Why Drew Mukuba laughs watching tape of 1st Cowboys game

Why Drew Mukuba laughs watching tape of 1st Cowboys game originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles are preparing to face the Cowboys this week, which means watching plenty of tape from their Week 1 win over Dallas.

What's it like for rookie Drew Mukuba to watch it back?

Oh my God," Mukuba said with a big smile. I wouldn't say it was bad but you could tell that was my first game in the NFL, for sure."

At that point, the second-round rookie hadn't yet become the Eagles' full-time starter at safety but he was well on his way. And over the last few months, he has experienced plenty of ups and downs - just like you'd expect from any rookie starting on a championship-caliber defense.

Back in October, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio used the word uneven" to describe Mukuba's rookie season. But since then, Mukuba's performance has been evening out and he's finding more and more consistency.

That's a part of us playing better too," Fangio said this week. Early in the year, he had some bad plays that led to big plays for the opponent and we haven't had that lately."

As the Eagles get ready to play their 11th game this season, Fangio declared that Mukuba is no longer a rookie.

And Mukuba agrees.

I was just talking about it," Mukuba said. It's so crazy how it's already Week 12. He's absolutely right. I've got enough games under my belt to where I don't consider myself a rookie anymore. I feel like I've seen everything I've needed to see and I just can't make the rookie mistakes. It's not Week 1 no more. Time to get better and improve."

It's clear that Mukuba has improved. He thinks the first Giants game was his worst performance of the season. In that game Mukuba missed a tackle, which led to a 35-yard touchdown pass to Giants receiver Wan'Dale Robinson in a crushing loss.

But that was the game that taught Mukuba how to get over his mistakes and helped him realize that he can't allow himself to dwell on them either.

You just gotta realize you're in the NFL," Mukuba said. Those guys get paid to make plays so they're going to make plays. The only way you're going to get defeated is if you let it get to you and you get down. You gotta keep moving, man."

The Eagles drafted Mukuba with the No. 64 overall pick out of Texas. He missed some time in training camp but still earned a huge role in Week 1.

And then he had a big interception in Week 2 against the Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch. That game, facing future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce, showed Mukuba that he could play at the NFL level. But over the weeks that followed, it became clearer that Mukuba needed to find more consistency.

Mukuba is a 22-year-old rookie so the Eagles banked on the idea that he would improve as the season went on and they were right. Mukuba credits veteran starting safety Reed Blankenship for helping him improve.

On Wednesday, Mukuba mentioned that Blankenship recently made a comment to him about just how much he has grown.

Mukuba knows it too. All he has to do is turn on the film of the last time the Eagles played the Cowboys.

It's different now," he said. I've learned a lot, I've seen a lot. I just keep learning."