Nolan Smith pays tribute to Nakobe Dean the same way Lane Johnson did for Jason Peters in the Super Bowl

Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun arrived at work together, but Dean wouldn’t be lining up alongside his All-Pro teammate during Sunday’s win over the Rams. Instead, Dean was on crutches, sidelined with a torn patellar tendon that will keep him out until next year.

When it came time for the team to take the field, the third-year linebacker didn’t have his jersey. Instead, Nolan Smith, his roommate at Georgia and close friend, carried it out with him for introductions.

“I’m my brother’s keeper,” Smith said. “I love my brother, and I just want him to know he’s always got family over here. It’s deeper than ball.”

During the Birds’ last Super Bowl winning season, Lane Johnson did the same for injured offensive lineman Jason Peters, carrying out his jersey before Super Bowl LII as a tribute.

“[Peters] asked me to right before the game. I wanted to. He was a special part of the team,” Johnson said after the 2018 Super Bowl win. “Just a guy who means so much to the team and would kill to be out there. I wanted to do him service for what he is.”

Now, after beating the Rams to advance to the NFC championship on Sunday, the Birds hope they can deliver on that promise for Dean the way Johnson and the Eagles did for Peters in the Super Bowl.

This had been Dean’s breakout season, shining alongside Baun as the centerpieces of the NFL’s top defense. With 80 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble, Dean cemented his place as one of the best young linebackers in the game.

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As much as Dean’s loss is felt on the field, it’s also significant off the field. He has grown into a leader on defense and inside the linebacker room, Baun said.

“We want to play for him, because he’s helped set this team, this defense up to be in the position we’re at, and we don’t want to let him down,” Baun said. “We really want to do it for him.”

With Dean out, the Eagles are embracing the “next-man-up mentality.” Linebacker Oren Burks stepped in to start alongside Baun, ending the game with six tackles, including two tackles for loss, and a defended pass.

Burks is in his first season with the Eagles, but he brings playoff experience to the room, having made the playoffs in six of his seven NFL seasons with Green Bay, San Francisco, and now Philadelphia. Coach Nick Sirianni said postgame that he “had no doubt [Burks] was going to step in and play a great game.”

“The level of details in the playoffs goes up,” Burks said. “For me, it’s just diving into the details of what’s going to allow us in those big moments to make the plays that we need to win.”

The Birds made just enough big plays on defense to win — including a fumble forced by Smith and recovered by Baun in the snow.

“It’s really tough,” Baun said. “Obviously he means a lot to me, but he means a lot to this defense and this team too. Losing him is really tough, but the bright side of it is, we have linebackers that have been preparing like they’re going to be the starter all year long, and they’re prepared and they’re ready to play.”

That’s good, because it’s not going to get any easier for the linebackers. The next test? Jayden Daniels and the Commanders.