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It’s been several days, and you can hardly tell that Reed Blankenship’s left forearm bore the weight of Terry McLaurin and all 210 of his pounds in the Philadelphia Eagles overtime win over the Washington Commanders in Week 4.
Except for some scratches and redness, Blankenship’s stepped-on forearm looked remarkably well.
“He stepped right on my forearm,” said Blankenship at his locker on Wednesday, three days after the play happened. “I mean, it’s crazy it didn’t break, but at the end of the day, I’m glad it didn’t break.
“I didn’t watch but it kept popping up on my feed, the forearm play. It was pretty cool. But at the end of the day, I’m just glad I got the job done. I was just trying to make a play. Just trying to be a ballplayer and stuff.”
The Eagles have suffered enough injuries already this season, and losing Blankenship for any extended period would most certainly leave a mark far greater than McLaurin’s cleat did.
All he’s done so far is record one of the two team’s interceptions and his 26 tackles are just three behind linebacker Zach Cunningham’s team-leading tackler, despite Blankenship missing one game with a rib injury.
Where would the Eagles be without the first-year starter?
“Every day, even in meetings you always learn something new,” said Blankenship. “You’re not at that mountain top yet. Sometimes you’re not even going to be there. Some of the greats, still want to fix mistakes that they made in the past.
"That’s just the beauty of it. It’s being a ballplayer and learning from your mistakes and getting better every day.”
Blankenship is healthy as the Eagles prepare to play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday (FOX/4:05 p.m.). Even better news, the Eagles’ safety position, which was without Sydney Brown (hamstring) and Justin Evans (neck) against the Commanders appears to be on track to play.
Blankenship’s forearm, though, potentially saved the day in the 34-31 win, when it came between McLaurin and the ground as the Washington receiver tried to get his second foot down in-bounds on a 3rd and 5 throw on the Commanders' OT possession. The officials called the pass incomplete, and it withstood a lengthy review.
On the previous play, Blankenship was also in the right spot.
This time, he made a nice read to stop Jahan Dotson in his tracks on a second down. It was clear Washington offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was trying to get the speedy Dotson in space and see if he could get a first down on the Commanders’ first possession of OT.
Blankenship read it beautifully and was on Dotson before he could get his legs churning, dropping him right after he caught it for just a five-yard gain to bring up a third down, where the safety delivered his forearm heroics.
It appeared Blankenship injured himself while tackling Dotson, rising after the tackle with his left arm hanging down to the side of his body. An official went over to ask if he was all right, Blankenship said yes and remained in.
“Got to play aggressive near the end,” he said. “You gotta suck it up and just do what you got to do. Now we were battling all day and that was just one of those times where you’ve got to nut up and make the play. …Look, I’m going to play until they take me out.”
The Eagles are in no hurry to take him out. He has played 77 percent of the snaps – again, he missed one game – which is the third-highest percentage of snaps on the defense behind cornerback Darius Slay, who has played 99 percent, and Cunningham, who has played 86 percent.
More must-reads:
- Three offseason moves the Rams must make
- Fantasy expert offers blunt take on Eagles RB Will Shipley
- The 'Super Bowl starting QBs' quiz
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