A beast, a soldier, a warrior: Jason Kelce endures as the Eagles grind out a win vs. Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jason Kelce insists he has a flair for drama.

A few hours after he lay facedown on the grass at State Farm Stadium, overtaken by the pain of an aching ankle, the Eagles center dismissed the notion that it was one of the worst things he has played through.

“I have a tendency to be dramatic sometimes,” said Kelce, who returned for the second half of the Eagles’ 20-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday with a heavily taped ankle.

The 34-year-old missed part of the second quarter getting X-rays on his ankle but jogged onto the field with the team coming out of halftime. He played the entire second half and helped propel the Eagles’ run-heavy final series, which gave them the lead and drained nearly eight minutes off the clock.

While Kelce downplayed the severity of the injury after the game, his teammates explained the significance of one of the team’s most prominent leaders once again displaying his toughness.

“If that doesn’t get you going, then you don’t have a pulse,” said Jack Driscoll, the starting left tackle for the Eagles on Sunday. “He was down, but Kelce’s one of the toughest ... SOBs I’ve ever met. ... To see him come back and play just really got everyone fired up.”

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Added Jalen Hurts, “We all know he’s a soldier. That’s something we can’t take for granted. It’s something I damn sure don’t take for granted. I admire his leadership, I admire the way he plays the game, his toughness. He’s everything I admire in a competitor. He’s one of the greatest to play the position, and he’s in an air of his own.”

Before the ankle injury, Kelce spent time in the medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion midway through the second quarter. He lost his helmet in the aftermath of a quarterback sneak on the previous series and was flagged by a concussion spotter, who may be a bit more sensitive to such incidents after the league’s apparent mishandling of Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion evaluation.

“There tends to be a pile of human flesh on top of you,” Kelce said. “Obviously with the whole Tua thing, they’re trying to be extra cautious now with everybody.”

Rookie center Cam Jurgens was in the huddle while Kelce got checked out, but Kelce came jogging out of the tent in time to supplant his heir apparent before the Eagles ran their first play. Two plays later, Kelce’s leg got tangled up and he went down once again.

“I rolled my ankle,” Kelce said. “I went in to get X-rays to make sure nothing was broken. Once I found out the X-rays were all good, it was kind of however it feels. I went back out there after halftime and it felt good enough to give it a try. Once I was out there, I didn’t notice it that much.”

Kelce has developed a reputation for playing through various injuries during his 12-year career. He leads all active centers with 127 consecutive starts and has often been praised for his toughness by teammates and coaches.

“That boy a beast,” Eagles veteran Brandon Graham said. “I’ve got so much respect for him already, it just adds some more icing on the cake that’s already on there. You know what you’re getting with him. If he can go, he’s going to go. That’s one guy that I don’t want to let down, especially if I know I can go.”

Jurgens, essentially spending this season as Kelce’s understudy and backup after being selected in the second round of April’s NFL draft, had a similar sentiment.

“He’s a ... warrior,” Jurgens said. “At the same time, I’ve got to be ready to go. Can’t flinch.”

On Sunday, Kelce wasn’t the only offensive lineman battling through discomfort. The Eagles lost left guard Landon Dickerson for stretches of the game with his own lower leg injury. He returned for part of the second half but eventually left in the fourth quarter for good. Isaac Seumalo played the entire game but was limited last week with an ankle sprain.

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Driscoll, the team’s third-string left tackle, was playing in place of Jordan Mailata, who was ruled out on Saturday with a shoulder injury. Sua Opeta replaced Dickerson when he was sidelined.

“Jason Kelce fought through it, Landon Dickerson fought through it,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “We knew this was going to be a physical game. We knew we had a really physical team. We knew our identity was to be physical. When we needed to [be physical] the most, we were. ... Our job as coaches is to lean on our best players and we jumped on our offensive line’s back and rode them down the field.”

Still, while his teammates sang his praises, Kelce was more interested in discussing what lies ahead than his own grittiness.

“Toughness is who can do it longest in this league,” Kelce said. “It’s a mark of endurance, it’s a mark of fortitude. We’ve done it really well so far; we’re only five games into the season. I’ll tell you if we’re tough once everything is said and done. You have to keep doing that, and that’s why it’s hard.”