Lane Johnson deserves a round of applauds, and as many rounds of Crown Royal as he’d care to enjoy.

Johnson retired last Tuesday, after abruptly being made inactive, for personal reasons, just before the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, citing his mental health and aiming to preserve the best version of himself for his family and his children.

There are 22 offensive tackles currently in the Hall of Fame, and in August 2032, Lane Johnson will walk into Canton, Ohio and put on his Gold Jacket as the 23rd.

Johnson’s impact at every level of the Eagles’ franchise, since being chosen No. 4 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft is best measured by the two Lombardi Trophies on display in the entrance of the Jefferson Health Training Complex.

But, more concretely, his contributions are quantified by the Eagles’ 122-63-1 record with Johnson on the field, while finishing a mere 18-30 in games that he missed.

There was a stretch of Johnson’s career that he went 1,405 snaps without allowing a sack, according to Pro Football Focus, on his way to making six Pro Bowl trips, being named a First-Team All-Pro twice, and putting two Super Bowl rings on his finger.

Johnson was a glue player along what was arguably the NFL’s premier offensive lines for a stretch and inside what became a championship culture in South Philadelphia.

Whether it was erasing 49ers All-Pro Nick Bosa, holding him to zero sacks and zero quarterback hits in the 2023 NFC Championship Game, or anchoring an Eagles offensive line that won the Super Bowl over the New England Patriots in 2017 without All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters, it was Johnson who was the stabilizing force.

Johnson also managed to walk away at the top of his game, producing a 97.2 pass rush win rate through his first four games of 2026 before walking away.

How many athletes can legitimately claim that they retired at their peak? Michael Jordan and John Elway come to mind, but Johnson couldn’t possibly write a more dominant ending.

However, where Johnson’s legacy is going to be most impactful and should have a spotlight shone on it is the permissive structure he created for men to seek the counseling for their mental health, for their own struggles in ways that helped bring mental health awareness out of the somehow still taboo shadows of our society.

Johnson has been open and willing to discuss the demons he has battled while emerging as the standard bearer in a sport and at a position where the physical rigors and demands pale in comparison to the mental commitment and fortitude it takes to succeed.

As someone who personally has faced some dark and intrusive thoughts over the past 12 months, and at times vacillated wildly between feelings of crippling anxiety and debilitating depression for days or weeks at a time, particularly since around November 2024, Johnson is a shining example for me of why men who are struggling should not hide in plain sight.

No one should be asked to simply ‘man up’ against their issues, and instead be encouraged to open up to a family member, to a spouse, to a friend, or to a professional who will help ensure you aren’t battling the demons storming your gates alone.

That is why Stephen A. Smith’s commentary on ESPN, mocking Johnson for retiring when he did and how he did was so deeply damaging.

"Four games into the 2026 season,” Smith said. ‘A dude that has been in the league forever sits back and says, 'I need to focus on my mental health'... As an offensive tackle, lord, you know it's bad."

Smith later issued a nearly three-minute apology the next day, revealing how he ‘deeply regretted’ his comments, and underscored the importance of mental health.

“The biggest regret that I have,” Smith said. “For all of this is the fact that it may have given people that wanted to open the door, to seek help, a reason to pause and hesitate and not do so,. And I can’t emphasize enough how sorry I am about that, because it is a real issue.”

Unfortunately, the damage was already done.

For too long, men were taught to suffer in silence.

To, far too often, catastrophic consequences.

Attitudes and comments like Smith’s are a big reason why.

People like Johnson, like Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, and so many others opened the door that Smith attempted to kick shut with his misguided attempt at humor.

If you're facing your own battles right now, please don't carry the weight by yourself.

Reach out to a professional, or connect instantly with the 988 Lifeline by calling or texting 988 (or texting HOME to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line). Free, confidential help is available 24/7.

Johnson was the premier offensive tackle of his generation, arguably the standard bearer at the position in the history of the sport.

Yet, somehow, Johnson is an even better person off the field than he was dominant on it.

He was one of my favorite players to cover in my time as a beat reporter for NJ.com covering the Eagles, and I can’t tell you how many times I leaned against the wall of his locker stall just talking football, and life, with Johnson, Jason Kelce, and Brandon Brooks (who has been open about his own mental health struggles during his career), learning so much about the intricacies of the game, offensive line play, with the recorder turned off and tucked in my back pocket.

Cheers to Johnson for lifting an entire franchise and more importantly for showing men they aren’t alone.

There’s no chance when you pull out your Merriam-Webster Dictionary and look up “defensive struggle” that a game with 61 combined points will qualify.

However, that’s exactly what Sunday’s 32-29 San Francisco 49ers victory over the hated NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks was.

How much do these teams hate each other?

After Sam Darnold took a hit out of bounds, all hell broke loose on the Seahawks’ sideline, including 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who was wearing a helmet, head-butting Earnest Jones IV, who wasn’t, sparking Greenlaw’s ejection.

