Many expected Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter to make a significant leap in his second year in the NFL. Yet through the first two weeks of the regular season, Philadelphia’s defensive front struggled, and Carter couldn’t break through.
Carter wasn’t going to let Philadelphia’s struggles continue in Week 3, as he single-handedly dominated the New Orleans Saints. After being criticized by many, Carter responded with a monstrous performance when the Eagles needed him most.
Eagles DT Jalen Carter Responds to Benching With Dominant Performance
In Week 2’s embarrassing loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Carter was benched for Philadelphia’s first defensive series due to being late to a team event. When asked about the situation, Carter accepted responsibility and vowed to never let it happen again.
“It was a decision that the coaches made, and I got to respect the decision,” Carter said, according to Gabriella Galati of 6ABC. “I came in late, and I take full responsibility for that. It happened; it won’t happen again.”
Carter’s promise may have had multiple meanings, as it looks like Philadelphia’s defense will never struggle against the run again. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio made the necessary changes, switching to more five-man defensive fronts against the Saints.
Carter was at the center of Philadelphia’s defensive turnaround, both literally and figuratively. Carter made a living in New Orleans’ backfield, as he recorded three quarterback hurries and one quarterback hit, according to Pro Football Focus.
After essentially going missing in Philadelphia’s first two games, Carter once again showed flashes of dominance that many witnessed during his rookie season. Carter received an overall defensive grade of 93.5 from PFF in Week 3, the highest among all Eagles players.
The Football Scout on X claimed that Carter’s performance in Week 3 was the greatest that he’s ever seen from a defensive tackle against the Saints.
The #Eagles DT Jalen Carter had the greatest game I have ever seen from a DT vs the Saints.
He impacted 18 total plays (in 51 snaps). I have never seen a DT have that high of a rate when it comes to his impact on a game. Absolutely incredible game by one of the best IDL in the… pic.twitter.com/eR3dfX2YUk
— The Football Scout (@NFLTrenchBattle) September 23, 2024
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni Praises Carter, Named Him ‘Player of the Game’
While Carter’s performance has received plenty of praise from those on the outside, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was impressed with the 23-year-old defensive tackle’s resiliency.
Sirianni was asked specifically about Carter’s ability to respond to the adversity that he faced due to his punishment and the defensive struggles to start the regular season.
“It was handling the adversity of the initial thing and just how you’re going to respond to it,” Sirianni said. “So Jalen Carter, he didn’t play his best game, obviously, against Atlanta. But he came out and he was completely dominant in the game yesterday.”
“Sometimes I share with you ‘player of the game,’ sometimes I don’t. He was our player of the game yesterday, so he got a game ball for yesterday because of his performance.”
It’s clear that Carter embraced the challenge from both the team and those on the outside ahead of Week 3. Carter used the punishment and doubt as fuel to power arguably the best game of his NFL career thus far.
Sirianni continued to praise Carter and discussed his response during a challenging moment in the young defensive tackle’s career.
“So I loved his response … Really at the end of the day, again, you can have a negative mindset, or you can have a purpose mindset,” Sirianni said.
“The purpose mindset says, ‘What did I screw up the game before? This, this, and this. And how am I going to fix it? This, this, and this.’ And then going out and executing it. And he did that.”
Carter surely did just that in Week 3, as he powered Philadelphia’s defense to a dominant performance against one of the hottest teams in the NFL. If Carter continues to operate with “the purpose mindset,” the rest of the league needs to watch out.