PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Carter has the drive to be great. When Sunday rolls around, the Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle excepts nothing less.
But even Carter is humbled. When one of the greatest defensive players of all time gives Carter a shoutout, all Carter could do was smile.
Eagles legend LeSean McCoy revealed on Fox Sports 1 he spoke to Donald, a friend of McCoy’s and fellow Pitt alum, as the future Hall of Famer give the highest praise to Carter.
“I haven’t watched football like that in a long time, Donald told McCoy. “That guy Jalen Carter, bro. My replacement is here.”
When Carter was informed of Donald’s comments, the reaction was wholesome.
“That’s nice man. I always wanted to talk to AD,” Carter said. “Just to hear that from him, one of the best, and I watched his film and learned from him. That means a lot…That’s love from an OG right there. I really don’t know what else to say.
“If I’m getting that from him, that means something right there.”
Carter had one of the most dominant performances in Eagles playoff history in last week’s divisional round victory over the Los Angeles Rams. He finished with five tackles, two sacks, seven pressures, three quarterback hits, and a forced fumble in the 28-22 victory — with his two biggest plays in the fourth quarter. His forced fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter led to the Eagles extending their lead, but the biggest play was a sack on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford on a third-and-2 at the Eagles’ 13 with 1:14 left in the Eagles clinging to a 28-22 lead. On the next play, Carter hit Stafford and forced an incompletion that sealed the Eagles win.
Carter saved the Eagles season. he doesn’t look at it that way, part of what makes him great.
“It made me feel good. But you know, it really don’t hit until like later on,” Carter said. “We all celebrating there. You know, I’m getting all the [accolades] as you mentioned. I’m like I might [have won the game] but at the end it’s still a team game, like we all had to do what we had to do.
“I know that one play is a big play, but at the end of the day, everybody still had to do their job.”
Carter is the one player on the Eagles defense the Washington Commanders have to account for at all times. He’s the one that can change the game for Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels as well.
Sunday could be an encore performance for Carter, who is already tabbed as the next Aaron Donald.
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