It was a journey Zack Baun won’t forget. He might even write a book about it, he said.
“A wild year that needs to be documented for sure,” he said in a jubilant locker room after the Eagles won Super Bowl XIL in convincing fashion over the Kansas City Chiefs. “It’s been crazy.”
It started in March when the linebacker agreed to a one-year, prove-it deal with the Eagles as a free agent, and, boy, did he ever prove it.
In April, his son was born. Three weeks later, he and his family moved to Philadelphia, where he had to adjust to learn a new city and new teammates. He won a starting job, became a Pro Bowler, was a finalist for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, and led the team tackles with 150, adding 3.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, an interception, and a fumble reco very.
In the playoffs, he led the team in tackles with 32, adding two picks, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
“A lot of ups and downs, but the team and the guys embraced me and my family and just made us feel really comfortable,” he said. “And accolades, personal accolades, with the Super Bowl being the biggest and the most meaningful one.”
About that Super Bowl.
Baun’s interception was just as big – and some may say bigger – than teammate Cooper DeJean’s 38-yard, pick-six of Patrick Mahomes that gave the Eagles a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The pick came late in the second quarter with the Chiefs trying to take advantage of having deferred the pre-game coin toss after they called heads and won by getting a late first-half score, getting the ball to start the second half, and scoring again.
Baun ruined that plan, and he told teammates before he made a leaping grab of a low Mahomes throw to set up the Eagles at the 14 with 1:45 to play in the second quarter.
“I felt the rub (route) behind me and tried to make a play off the quarterback’s vision and I made a sweet catch,” he said.
To his credit, Baun didn’t try to get up, even though nobody was near him when he made the play. He could have tried, but had he gotten the ball knocked out it would have been reminiscent of the something similar that happened to a Washington receiver in the Eagles’ win over the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game after he tried to get up and run only to have the ball knocked out.
That it happened in the Superdome, where Baun spent the first four years of his pro career playing home games with the Saints, though mostly on special teams, made his play feel even sweeter.
“Yeah it was cool being back in the Dome,” he said. “I said before the game it would only be special if we won, and we won. It feels special being back here.”
On the second play after the interception, Jalen Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 12-yard touchdown to make it 24-0. Ballgame. The Chiefs even seemed to think so after having to punt on their possession of the third quarter.
“I don’t think I could’ve written a better story than this,” he said. “Grinding it out in New Orleans for four years and to come in here and do this with this team is so special.”
