PHILADELPHIA − The biggest match for the Eagles Isn’t Saquon Barkley against Commanders Run defense ranked 30th, or Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown versus Commanders star cornerback Marcus Lattimore.
No, the biggest matchup in this NFC Championship Game Sunday rests with Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter dominating the Commanders interior line and wreaking havoc for Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.
And Carter can expect a lot of attention, especially now that Commanders right guard Sam Cosmi is out with a knee injury.
Just ask the Rams, as Carter had 2 sacks on quarterback Matthew Stafford, including a game-saving sack on 3rd and 2 from the Eagles’ 13 in the final minute. This led to a decisive miss on fourth down, preserving the Eagles’ 28-22 divisional round victory.
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After the sack, a teammate told Carter, “Brother, you just won us the game.”
“It made me feel good,” Carter said. “But you know, it doesn’t really happen until later. We’re all celebrating there. You know, I’m getting all the (awards) like you mentioned. I’m like I could have (won the match), but in the end it’s always a team game, like we all have to do what we have to do.
“I know a play is an important play, but at the end of the day, everyone still had to do their job.” Certainly, Daniels is much more elusive than Stafford. Daniels’ 891 rushing yards were second only to Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson among quarterbacks. The Eagles saw it the last time the two teams met on Dec. 22, when Daniels ran 30 yards on 4th-and-11 in the fourth quarter.
Daniels threw 5 touchdown passes that day and led the Commanders to a 36-33 victory with the game-winning TD pass with 6 seconds remaining. Daniels totaled 258 passing yards and another 81 rushing. Daniels torched the Lions last week with 299 passing yards and 51 rushing yards in the Commanders’ 45-31 win over top-seeded Detroit.
“He’s a young quarterback by birth certificate, not by registration,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “You know, the guy plays extremely well. You can tell how they think he plays so well by the volume of their offense and the things they trust him to do.
“He’s taken a big step forward for them and he’s difficult to deal with.”
Carter has established himself for the Eagles, and he is difficult to deal with, and perhaps even more so without Cosmi in the game.
The Eagles had success against Daniels in the first meeting on November 14, an Eagles victory 26-18. Carter had a career-high 7 tackles that night while Daniels was held to 191 passing yards and 18 rushing yards. Carter will have to do it again for the Eagles to advance to their second Super Bowl in three seasons.
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TV channel: FOX
Advertisers: Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Tom Brady (analysis), Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi (sideline)
Radio: 94 WIP, Merrill Reese (play-by-play), Mike Quick (analysis) and Devan Kaney (sideline)
Spanish radio: Tico Sports, Rickie Ricardo (play-by-play), Oscar Budejen (analysis)
National radio: Westwood One, Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Kurt Warner (analysis), Ross Tucker (sideline)
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.
This article was originally published in the Delaware News Journal: Eagles vs Commanders Channel: Time, TV; Jalen Carter vs. Jayden Daniels