There were some hits throughout that game that I felt reverberating through the Football Command Center 2,796 miles away.

Those were just the precursors to the points off takeaways that shaped Sunday’s entire game.

Points off turnovers is the ultimate backbreaker for an opponent and hallmark of a team plenty capable of making a Super Bowl run.

In the first half Sunday in Seattle, the 49ers’ defense looked the part of the latter while leaning all the way into the formula against the defending champions.

When San Francisco cornerback Renardo Green made one of the more insanely athletic interceptions you’ll see, off Darnold, on the Seahawks’ first possession, he handed the 49ers a short-field at the Seahawks’ 18.

Four plays later, Brock Purdy hit Mike Evans in the back of the end zone for a two-yard touchdown and an early gauntlet.

Then, with the 49ers trailing 10-7, the heartbeat of San Francisco’s defense, Fred Warner delivered a punishing blow on Seahawks running back Emmanuel Wilson, jarring the ball loose at the 11-yard line that Malik Mustapha recovered.

Christian McCaffrey’s potent combo of elite vision, and suddenness cashed the Seahawks’ takeaway into a touchdown on the very next snap and a 14-10 lead.

Seattle’s first-half unraveling reached a stunning crescendo when the Seahawks inexplicably called a running play, from the shadow of their own goalpost at the four-yard line with just :13 left in the first half, that Gracen Halton blew up, forcing and recovering a George Holani fumble in the end zone for a stunning 21-10 49ers lead.

San Francisco flew up to Seattle, as if they were sick and tired of living in the Seahawks’ shadow, fully prepared to notch a statement victory, and played defense like it was intent on imposing its will.

Green kept the 49ers’ turnover party rolling on the second play of the second half, intercepting Darnold while undercutting a route over the middle of the field, pulling down San Francisco’s fourth takeaway of the game and seventh of the season.

However, when Eddie Piñeiro’s 52-yard field goal drifted left, every last 12 could breathe a sigh of relief.

That sigh turned into a seismic shift just a bit later, when Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted Brock Purdy with 7:15 remaining in the third quarter, that Sam Darnold converted into an electrifying 16-yard touchdown strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

On the 49ers’ ensuing possession, Drake Thomas obliterated Deebo Samuel, jarring the ball loose, recovering the fumble, and knocking the 49ers’ playmaker from the game with a hamstring injury.

As became the theme of the game, Seattle converted the seventh turnover of the game into points when Jason Myers split the uprights from 48 yards out to extend the Seahawks’ lead to 26-21.

Brock Purdy, Mike Evans, and the 49ers’ relentless offense answered back, when Purdy drilled Evans for four of completions; for 75 yards on the 12-play possession that ended with a seven-yard Brandin Cooks touchdown catch and two-point conversion pulled down by, who else, but Evans.

Myers tied it up, hitting his fifth field goal of the day, from 40 yards out to tie things at 29 with 6:55 remaining.

Piñeiro answered back with a 44-yard field goal, splitting the uprights with 1:56 remaining to give San Francisco a 32-29 lead.

That’s when the 49ers’ defense landed the knockout punch .

After Jaxon Smith-Njigba sliced and diced his way to midfield on a 35-yard gain that illustrated what made him the defending Offensive Player of the Year, he inexplicably dropped his next target.

Two plays later, Darnold hit Cooper Kupp who was stopped a couple pieces of turf short of the sticks on fourth down.

San Francisco’s work was done on defense, and Purdy got the chance to kneel out a 32-29 win that kept the 49ers unbeaten at 5-0 atop the NFC West with victories over the Rams, Cardinals, and Seahawks already tucked away for safe keeping.

There might not be a better fit anywhere in the NFL than Evans does like a glove for Purdy in Kyle Shanahan’s system.

Sunday was the infomercial for what Evans’ role and what the 49ers’ offense can be.

“We have a great team,” Evans told reporters after the game. “And this is a great organization. I wanted to come here for moments like this, obviously, but to be an asset to this team.”

The crafty veteran receiver caught seven of his 10 targets for 113 yards and a touchdown, while opening up so much of the rest of the playbook, wider than it has been for years in Santa Clara.

That was the plan all along, according to Evans’ agent, Deryk Gilmore.

“Kyle and John’s pitch this spring was,” Gilmore told Between The Hashmarks on Sunday night. “‘We’re gonna get him the ball and he’s gonna be the man for us.’

“Mike wanted to go somewhere where he could win the Super Bowl and get the ball. They were great. So many teams weren’t sure about the investment. But, the Niners never wavered.”

Through his first five weeks in a 49ers uniform, everyone involved has held up their respective ends of the bargain, with Evans catching 24 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, the 49ers beat the Seahawks at their own game, flying south with a victory over the defending champs that reinforces San Francisco’s own championship pedigree this season.

On a soccer pitch in London, of course Sunday morning’s clash between the Eagles and Jaguars came down to kickers, man.