry, performative laugh. “We appreciate him, though.”
Bradberry, ever-serious, dodged Slay’s fastball.
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“You have to ask the Giants that,” he said, smiling.
Bradberry’s decision to sign with the Eagles after the New York Giants released him to clear money for their draft picks has paid off for both sides so far. He has been a rock-solid outside corner opposite Slay, and came up with his second interception of the season in a pivotal spot.
The 29-year-old Bradberry jumped Christian Kirk’s route after Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence floated a pass to the receiver in the red zone. The turnover, one of five from the Eagles defense, kept Jacksonville from overcoming a six-point deficit at the time.
“I’ve had a play like that run against me before,” Bradberry said. “So I guess you can say it was just experience.”
Bradberry served as the anchor in the Eagles secondary Sunday. With Avonte Maddox sidelined with an ankle injury and Slay missing almost the entire game with a forearm injury, Bradberry was the lone starting cornerback remaining against a Jaguars passing offense that came into the weekend ranked second in efficiency by Football Outsiders.
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“There’s no doubting him and the talent that he has,” said cornerback Zech McPhearson, who replaced Slay for most of the game. “He shows it every time he’s on the field, whether you want to see it or not, he’s going to make the play. That’s just Bradberry. He’s quiet, but on the field, he’s going to bring it every play.”
McPhearson and slot cornerback Josiah Scott were the fill-ins on the Eagles’ back end, and each played well enough for the Eagles defense to stifle the Jags on a wet and windy afternoon. Scott had some miscues, but was credited with a pass breakup in the third quarter.
The 23-year-old Scott said he learned he’d be the starting nickel corner on Friday when Maddox was ruled out after tweaking an ankle injury in practice the day before.
“They let me know I would have to go in and play significant snaps,” Scott said. “We preached it all summer and in the season now. If someone goes down, you step up and keep that same high level of play. ... It’s just a plug-and-play type of thing.”
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McPhearson got beaten deep by receiver Jamal Agnew in the first quarter, but Lawrence unleashed an errant throw. Otherwise, the Eagles corner had an uneventful day filling in for Slay.
The 24-year-old McPhearson has been a special teams ace for the team so far this year while also spelling Slay in each of the last three games, which he said is valuable experience.
“It felt real good to be finally be out there,” McPhearson said. “The longevity of time being out there was pretty extensive this time. It felt good playing with those guys.”