Eagles' Defensive Star: 'We Just Locked In'

Jalen Carter had one of his best games against Jacksonville despite persistent double teams.

Nov 3, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (98) against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - The Gamebook didn't necessarily reflect Jalen Carter’s impact during the Eagles’ fourth consecutive win last Sunday, a 28-23 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The second-year star had one solo tackle and three assists but battled through consistent double teams to disrupt the Jags' offense with a career-high six pressures, three of which came with extra attention

“I thought he played very well,” said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “I thought he had — I mean, I don't know that I can say his best game overall but if not his best, then it’s up there.”

To borrow a phrase from ex-Eagles DC Jim Schwartz, Fangio is not one to just hand out gold stars.

Carter, 23, smiled when told about Fangio's praise at his locker after practice Thursday.

"I felt it was a good game for me," Carter said. "You know, I didn't get no sacks. And, you know, I like sacks, but I feel like it was a good game for as a D-line collectively for the pressures that we got."

Carter admitted he gets frustrated at times when the double teams are piling up but Fangio and defensive line coach Clint Hurtt are continuing to work with the former Georgia star on that.

“You just can't get frustrated. You've got to keep playing," Fangio said. "A lot of your guys with their dominant players, they get double-teamed a lot but they still seem to get their production. So, they keep going and they don't get frustrated.”

"I faced double teams in practice," said Carter. "I'm facing double teams in practice versus our O-line, which we got a very good O-line, and the scout team and with the starters. So I feel like they get me prepared a lot for the game."

Also preparing Carter is the added emphasis the Eagles placed on conditioning this summer.

Carter played 52 of the team's 54 defensive snaps against the Jags and handled the workload well.

"I think if I'm playing 52 out of 54 that'll tell you. They got our conditioning levels right, and we've been working hard," said Carter. "If I gotta do it again, I'll do it again."

Doing it again could help halt a six-year losing streak at AT&T Stadium against Dallas.

"Ain't no thoughts on it. We just got to win," Carter said of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry. "We know it's an away game. It's usually tougher in away games. At the end of the day, we just got to win."

As the best player on the NFL's third-ranked defense, Carter is expected to be integral in any path to victory.

"We just locked in," Carter said of the Philadelphia defense. "You know, we all we see how everybody playing, we all feeding off each other. Now we celebrating the little things. That's really what it is."

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