It was a lovely 66 degrees early on Monday evening in Miami.
Some 1,600 miles away in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it was in the low 30s when Jaelan Phillips made his Philadelphia Eagles introduction.
Phillips was grateful to be just where he was.
A week after he was traded from the Miami Dolphins, Phillips' debut coincided with Philadelphia's finest defensive performance this season en route to a 10-7 win over the Green Bay Packers.
"I just felt super grateful," said Phillips of his emotions before a game in which he posted six tackles, two QB hits, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a team-best and career-high seven QB pressures. "This is the first time in a while that I've gotten a little emotional before a game. Obviously, this stage, and coming here. It's my first time at Lambeau [Field], walking out through that tunnel. I mean it doesn't get better than that. Definitely grateful. Felt amazing energy from the guys. It was just an air of confidence and everybody played together. We had a great game, honestly, it was super gritty. Grateful to be here for sure."
Just the same, the Eagles were grateful to have their new pass rusher, who took a starring role in a revamped Philadelphia front that welcomed back Nolan Smith from injured reserve and Brandon Graham from retirement.
An introduction for one and a reunion for others, it added up to the Eagles stymying the Packers at nearly every turn. Having lost Josh Sweat and Milton Williams during free agency and Smith to an injury, Philadelphia's defensive front -- a hallmark during its most successful seasons -- showed plenty of reason for optimism ahead.
"I'm just glad I can come in and help the team," Phillips said. "My biggest thing coming in, no ego, just wanted to earn the respect of my teammates and the coaches and the fans and everybody. All I can really do on my end is obviously do my job and know my plays and everything like that, but just play with fanatical effort. That's what I do, play in and play out."
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love was sacked three times and pressured on 40.5% of his dropbacks, leading an offense that rarely went anywhere. The Packers mustered just 261 yards and a season-low seven points, as Phillips and the Eagles D allowed Philadelphia to collect a victory despite likewise scoring a season low in points.
Phillips' first impression on the field has matched that off the field with his teammates, as he's acclimated himself quickly thanks to a welcoming locker room. Chief in that regard has been the returning Graham, who had just eight snaps Monday, but has made an impact already on Phillips.
"BG has been amazing to me so far," Phillips said. "I feel like I've known him for years already. To see the joy that he has to come out and play this game, that's what it's all about. And then Nolan, as well. I think he's been chomping at the bit to get back on the field, and he deserves it all. I thought Jalyx (Hunt) played a great game. All of us really did what we had to do. Played with great effort out there and just had fun."
Phillips, who had his first tackle on the third snap of the game, had big plays throughout, but none was bigger than his fourth-quarter stop of Josh Jacobs. In a play that Jacobs said after the game the Eagles knew was coming, Phillips and Reed Blankenship blew up the fourth-and-1 run for a 5-yard loss and fumble.
"Obviously you guys saw it. It felt like he was very disruptive," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said of Phillips. "The rush was active all game from all parts. We did a good job of rushing as a unit. That fourth-down play, I think, signifies that physicality that the man has. I think about his week of practice and how he goes about his business. Man, he loves football. He loves working. You can just see the way he was running around at practice, his motor is constantly, constantly running, just pushing to get better. It was a really big impact that he made tonight for his first game as an Eagle. I've got to look at the tape, but he did a lot of good things that you could see."
During his four-plus seasons with the Dolphins, Phillips spent the 2023 campaign with Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator. Rejoining Fangio, Phillips made an immediate impact on Monday night.
He wasn't the only standout, of course, as the Eagles had excellent evenings from plenty more such as Hunt, Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell and plenty more. Indeed, the 2021 first-round draft pick of the Dolphins appeared to be right at home with the Eagles.
Said quarterback Jalen Hurts: "It seemed like he fit right in."
