Unheralded Eagles rookie Will Shipley makes a ‘difference’ with forced fumble and first career TD
Shipley's forced fumble on special teams was a massive momentum swing for the Eagles. He later added a 57-yard run and a touchdown to his breakout performance.
“WILL!” Jalyx Hunt shouted from across the Eagles’ locker room, holding the NFC championship trophy.
Rookie running back Will Shipley had just played the best game of his young NFL career, forcing a fumble on special teams and scoring his first NFL touchdown in relief of Saquon Barkley during the Eagles’ 55-23 win over Washington.
“He was hooping!” Hunt said.
Before this year, Shipley had never played on special teams before except as a returner. After Sunday’s game, he was more excited about his forced fumble than about his touchdown.
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“It’s been a big learning curve for me,” Shipley said. “I’m just trying to produce and try to mean something to this team the way that I have in the past. When I was able to go in there and get my first forced fumble right before half, Kenny Gainwell, picks it up, and we’re able to score before the half. It really does change momentum. Those middle eight minutes is what we call them. We controlled those. I was just so pumped up.”
Shipley, the Eagles’ fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft, is known for his versatility — on offense. He was a first-team All-American in 2022 as an all-purpose player. But coming into the league as the Eagles’ third running back behind Barkley and Gainwell, Shipley needed to learn to adjust.
“To come in and be as humble as he is, to accept a new role, was amazing to see,” Hunt said. “He’s a seasoned player at this point. His mindset is what really sets him apart. His room is — we have, arguably, in my opinion, the MVP of the league, [Barkley]. Behind him, you have [Gainwell], who would start anywhere else, and just to be able to learn and be humble and soak up everything that he can from them. It’s amazing and a testament to his mentality.”
Shipley’s put in work on special teams, but on Sunday, he also got the opportunity to step in at running back, after Gainwell left the game with a concussion. Looking like Barkley, who ripped off a 60-yard run on the first play of the game, Shipley pulled off the longest run of his young career, a 57-yarder, from nearly the exact same spot, and almost took it to the house.
A few plays later, Shipley finally found his way into the end zone for the first touchdown of his NFL career, and Barkley, who ran in from the sideline to congratulate the rookie, was over the moon.
“Just celebrating with the guys is all I could ask for,” Shipley said. “Saquon came down, met me in the end zone. I was sitting on the floor looking at Jordan Mailata, and just so much appreciation for, you know, every one of my teammates, every one of my coaches. It was a surreal moment, but everything I planned went out the window.”
Next time, Shipley said, he hopes he can finish off the big run with a touchdown, but he got there eventually, scoring the touchdown that set the NFL record for most points by a team in an NFC championship game.
Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean get most of the headlines in this rookie class, with good reason. Both are Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists. But the success of this rookie class goes beyond just those two. Hunt, Shipley, and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. have carved out roles on this Eagles team on special teams, and are fighting their way into the offense and defense. They’ve also become close friends, learning from one another and pushing each other to be better.
Shipley is just the latest rookie to have a breakout performance this season — and his came in the year’s biggest game so far, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
“The whole rookie class has just bonded over those longer hours during OTAs, sitting here doing rookie meetings, all that good stuff, going out to dinner together,” Shipley said. “It’s been just such a great experience getting to know guys from different areas, different places. We all feel like we’re contributing, and we’re making a difference on this team. We take pride in that.”