Philadelphia Eagles edge-rusher Haason Reddick came into the NFC Championship game with a career-high 17.5 sacks, including the 1.5 takedowns he had in the Eagles’ 38-7 divisional-round win over the New York Giants. Reddick has been one of the Eagles’ most valuable defenders in the first year of his three-year, $45 million contract, which also makes him one of the NFL’s best bargains.
For whatever reason, early in the championship game, the San Francisco 49ers decided to treat Reddick as some rotational scrub with limited pressure potential. It has not gone well at all. Reddick had two sacks and a forced fumble in the first quarter, and on both of those sacks, San Francisco decided to put either a tight end or wide receiver on Reddick one-on-one.
