Jadeveon Clowney knows Philly, and Philly is absolutely familiar with him.
So when the veteran defensive end, now a member of the Carolina Panthers, fielded questions from the media earlier this week about this Sunday's matchup against the Eagles, the subject of a fired-up Philly crowd at Lincoln Financial Field was brought up.
Clowney took his opportunity to get a chirp in.
"Oh my God, they probably got…I know [the Eagles] love their fans, but I'm sure [other teams] don't love their fans," Clowney quipped with a smile, via The Athletic's Joe Person. "We can't stand their fans, but nah, Philly fans, they love their team. That's all I can tell you about Philly. They love their team, they throw stuff at you, they do everything. They talk the most junk out of any fans I've ever dealt with throughout my career."
So a bit of praise in those remarks, for sure, but ones that are fueled by history, too.
Jadeveon Clowney on Eagles fans: “They throw stuff at you. They talk the most junk out of anybody.” pic.twitter.com/qwHAlmWJzr
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 5, 2024
In 2018, when Clowney was still with the Houston Texans and the Eagles were fighting for their playoff lives in their Super Bowl title defense, Clowney got away with an egregious facemask on Nick Foles and then delivered a head-on shot straight to the quarterback's chest late into the game that got flagged for roughing the passer but took Foles out for a play in very obvious pain – Foles went on to get the Eagles downfield for the game-winning drive.
A year, later with Clowney on the Seahawks and back at the Linc to face the Eagles in the 2019 Wild Card, he drove his head straight down into a falling Carson Wentz's from behind, knocking the former franchise QB out of the game with a concussion that effectively ended the Eagles' season on the spot – and, some will argue, Wentz's time in Philadelphia.
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Philly fans have hardly been quick to forgive and forget about that, which naturally leads to concern over keeping current QB Jalen Hurts protected this Sunday.
Clowney, however, is on the Panthers' Week 14 injury report with a listed knee issue and hasn't practiced the past couple days, though our own Jimmy Kempski noted that the absences appear to be non-injury related, so there is a chance he could still play.
On the subject of Hurts, and for a Carolina team that has heavily struggled to defend both the run and the pass, Clowney said that he and his Panthers teammates are going to have their hands full.
"The guy's a dual-threat quarterback," Clowney said, again via Person. "He can run with his legs. He's like a fullback who can pass the ball if you ask me, breaks a lot of tackles. We got to be locked in the whole game."
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