Zack Baun was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon.

How long had it been since an Eagles linebacker won the award?

Well, Baun is teammates with the son of the last guy who did it… so it’s been a while.

Jeremiah Trotter Sr. was the last Eagles inside linebacker to win an NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his performance in Week 7 of the 2005 season, so it’s been over a decade since the last one.

Baun gives the Eagles the kind of linebacker play we haven’t seen in this city in a while.

Against the Cowboys, Baun padded the stat sheet with 8 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 tackle for loss. He did all that before he and the rest of the starters were pulled in the fourth quarter of the 34-6 win over the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

“Zack is a great athlete,” head coach Nick Sirianni said after the win. ‘He’s tough. You see him making tackles in the open field. You see him sticking his face into tight spaces there. You can see that he can hurry. He is currently taking away the football and the ball in his mind.

“I just think he’s a very good footballer. The best compliment I can give a guy is that he’s a very good footballer. That happens when you’re tough, you’re physical and you’re detailed and he plays very fundamentally well and just but gets better every time he steps on the field.”

The Eagles signed Baun to a cheap one-year deal in free agency. While most thought he would be a situational edge rusher, veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio saw Baun as an inside linebacker and signed him to the defense and hasn’t moved him since.

In his four years with New Orleans, Baun contributed, but never took over a full-time starting gig. He had 14 starts in 4 years with the Saints and has now started all 9 games with the Eagles in 2024 and is playing at the Pro Bowl level.

Baun said Sunday that he is not surprised by his success.

“No, I don’t think so,” Baun said. “I think during my time in New Orleans, of course, people say I was an on-ball linebacker, but when I was in New Orleans, I put in the time and did the exact same amount of work as the starters. Just to prepare for a moment like this, my opportunity. And all I had to do was take advantage and just let it fly.

Baun is the second Eagles player to be named Player of the Week this season, following three-time winner Saquon Barkley:

Week 1 – Saquon Barkley – NFC Offensive Player of the Week
Week 7 – Saquon Barkley – NFC Offensive Player of the Week
Week 9 – Saquon Barkley – NFC Offensive Player of the Week
Week 10 – Zack Baun – NFC Defensive Player of the Week

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