Post Snap With Malcolm Jenkins: 'I Don't Think Andrew Luck Really Saw Me.'
Malcolm Jenkins is a Super Bowl champion and veteran NFL safety. He sits down with CBS Philly's Joe Santoliquito every week. All of Jenkins' Post Snap interviews are archived at cbsphilly.com/jenkins.
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Without the Malcolm Jenkins' interception with just over five minutes left in the Eagles' comeback 30-27 victory Monday at Indianapolis, the Birds are not sitting at 2-0 today atop the NFC East, one of three undefeated NFC teams.
The veteran safety's fourth-quarter interception led to the Eagles' tying touchdown and was the play of the game.
According to Jenkins, it was a team interception. All parts of the defense were working, setting him up to be in the right place at the right time awaiting Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck to throw his way.
"They had been basically doing a good job of gaining yards on some of those drag routes and option routes earlier in the game," said Jenkins, who had a tremendous game, making six tackles, defending two passes, blocking a pass and the interception. "We were in a blanket coverage on them. We were double-teaming [T.Y. Hilton] and [Brandon] Boykin did a great job of holding his leverage inside.
"Once [Boykin] locked up, he worked back out away from him, and that's where I was waiting. I was able to get a good break on the ball. I don't think Andrew Luck really saw me. The defensive line did a good job with their hands up and [Luck] threw it to a spot. I kind of expected it. It's what I was waiting for, to step up and make a play. I didn't see what Boykin did, I was just focusing on the ball."
With the Eagles trailing 17-6 with 12:42 left in the third quarter, Jenkins made another pivotal play. On a third-and-two at the Colts' 30-yard line, Jenkins stepped up to the line and batted down a Luck pass forcing a three-and-out.
"Knowing that my man was in blocking, I just ran toward that window and I was able to get my hands on it," Jenkins said. "Luck is a smart quarterback, and especially early on, they gave us a few looks to kind of see what we were going to do. I think he picked up really early what one of our checks were when they went empty [backfield] with a little bit of pressure. He also checked at the line.
"Like I said, Luck is a great quarterback. He knew what we were in and he did a good job of keeping plays on, checking plays when there weren't good looks and making a better call. When you have a quarterback like that, you better be able to adjust on the fly. When we do finally settle down, we've been playing well. We're making correctable mistakes, but we have to stop things from the beginning. We can't keep on spotting teams points. One thing we have to get better at in the beginning of games is not killing ourselves. Luck went to a hard count three times on third down in the first half and we jumped—we helped them. In the second half, we didn't make the same mistakes."
That's one of the strengths of this defense, Jenkins contends. It's a unit that communicates well, from the defensive line to the secondary.
"When we get to the sideline, the first thing we do is talk about who needs to do what and how we're going to adjust to it," Jenkins said. "Then we go out and execute it. That, I think, is the mark of a really good defense."
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