SmashMouth

Marcus Davenport has heard about the increased intensity in NFL playoff games, and the New Orleans Saints rookie defensive end will experience it firsthand on Sunday.

“I can’t wait for Sunday,” he said. “It makes me nervous in the fact it’s coming so close, and I know it’s going to be electric.



“I’ve heard it’s a different game when it comes to playoffs. It’s more aggressive, but I can’t wait for that because I think that’s when people play better.”

When the Saints play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at 3:40 p.m. at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Davenport expects to rise to the occasion.

“This is the big time, and I need to come up big,” he said.

Saints offense, Eagles defense among the NFL’s best in clutch situations

Davenport missed the Saints’ first matchup against the Eagles. It was the third of three games he missed due to a toe injury.

Since returning, the first-round pick has failed to match the production he had earlier in the season. In the first seven games, four sacks, five tackles for loss, one forced fumble and two passes defensed. In the final six games, he had just a half sack, one tackle for loss and zero forced fumbles or passes defensed.

Still, even without the statistics, Davenport’s teammates have seen growth from the rookie as the season progressed. Fellow defensive end Alex Okafor said Davenport arrived in 2018 as an impressive athlete with raw fundamentals, but Davenport has become more technically sound. Okafor said it’s “scary” to think about how much more room he has to grow, too.

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