Talk about a flair for the dramatic.
It was the Eagles’ first interception ever in a Super Bowl. It was a pick-6. It was his first career interception. It was the first pick-6 by a rookie in a Super Bowl in 39 years. It came against one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. It was a pivotal point in the biggest game. And it was his birthday.
You couldn't script it any better.
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“Yeah, he had to be dramatic about it,” Reed Blankenship said with a laugh. “He had a pick-6 in a Super Bowl for his birthday. I mean, who would want it any other way? I’m proud of him. He works so hard every day. I love seeing him succeed.”
Cooper DeJean turned 22 on Sunday and celebrated with one of the biggest defensive plays in Eagles history.
With the Eagles already up 10-0 in the middle of the second quarter of Super Bowl LIX at the New Orleans Superdome, the Eagles’ rookie corner stepped in front of a Patrick Mahomes pass and ran 38 yards for a touchdown.
It was only the second pick-6 by a rookie in Super Bowl history, the first since 1985, and it gave the Eagles a 17-0 lead on the way to a 34-0 late 3rd-quarter lead and eventually a 40-22 win over the Chiefs and a second Super Bowl championship in eight years.
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“It’s crazy,” said DeJean, the Eagles’ 2nd-round pick out of Iowa. “To be able to do it with this group of guys. I came in and since day one, all of us rookies, they brought us in, taught us everything they know. Now, to be here on the biggest stage and be able to hold that Lombardi Trophy and do it on my birthday and Saquon’s birthday – it’s pretty crazy.”
The Eagles had the No. 1 defense and No. 1 pass defense in the NFL during the regular season, but all three had at least one in the postseason.
DeJean’s INT was the highlight of a monster defensive performance that saw the Eagles hold the Chiefs to 55 yards and no points on their first nine possessions.
By then, it was 34-0 and even a few garbage-time touchdowns didn’t make the final score close.
“We just played our defense, like we have all year,” DeJean said. “What we’ve done all year: Working together as a group. The biggest thing is try to contain the quarterback and I think our d-line did a great job of that all night, group rushing, keeping him in the pocket, not allowing him to create explosive plays when he gets outside the pocket.”
The Eagles became the first Super Bowl team to record six sacks and three takeaways while holding an opponent to fewer than 300 yards since the 1989 49ers against the Broncos. The Eagles hadn’t even done that in a regular-season game since a 2019 win over Luke Falk and the Jets.
Thirty-two years ago, Eric Allen had a pick-6 off Bobby Hebert in the fourth quarter of a playoff win over the Saints, and DeJean ran into the same right corner of the end zone at the Superdome that Allen ran into that night. And Allen was at the game Sunday, three days after being named a Hall of Famer.
“I was trying to find the fastest way to the end zone,” said DeJean, who twisted through a lot of traffic the last 10 yards of his return. “Luckily, I got some blocks out there. I had to avoid some of those big guys, but it was just our defense working together like we have all year. It fell right into my lap.
“I never thought that would happen. And it did happen. It’s pretty cool. I’m just happy we won the game and for all these guys who have been here, bringing us rookies in.”
DeJean is the ninth rookie with a Super Bowl interception and the first to turn it into a touchdown since cornerback Reggie Phillips against Steve Grogan in the Bears’ 46-10 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, also in New Orleans.
It was only the fifth pick-6 the three-time Super Bowl MVP has thrown in 132 career games and his first in 21 career postseason games.
“The kid made a great play,” Mahomes said. “He sat underneath (Xavier) Worthy, and I tried to reset back and throw it across the field to D-Hop (DeAndre Hopkins) and put it in a tight window, and he made a great play on it and then returned it for a touchdown.”
Mitchell, the Eagles’ rookie 1st-round pick, didn’t have an interception during the regular season but picked off Jordan Love in the wild-card round win over the Packers and got Jayden Daniels in the NFC Championship Game win over the Commanders.
The Eagles became only the 12th team in NFL history to get interceptions from two rookies in the same postseason. Before this year, the Eagles’ last rookie with a postseason interception was Roynell Young in 1980.
“Man, he got his first one of the year in the biggest moment,” Mitchell said. “That was a huge momentum swing, man. I was happy. I was trying to get to him. Everybody was getting to him. Coop changed the game today.”
The Eagles fans at the Superdome reacted with that “Coop” chant that’s become common at the Linc. This time, the whole world heard it.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “To hear that chant, to be able to score a touchdown is pretty cool. I’m just happy to be here and be a part of this organization. We’ve got a great fanbase, and they support us all the way through the ups and downs.
“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid, watching this game growing up. Now it’s here and now I get to wear a big old ring on my finger whenever we get it, hold that trophy. It’s amazing.”
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