Why Jalen Carter’s Iron Man game was such a good sign for Eagles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Jalen Carter played every single defensive snap for the Eagles in their Week 11 win over the Commanders. All 66 of them.
That’s even more impressive when you remember how his play tailed off at the end of his rookie season.
“To play every play that he played, I think it shows you how good of shape he’s in,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “That’s cardio, that’s physical, that’s so many different things. That’s eating the right things and nutrition.
“Again, it wasn’t like 66 sloppy plays, right? He made an impact on that game. You guys saw it. And he hustled every single play. You have to be in phenomenal shape to be able to do that. I think as far as off the field, you really notice the time that he’s put into the weight room, put into his body. And it’s really showing up on Sundays.”
Carter, 23, played all 66 snaps on Thursday night and finished with seven tackles and a tackle for loss. And he was way more dominant than the numbers suggest.
The big theme for Carter this offseason and this summer was conditioning. He brought it up in the spring and then his position coach Clint Hurtt talked about it at the end of OTAs.
“The No. 1 thing for him is just being in the best shape he possibly can be in,” Hurtt said in early June. “And he’s taken huge strides with that this offseason and it’s a work in progress but he’s off to a really, really good start. If he’s in great condition and he can play all out … Then he’s going to be a hard guy to block.
“He’s a huge man, long arms, strong, he can get up and down and make tackles in the tackle box. The No. 1 thing for him is conditioning. Can he be in great shape? And we’re off to a nice start with that.”
It seems like all that offseason work is paying off.
The first-round pick from 2023 has become a more consistently dominant player this season and Fangio has called on him a ton. Carter played 100% of the snaps on Thursday after playing 96% against the Jaguars a few weeks ago and 89% against the Saints in Week 3.
“He’s been playing a lot anyway,” Fangio said. “What the hell’s the difference between 90% and 100%? I mean, jeez. Just that he’s been able to do it for the most part and he’s ready for it.”
The difference is that an Eagles defensive tackle has never done this — at least not since 2012 when snap count data became publicly available. Fletcher Cox used to be the Eagles’ iron man at defensive tackle but Carter has now played a higher percentage in two games this season than Cox ever did in his Eagles career.
Of course, that’s not to say Cox couldn’t have done it. But the Eagles have always used rotations for their defensive linemen and Fangio is more willing to play one guy a lot of the time like Christian Wilkins with the Dolphins last season.
Playing all 66 snaps is quite a feat. What does it take to pull something like that off?
“No. 1, it’s the guy’s conditioning. Can they do it?” Fangio said. “Two, sometimes the circumstances allow itself to happen or make it hard to get him out on occasion. So it’s kind of the flow of the game. But I’ve had many do it or come close to doing it.”
Wilkins last season with the Dolphins played 95% of the snaps or more in three games and Carter has now done that two times in 10 games. With seven games left in the 2024 regular season, it seems like Fangio is going to continue to lean on his best defensive tackle.
So far, Carter has been up to the challenge.
And the fact that he hasn’t slowed down as we enter late November is a very good sign after the way things went in the second half of his rookie season in 2023.
Carter got off to an incredible start as a rookie and was the frontrunner to win the Rookie of the Year before really tailing off down the stretch. It’s very possible his level of conditioning played a role.
Take a look at his rookie season by half:
First 8 games: 4 sacks, 7 QB hits, 5 TFLs, 2 FF, 16 tackles
Last 8 games: 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, 3 TFLs, 1 FR, 17 tackles
The Eagles can’t afford for Carter’s play to dip again in 2024. He’s arguably their most important player on that side of the ball and he’s found consistency this season. With seven games left in the regular season and a potential playoff run after that, all his conditioning work in the offseason will really get tested in December and January.
“I do think Jalen has come on,” Fangio said, “and has really helped our defense extremely to a high level.”
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