Veteran Linebacker Helped Eagles Overcome Nakobe Dean's Loss; Can It Continue?

The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Rams without one of their top defensive players able to play in Nakobe Dean, who was lost for the season in the widlcard round.

Jan 19, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun (53) celebrates his fumble recovery with linebacker Oren Burks (42) during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams in a 2025 NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – Oren Burks helped soften the blow of losing Nakobe Dean. The thinking going into Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams was it would take two players to overcome the loss of Dean – Burks and rookie Jeremiah Trotter, Jr.

That thinking changed as the game went on.

“We had planned to possibly play Trot some, but Oren was doing okay, things were going okay, so we stuck with it,” said Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on Tuesday as the Eagles being preparing for their second NFC Championship Game in three years.

Burks took 68 linebacker snaps (96 percent) and tied with several others for most tackles on the team with six, adding two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and a pass defended. Trotter didn't get any defensive reps, but played 25 on special teams. Burks' special team reps were reduced to nine.

“I don’t take anything for granted, even though I’ve been in the playoffs a bunch of times,” said Burks. “There’s so much to say about how everybody goes through their journeys, specifically, to get to this point.

“Collectively there will never be a team like this next year, so I really just embrace it and take this mindset of consistency, doing my job, and finding ways to add value. It’s fun. This is what I signed up for when working in the offseason, sweating and grinding and everything, this is when it counts.”

Burks has played in 13 playoff games, including both of the Eagles’ postseason games this year, but Sunday was just the second one he started.

“Proud of him,” said head coach Nick Sirianni of Burks’ game against the Rams. “Proud of the effort he had. To say I was surprised by it, not even a little bit. He's a warrior and he gives everything he has to this. He's a special teammate. The guys really respond to him.”

Maybe Trotter will get some snaps against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Or maybe Burks can shoulder the load without mishap once again.

“The level of details in the playoffs goes up,” said Burks. “For me, it’s just like diving into the details of what’s going to allow us to step up in those big moments when we need to win.”

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