Eagles’ Jordan Davis accepted his lesser role, but he’ll be needed to stop the Packers in the playoffs

Jordan Davis paused and peeked over the cameras surrounding him in the Eagles locker room. Vic Fangio had gotten the attention of the 6-foot-6 defensive tackle and the defensive coordinator gave him a quick thumbs-up.

Davis was one of the few regulars to play in the season finale against the New York Giants and a season-high five tackles suggested the 2022 first-round draft pick earned his coach’s hand gesture, and perhaps more importantly, didn’t mind not getting the rest that most starters were afforded.

“There’s another game I get to play,” Davis said after the Eagles’ 20-13 win on Sunday. “I love this game, playing football since I was a kid. So any game that I get to play, I’m very fortunate, very excited. Treat every game the same, whether we’re playing the Giants or we’re playing in the Super Bowl, it doesn’t matter. … I take pride and I take fun in it.”

Davis’ attitude spoke to not only how he approached his assignment in the otherwise meaningless matchup, but also how he has handled having a lesser role since the Week 5 bye. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been instrumental in the Eagles’ defensive improvement.

When Fangio employs his five-man front, Davis is the nose tackle ready to eat up space. “Two on me, somebody’s free” has long been his motto, and there aren’t many who have his combination of size and strength to line up over the center and account for both “A” gaps.

But it has become a specialized trait, increasingly in Fangio’s scheme, as he has come to rely more on his 4-2 front to defend the run. Davis can play that technique, as well, but when it comes to passing downs, he has become an afterthought.

That may be more of a future concern than a present one because the Eagles’ formula since a shaky defensive start to the season has been a near-dominant one. But it took some time to get there, and the unit that allowed the Packers to score 29 points and gain 414 yards in the opener is much different 18 weeks later.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Packers: Four matchups to watch in a wild-card playoff rematch

Particularly in defending the run. Green Bay gashed the Eagles on the ground in Brazil. It was a slippery field that both teams had to contend with. But when the Packers travel to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday for a rematch in the first round of the playoffs, they’ll be facing an evolved defense.

“It’s a different look that they’re going to see,” Davis said. “It’s a different type of mindset that we have. It’s a different feel that we have on defense that the Packers haven’t seen. … It’s all about just doing the little things better.

“We’ve got to handle the basics, and if we do that, it shouldn’t even be close.”

Davis was referring to the improved run defense, not a predicted outcome. The Eagles surrendered 163 rushing yards on 21 carries in the first meeting. They got burned by explosive runs — a 33-yard jet sweep touchdown from receiver Jayden Reed and 32- and 22-yard bursts from running back Josh Jacobs.

Jacobs was held to just 30 yards on his 14 other carries, but his backup, Emanuel Wilson gained 46 yards on four totes. The Eagles still won and their defense showed glimpses of what it would eventually become two weeks later in New Orleans.

» READ MORE: Eagles are better than they have ever been. The road to the Super Bowl is tougher than ever. Up first, the Packers.

But the group got embarrassed by the Buccaneers in Week 4. Players were still getting adjusted to Fangio’s system, and personnel changes were made at the bye. Inserting rookie Cooper DeJean at slot cornerback was the most obvious, but Davis and defensive end Bryce Huff also saw their roles reduced.

Davis played 50% of the snaps in the first four games and only 32% in the next 12 as starting defensive tackles Jalen Carter, Milton Williams, and reserve Moro Ojomo picked up more playing time on passing downs.

There has always been scrutiny about Davis’ conditioning since he entered the NFL. It increased late last season as he petered out during the Eagles’ collapse and after it was reported that the listed 336-pounder was fined at one point for being overweight.

But he has looked spry for most of this season. Could it be the fewer snaps, better conditioning, or both? Davis said he feels great as the Eagles enter the postseason.

“That comes with just me being a pro in this third year, just understanding what I need to do, how I need to keep myself in shape,” he said. “And I’ve been doing that, going to keep doing that, going to stick to the model, and you’re going to play. I mean, shoot. Whatever it takes.”

A year ago, Davis was on the field for 42 of 70 snaps (60%) in the Eagles’ wild-card loss to the Bucs. He rushed quarterback Baker Mayfield 22 times and had no pressures. He wasn’t the only lineman to come up small in Tampa.

But a lack of pass-rush moves is possibly the greatest deterrent to Davis delivering on the Eagles’ investment. He turns only 25 on Sunday. But general manager Howie Roseman will have to decide, at least by this spring, whether he wants to pick up Davis’ fifth-year option.

There’s still a lot to like about the former Georgia star — the first of five former Bulldogs the Eagles drafted over a two-year span. He flashed some of his freakish athleticism — and also his instincts — against the Giants when he snuffed out a couple of early screens.

“There will be guys you want to rest that you can’t,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said, “and he went out there and played an outstanding game. It was fun to watch him play in that setting. … Plan was to play him a little less than normal, but we will see how that went out.”

Davis ended up logging around 20 snaps. Williams played some, too. Huff was on the field for about 45 plays. Fangio said the D-end, who was coming off injured reserve following wrist surgery to his wrist, was rusty last week. Huff didn’t record a sack or quarterback hit on Sunday, but he said he’s ready for the playoffs.

“Playing with the messed-up wrist for a little bit and then doing the surgery and waiting all that time for it to heal, kind of definitely put a little rust on there,” Huff said. “But I feel like I was definitely able to knock off the rust in the past two weeks.”

It’s almost remarkable that the Eagles have been as good on defense without getting major contributions from Huff (2½ sacks) and Davis (one sack) as pass rushers. It’s a testament to how Roseman hit on his other decisions and Fangio made it all work.

The defense needed remodeling after last season’s disaster. Getting Fangio was the first step. Signing free agents like linebacker Zack Baun and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was the next. And drafting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and DeJean was another.

But the culture had to be there, too. The Eagles had lost juice by last January. When defensive end Josh Sweat notched a sack early against Tampa Bay and he celebrated with his patented wipe-of-the-brow, no other defender joined him.

“You can’t be selfish if you’re playing this game, especially if you want to go far,” Davis said. “And I think that’s an important step that we had to take and we have taken — to get rid of the selfishness, play together, play as a team. When somebody makes a play, everybody celebrates.

“Like when those young guys made a play today, first people down the sideline to celebrate them was the older guys.”

Davis might not be on the field as much, but he’s been a constant in celebrations, both in-game and in victorious locker rooms. He’s a good vibes leader, but he’ll be needed if the Eagles are to curtail the Packers’ balanced offense.