Ahead of the playoffs this weekend, a few Philadelphia Eagles players took a night to give back. 

Fred Johnson, Darius Cooper and Jalyx Hunt traded their helmets for hair nets Monday night inside the MANNA Nutrition Center in Center City. They joined team staff members to help pack meals for people in need across the area. 

"When you're growing up and ... [you have] people on the same teams as you and you get to go home and eat, and then you find out later that they don't go home and do the same things, it kind of makes you sad and it makes you wish you could do a little bit more, so whenever there is an opportunity to do more I got to take it," Hunt said.

Eagles offensive lineman Fred Johnson said when he's not on the field, he likes to cook.

Johnson said his specialty is "whatever my girlfriend is craving."

"She's pregnant, so it's like whatever she wants. We did a homemade soup the other day," he said.

MANNA CEO Sue Daugherty said it's volunteers like this who make thousands of meals possible every year. 

"We unfortunately right now actually have a waitlist because we're seeing the need grow so much over the past several months," Daugherty said.

In between packing the meals, the guys also talked to CBS News Philadelphia about the excitement of the beginning of the playoffs.

"It's the best time of the year," Johnson said. "You got a chance to fight for something big." 

"I's just an energy that you can't really explain, but it's palpable," Hunt said. 

Cooper echoed that sentiment.

"It's a blessing to be part of this organization, a blessing to be on this team, and we have a great group of guys, a great group of coaches, and we're going to take it a week at a time."