‘Nasty’ Nolan Smith sacks Packers’ Jordan Love twice and sets the tone for the Eagles defense in a playoff win

In an alternate universe, Nolan Smith isn’t supposed to be here, moving on to the divisional round following the Eagles’ 22-10 wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers as a key piece of the NFL’s top-ranked defense.

Smith, who hails from the coastal town of Savannah, Ga., said he ought to be working the graveyard shift on one of his hometown’s ports, anchoring down “boats and latches and stuff.” That blue-collar mentality ingrained within the second-year outside linebacker fuels his hard-nosed efforts on the football field, whether he’s taking down quarterbacks or stuffing running backs at the line of scrimmage.

“So I go out there and I just want to make my mama proud and make the 10 guys next to me proud,” Smith said. “When they turn on the film, they know 3 is going to fly around to the ball.”

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: An opportunistic defense wore down the Packers in a wild-card win

His teammates don’t need to watch back Sunday’s win at the Linc to remind themselves of Smith’s work ethic. He made a lasting impact in real time. The 23-year-old pass rusher notched a pair of sacks on the Packers’ Jordan Love, who finished the season with the third-lowest sack rate (3.19%) among starting quarterbacks.

Smith now leads the team with 8½ sacks between the regular season and postseason combined, a drastic increase over his rookie season, when he recorded just 1½ sacks in the same span. His performance this season earned him a superlative from Darius Slay, the Eagles’ 12th-year veteran cornerback. Following the wild-card victory, Slay called Smith the “nastiest” player on the defense.

“He’s a force,” Slay said. “He’s probably the nastiest, dirtiest player on our team as in he’ll do all the dirty work. He’s a key piece to our defense, man. He’ll really be setting the tone in the most quiet, nastiest way. Hitting people in the face.”

Smith, the 2023 No. 30 overall pick out of Georgia, set the tone on the Packers’ first possession of the night. He limited Packers star running back Josh Jacobs to a 2-yard gain on the second play of the drive, contributing to the Packers eventually going three-and-out.

Then, on the next Green Bay possession, the 6-foot-2, 238-pound Smith made his presence felt in the pocket. On third-and-3 from the Packers’ 45-yard line, Smith beat right tackle Zach Tom with a speedy inside move, bringing down Love for a loss of 14 yards and forcing the visitors to punt.

Jalyx Hunt, the rookie edge rusher, explained after the game that they knew from their film study throughout the week that the Packers tackles tend to get vertical off the ball. The pass-rushing corps worked their inside escapes throughout the week in an effort to potentially take advantage of those vertical sets come game day.

“If I could’ve run on the field and bear-hugged him, I would have,” Hunt said. “That’s a flag, though. I was like, that’s exactly what we game planned.”

Smith wasn’t finished wreaking havoc in the pocket. Late in the fourth quarter with the Eagles up comfortably, 22-10, defensive tackle Milton Williams beat third-string left guard Kadeem Telfort, forcing Love to step up and into the arms of Smith.

“Shout out to Milt, man,” Smith said. “I might give Milt half of my playoff check, man, because we was joking about it.”

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But the fact that Smith was in the right place at the right time was no accident. According to Hunt, “That’s Nolan.” Smith was around the ball all night long, finishing the game with seven tackles, the second most on the team.

His most impactful play in the run game came in the fourth quarter when the Eagles were up, 19-10, and the Packers were driving at their own 41-yard line with five minutes, 44 seconds left in the game. On third-and-3, Smith displayed his physicality once again, defeating a block and collapsing on running back Emanuel Wilson to stuff him for no gain.

“He plays as hard as I’ve ever seen anybody play, and this dude is a physical, physical, physical guy,” coach Nick Sirianni said of Smith. “I can’t say enough about the way he plays this game. He loves this game. You love guys like that.”

Slay likened Smith’s NFL career trajectory so far to that of Brandon Graham, albeit in a much shorter period of time. The veteran Eagles edge rusher, who was also a first-round pick, eventually shed the “bust” label he earned after a quiet start to his career. Slay claimed that Smith received the “BG treatment” when he first entered the league and had a limited impact in his rookie season.

“He’s a great pass rusher,” Slay said. “People was questioning his pass-rush skills. But he’s amazing, man. He’s really like the skinner BG. BG’s got a little gut. Nolan’s got some abs. We appreciate him, man.”

By registering two sacks in the biggest game of his NFL career, Smith continued to show that he’s come a long way from his rookie-year showing. His performance was even more meaningful knowing that his mother was in attendance. Before leaving the locker room to find his family, Smith expressed a sense of confidence that he made his mother proud.

“I know she’s going to cry and give me a hug,” Smith said. “This is my first playoff win in the NFL and I told myself, man, just leave it all out there on the field every time. That’s what I tried to do.”