Right tackle Lane Johnson gives the Eagles ‘a lot of confidence’ in keeping Jalen Hurts clean in the pocket

Don’t bother asking right tackle Lane Johnson exactly how Jalen Hurts and the Eagles passing game fared in the immediate aftermath of their 27-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Someone else occupied his attention.

“When I’m in the game, bro, you’ve got to understand,” Johnson said on Sunday night. “My eyes are on that [expletive] dude. Like, 90.”

Going into the game, Johnson knew that No. 90, otherwise known as the six-time Pro Bowl and four-time All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt, was going to spend most of the night lined up across from him. Johnson knew he would have his hands full, considering that Watt entered the game with a team-high 9½ sacks this season. Still, coach Nick Sirianni had faith in his starting right tackle to handle Watt, especially in a number of one-on-one situations.

“Lane gives you a lot of confidence going into the game, because the rushers in the NFL don’t come much better than Watt,” Sirianni said Monday. “He’s one of the best players in the NFL. Lane’s one of the best players in the NFL. So any time our game gets to see two of the top players at their positions battle, I think it’s always special. It’s fun to watch.”

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That faith wasn’t misplaced. Watt, who went down late in the fourth quarter with a rolled ankle, finished the game with five pressures (including two sacks), according to Pro Football Focus. Johnson was credited with allowing only one pressure, which did not include either of the two sacks.

The right tackle’s pass-blocking efforts helped keep Hurts clean throughout the night, allowing him to go 25-of-32 for 290 yards and two touchdowns in the passing game. Johnson’s efforts were nothing out of the ordinary. He has conceded just eight total pressures in 13 games this season, which leads all offensive tackles in the NFL who have taken at least 780 blocking snaps, according to PFF.

“Lane played a really outstanding game yesterday against, again, a phenomenal, phenomenal player,” Sirianni said. “It just gives you a lot of confidence to have 65 out there week to week.”

The Eagles lost Landon Dickerson to a knee injury on Sunday. The 26-year-old left guard went down on the last play of the first half when he collided awkwardly with Hurts on a sack by Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith.

While Dickerson remained on the sideline for the second half, even riding the stationary bike at one point early on, he did not return to action. Sirianni did not have an update on the severity of Dickerson’s injury.

“Still going through our process that we go through every Monday, Tuesday,” Sirianni said. “We’ll have more information for you guys on Wednesday of where we are with that. Obviously he didn’t go back in the game, so we’re just still going through things.”

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Tyler Steen, the second-year depth offensive lineman, took over for Dickerson for the remainder of the game. He incurred a pair of holding penalties on the Eagles’ first possession of the second half, contributing to their decision to settle for a field goal.

Despite his shaky start, Steen conceded just one pressure on 21 allowed pressure opportunities (non-spike, non-penalty pass-blocking snaps), according to PFF. Sirianni spoke highly of Steen’s performance in a situation that required him to come off the bench cold.

“I thought Tyler did a nice job when he got in,” Sirianni said. “We’ve had that all year, guys have stepped in. That’s not an easy game to step into against a team like the Steelers. And Tyler came in and helped us get a victory.”

Late in the fourth quarter Sunday, the Eagles caught a break on an undisciplined special-teams penalty by defensive tackle Jalen Carter. The 2023 draft’s No. 9 overall pick out of Georgia swatted at tight end Connor Heyward’s head moments after the Steelers punted the ball away.

The officials initially handed Carter a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that would have brought the Steelers offense back on the field, but they changed course and decided that the misstep came after the punt. In turn, the Eagles offense began its drive backed up at its own 3.

The Fox cameras caught Sirianni in an animated exchange with the defensive tackle on the sideline following the play that required defensive line coach Clint Hurtt to step in between the two of them. On Monday afternoon, Sirianni offered more insight into what transpired.

“We correct everything,” Sirianni said. “As Jalen was coming off the field, I was kind of getting after him there. I think that there’s part of me that wanted to go back and really … so I kind of made my point as Jalen was coming off the field. And then I went back and what Clint was saying was, like, ‘Coach, I got it. I got it. I’ve already handled it.’ So I had said something to him, Clint had said something to him, and knowing Clint and how he’s coached him for the past half a year that he’s been here, I knew we had it.”

Shortly afterward, Sirianni said that Carter approached his head coach on the sideline and the two shared “a moment” — a reconciliatory hug, which was also captured by the cameras. Sirianni explained that his frustration with the penalty came from a place of wanting Carter to channel his “relentless” nature into actions that positively impact the team.

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“I know how good Jalen Carter wants to be,” Sirianni said. “I know how aggressive he plays. And my message to him, always and all our plays, [is] we want to be aggressive. We want to be physical. We want to do all those things, but we want to do that within the rules.”