Snow was falling all around them. Jalen Carter, was having fun. It’s the NFL playoffs, and the Philadelphia Eagles wrecking machine has remembered that it wants to win a Super Bowl.
Of course, it’s not quite THE festive tune you’re thinking of. But on a snowy Sunday evening, Carter dictated the tune.
The headlines might be hinting at a game-clinching 78-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley in another monster night for the Eagles running back. But it was Carter who iced the game, Carter who won the game, Carter who saved the season, Carter who sent Philadelphia to the NFC championship game.
Matthew Stafford had threatened to silence Lincoln Financial Field in the final two minutes, pushing the Los Angeles Rams into the red zone while trailing 28-22 after a spectacular 37-yard catch by Puka Nacua. Looking at a third-and-2 from the 13-yard line, he had Tyler Higbee wide open with the end zone in sight, only for Carter to torch his blocker and throw at the Rams quarterback to derail the drive when his team and the head coach he needed the most.
It was the end of a night of dominance from the Eagles defensive tackle. He set the tone with a first-quarter forklift sack on Stafford as if lifting another grown man required no effort (spoiler: it did). He blunted a glimmer of momentum by putting away a Kyren Williams fumble as the Rams gave up back-to-back turnovers either side of a Jalen Hurts safety that they couldn’t capitalize on. And he saved the day with the biggest play of his young NFL career to date.
“It was Jalen Carter who took that last drive with flying colors, not to mention the entire game,” said Sky Sports NFLThis is Ndamukong Suh.
“He had several sacks in that game. He was a game changer and that’s what you want from an elite first-round pick.
“You can’t ask for anything more.”
Carter finished the game with five tackles, three quarterback hits, two sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. If his late sack wasn’t already enough, he followed it up with a pressure to force Stafford’s incompletion on fourth down.
According to Next Gen Stats, he played 68 of 70 defensive snaps that night while facing double teams on 26 of 49 pass rushes.
“He’s a special player, he’s done so many good things to continue to be a special player,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “He’s always done the right things in and out of the building, with his fitness, his weight, his style of play.
“He’s special. For him to rush the passer like he did, and for us as a group to rush like we did, it was a championship effort from the defense.”
Carter had been allowed to slide up to the ninth overall pick in the 2023 draft in light of character issues following his involvement in a serious car accident earlier in the year. It was Eagles general manager Howie Roseman who finally picked up the phone, ready to pounce on his next defensive play destroyer.
Sure, several teams needed quarterbacks and the Texans are reaping the rewards of third overall pick Will Anderson Jr., but Carter has long been the best player in college football, the best player in the draft. Let’s ask the Las Vegas Raiders what they think about their decision to take Tyree Wilson with the seventh overall pick.
Two seasons later, the 23-year-old is already among the most influential defensive linemen in the NFL as one of the leaders of a Vic Fangio defense that just ranked first in total yards and assists as well as second in scoring.
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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scores a 44-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter of their NFL playoff divisional round game against the Los Angeles Rams.
“Jalen Carter, I can’t say enough good things about his development as a player. It doesn’t just happen because of talent. He’s talented, he’s so talented,” Sirianni added.
“But in this league there are a lot of talented guys and it takes more than talent to reach your potential and it continues to improve.”
The running and dashing arsenal of Georgia’s light-footed polar bear was no secret. Carter was, and is, every defensive coordinator’s dream in a world of four-man runs that could free up linebackers off-ball and allow for two-high looks and umbrella coverages. He boasts lethal, immobile size and power coupled with a nuclear first step, lean agility, and lateral explosion capable of controlling blocking angles from any position on the defensive front. He was a concoction of destruction in college and is now doing the same thing in the NFL.
He shouldn’t be allowed to move as quickly and freely as he did. What he does makes him a game-changing problem for every offensive line in the league.
Next up is a Washington Commanders offensive line that just lost starting right guard Sam Cosmi for the remainder of the season to an ACL injury.
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Highlights of the Washington Commanders vs. Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs
Barkley plays again
While Carter called the plays on defense, Barkley once again feasted, rushing for 205 yards and throwing touchdowns of 62 and 78 yards to keep the Rams in pursuit.
“He just gets stronger as the match goes on. It’s incredible,” said Sky Sports NFLIt’s Jason Bell. “We talk about his explosiveness, but it’s his resilience, his determination. The guy just doesn’t get tired.
“That offensive line pushes people around and he has the ability to wear you down. He sets the tone, he lets you know ‘I’m here, I’m ready.’
“He’s got one of the best jump cuts in the NFL. He plants that foot in the ground and when he cuts, it’s like he’s traveling through space.
“He’s incredible. He was relentless.”
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley scores a stunning 62-yard touchdown to give his team the lead over the Los Angeles Rams.
The former New York Giant continued to serve as the heartbeat of the Eagles’ offense, this time in snowy conditions, to extend a mammoth first year with the Eagles, in which he ran for more than 2,000 yards in the regular season.
“The atmosphere was crazy. It was insane,” Barkley said. “I have a smile on my face thinking about it. This is what you dream of. This is why I came to Philadelphia. I wanted to be a part of games like this and I’m just happy to be a part of it .
Waiting for Barkley and the Eagles is a Commanders team that just neutralized the Detroit Lions and the NFL’s most prolific offense in a 45-31 victory Saturday. The NFC East rivals meet once again after Washington struck late to earn an epic 36-33 victory nearly a month ago.
“If you’re in Washington right now, you’re like, ‘We can beat these guys,'” Bell added.
“They played against them [in the regular season] and beat them, and they have a quarterback in Jayden Daniels who is on fire right now.
“It’s going to be an incredible clash, division rivals going head-to-head.”
Watch the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game, live on Sky Sports NFL starting at 8 p.m. Sunday.
