Jack Driscoll, in replacing Lane Johnson, was the unsung hero vs. the Bills

Jack Driscoll texted his parents several hours before the Eagles hosted the Bills. John and Cory Driscoll typically make the three-hour drive to Philadelphia from Connecticut, and this Sunday was no different, but their son wanted to prepare them for more than just the wet conditions at Lincoln Financial Field.

“I told them there was a chance I may start,” the fourth-year lineman said.

Start he did, and while Driscoll experienced early jitters at right tackle, his changing fortunes mirrored that of the Eagles as they rallied from a first half as miserable as the weather and outlasted the Bills in overtime, 37-34, in another defeat-defying thriller.

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Quarterback Jalen Hurts’ remarkable second-half turnaround punctuated by his game-winning touchdown scoot, and kicker Jake Elliott’s 59-yard field goal amid drops of rain and into the teeth of a wind that sent the game into the extra frame, rightfully garnered headlines after the Eagles miraculously maintained the NFL’s best record at 10-1.

But Driscoll deserved his share of praise considering how he performed the last time he had to step in for Lane Johnson — not well in the loss to the New York Jets last month — and how the Eagles have historically fared when the All-Pro tackle doesn’t play — not well as evidenced by their 13-22 record in those games before Sunday.

“Obviously, our success with Lane in the game and out of the game is well-documented,” Eagles center Jason Kelce said. “He’s a big part of what allows us to function at a high level. Jack found out late that he was going to have to go in there and play, and I think he’s played a lot of good football for us.

“I know things didn’t go how he hoped probably for the Jets game, but [he] goes out there and really plays great against a lot of really good defensive ends.”

Driscoll said he was alerted about five hours before kickoff that Johnson was experiencing groin soreness. He was at the NovaCare Complex eating lunch when offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland’s name popped up on his cell phone.

“Coach Stout just called me and said, ‘Be ready,’” Driscoll said. “He said he wasn’t sure with Lane. But that’s my job — be ready to go at all times.”

Driscoll has been down this road before, especially with Johnson. Before his first NFL game in 2020, he found out just before inactive players were announced that he would be starting at Washington. And in 2021, he was pressed into last-hour duty again when Johnson, plagued by mental health struggles, drove to his home in Oklahoma the morning before the Chiefs game.

The Eagles would lose both games, and Driscoll would allow a team-high number of pressures in each case. But he also held his own, considering the circumstances, and has built up capital with coaches and teammates.

Driscoll may have surrendered a whopping eight pressures in 43 pass attempts vs. the Jets. He may have played some part in Hurts’ fourth-quarter meltdown in North Jersey. And his being back on the right flank may have contributed to the quarterback’s early apprehensiveness against the Bills.

But Driscoll is a no-excuse guy. He’s what coach Nick Sirianni likes to call one of his first-guy-off-the-bus players. And that’s why the Eagles trusted him in another big spot even though rookie Tyler Steen and veteran Fred Johnson were plausible options.

“I know I went out there and I didn’t play my best football,” Driscoll said of the Jets game. “You [reporters] know that and I know that. And it was frustrating. But my thing was get better every day and no matter when my number’s called, if my number’s called, that I’m going to be ready to go.”

He didn’t look ready on his first snap. Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd jetted around Driscoll and forced Hurts out of the pocket and to eventually throw the ball away. Three passes on the Eagles’ first possession seemed gratuitous in light of the changes up front, and Hurts threw incomplete on each one.

The Eagles gave Driscoll occasional help from either right guard Cam Jurgens or in the form of chip blocks from tight ends and running backs. And Driscoll seemed to settle down as a result.

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“We felt like as the game grew on, that was our plan, see how the game was going, see if we have to continue there,” Sirianni said. “As the game grew on, we continued to gain more and more confidence in Jack’s ability to stop this rush.”

The film will tell the full story, but Hurts was hit only once on 37 drops and sacked just twice. The first happened when he stepped out of bounds and the second came on what appeared to be a draw play. Driscoll appeared responsible for the sack when he failed to punch block his man beyond Hurts.

But he said he otherwise felt good about his pass protection.

“I feel like after the first play I got the nerves out,” Driscoll said. “And from there on, it was like every play I’m going to try and get better. … I also had one of the best tackles of all time — Lane — sitting there telling me what he’s seeing and what I’m doing.

“How’s my set line, how are my hands? It meant a lot that he was out there.”

Johnson practiced all week and didn’t experience discomfort in his groin until Friday, an NFL source said. He received treatment Sunday morning and had an MRI that showed inflammation. He tested the groin on the field about two hours before kickoff under the watchful eye of team doctors, general manager Howie Roseman, and Stoutland.

Johnson missed the final two games of the regular season last year when he suffered a torn adductor in the core muscle area. He played through pain and held off surgery until after the playoffs. He’s spoken before about how injuries have affected him mentally.

The Bills have a foursome of prominent edge rushers in Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa, Von Miller, and Floyd. But the 49ers and Cowboys — the Eagles’ next two opponents — have just as much pass-rushing talent and contests against conference and division foes with the No. 1 seed still up for grabs are more important than beating an AFC opponent.

He “had to think about the future and not really try and force it,” Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata said of Johnson. “It ultimately came up to him if he wanted to play or not. And the doctors made it easy for him because they gave him the information.

“I think for Lane, when we found out, it was kind of just like, ‘OK, next man up.’ And we got Jack ready. And I think it was more for Lane to just not risk injuring it any more.”

As for Driscoll, a recent change in practice has allowed for him to take more first-team snaps at right tackle. With Jurgens out before the Jets game, Stoutland had Driscoll preparing at multiple spots. But he said he had some repetitions in place of Johnson last Thursday.

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He didn’t know then that he would get the call three days later with hours to spare.

“It was time to go,” Driscoll said. “We’ve got a game to win and no one’s going to sit there and feel sorry for me.”

The same could be said for his parents, especially his father, who played the offensive line and was drafted by the Bills in 1988. Driscoll has often spoken about his father’s hard knocks school of advice.

John Driscoll lasted only a year in the NFL before a knee injury ended his career. But he often has constructive criticism for his son, and was likely to have some more when Jack met his family after the game.

“Yeah, they’ll want to celebrate,” Driscoll said as he put on the kelly green bomber jacket that was hanging in his locker stall. “But I just want to lay on the couch.”