Eagles notebook: Jahan Dotson on his almost-touchdown in Super Bowl LIX

Eagles notebook: Jahan Dotson on his almost-touchdown in Super Bowl LIX originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jahan Dotson got about as close as someone can get to scoring a touchdown in a Super Bowl without scoring a touchdown in a Super Bowl.

And that’s gonna eat at him for a while.

“A little bit, for sure,” Dotson said last week at Eagles locker cleanout day following their 40-22 win in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

The refs initially ruled that Dotson got into the end zone on the Eagles’ second drive of the Super Bowl but the replay showed that he was down at the 1-yard line. So instead of a 28-yard touchdown catch, Dotson had a 27-yard catch that set up a Jalen Hurts Tush Push touchdown.

“I talked to Coach Nick (Sirianni) after the game and he was like, ‘You were so close to getting in,’” Dotson said. “I was like, ‘You know, it’s your fault I didn’t score. I didn’t want to reach the ball out.’ It was definitely a cool opportunity for me, cool experience.”

Sirianni talks ad nauseam about turnover margin and a big part of that is protecting the football. The last thing he would want in that situation is for Dotson to reach for the goal line and fumble the ball through the back of the end zone. So the 24-year-old did exactly as he was supposed to.

Dotson finished Super Bowl LIX with 2 catches for 42 yards. His second-most productive game of the season. While Dotson wasn’t a primary target for the Eagles in 2024, he seemed to come up with big plays every time the Eagles needed him to.

“For me, it was just being ready,” Dotson said. “Whenever that moment was going to come, I didn’t know. I’ve worked so hard to be ready for those moments. It’s not that it all worked out and paid off. It’s kind of like I know what I’m capable of. I put the work in. Whenever my opportunity is called upon, I know I’m going to make a play. It wasn’t anything like a shock to me. It was just going out there and doing what I do. That’s what I do. I make plays and I’m capable of doing that for the team.”

The Eagles traded for Dotson just before the season began and he finished the regular season with just 19 catches for 216 yards. In the playoffs, he had 3 for 53 and a touchdown.

On a team with a ton of superstars like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert, there just weren’t a ton of targets left over for Dotson. But he played his role and it helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl.

Dotson has one more year left on his contract, so he’ll be back for 2025.

Healing up for 2025

Eagles linebacker/fullback/special teams ace Ben VanSumeren at locker cleanout day said he’s been healing up since suffering a season-ending knee injury in November.

As of last Thursday, he said he’d be running soon and his goal is to be ready for minicamp this spring.

“I feel great,” VanSumeren said. “My recovery is coming along nice. I already got to the next phase of my recovery bumped up a month. Really couldn’t be much better.”

The loss of VanSumeren, 24, flew under the radar a bit in 2024 but it was a big loss. He’s one of the Eagles’ best special teams players and began to carve out a role on offense as a fullback before being lost for the season.

VanSumeren suffered his knee injury during practice in late November. In the locker room after the injury, a few of his teammates were in disbelief. But VanSumeren said he isn’t an overly emotional guy and was able to get over that part of it pretty quickly. The hardest day of the week, though, was Sunday. He just missed playing in games.

While VanSumeren isn’t a very emotional person, it meant a lot to him to be in New Orleans for Super Bowl week.

“It really meant everything. Seriously,” he said. “This is all I really like doing. Winning it and being at the top of the game and being a champion means everything to me, whether I’m playing or not. I know I’ve been a part of this season and a big part of this team. That’s what I keep telling myself. I’m enjoying the victory and being a part of that is awesome.”

During his first couple years with the Eagles, VanSumeren has worn the No. 57, which was fine until he began to get snaps on offense. For all of his 22 offensive snaps in 2024, VanSumeren had to report as an eligible receiver. For that reason, he expects to have a different jersey number in 2025.

Remember his all-time play

In the week after the Super Bowl, Cooper DeJean had already seen his pick-6 against the Chiefs a ton of times.

“Every time it pops up on my phone I watch it back,” DeJean said on locker cleanout day.

DeJean’s pick-6 in the second-quarter of Super Bowl LIX gave the Eagles a 17-0 lead and will go down as one of the greatest plays in franchise history.

But if you’re a 22-year-old kid who just celebrated his birthday on the biggest stage in the world, that’s a lot to take in.

“I don’t know, it’s pretty crazy,” DeJean said. “I don’t really know how to think about that really. I don’t think it’s really sunk into me that, that’s happened. It’s a play that will be remembered. I just tried to make an impact any way I can. I hope I did that this season.”

When the Eagles drafted DeJean in the second round last spring, he was still coming off an injury that ended his final season at Iowa early. And then he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for most of training camp; that’s why he didn’t crack the starting lineup until Week 6.

This offseason, DeJean is happy to be healthy and plans to take some time to himself back in his small hometown in Iowa.

“Gotta go back to Iowa for a little while,” DeJean said. “The open space, out of the city. I’ll be back there and then doing a little vacation and then train somewhere.”

After a Super Bowl run, the offseason is a little shorter. Year 2 will be here before he knows it.

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