Jalen Carter certainly put on a show for the Philadelphia Eagles fan base in the 13-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills after missing the last three games.
Carter has four pressures, three hurries, three quarterback hits, two tackles, one tackle for loss, and one extra point block in the win over Buffalo. Reporters asked Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio about his assessment of how his star defensive tackle played in his return, with good words coming from the coach.
“I thought he played well," Fangio said via NBC Philadelphia's John Clark. "I really didn't know how he would play because he missed three games, I believe, and didn't practice until this past week during that time. I thought he played well, I think he's off to a good start, and hopefully he'll build on that and play good down the stretch here and into the playoffs.”
Jalen Carter's return marks Eagles' defense is about to go off
The Eagles' defense has been on quite a tear over the last eight games. During that span, they have the NFL's best defense in points allowed per game at 14.5, the best stretch for the franchise since 2004 under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.
Keep in mind that this stretch was without some key players, such as Carter and rookie starting safety Andrew Mukuba. At the same time, additions like Jaelan Phillips and Brandon Graham have added an element to this defense that was missing at the beginning of the season.
There have also been players who started the season slow, but have stepped up in a big way, with Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr. beginning to look like the future off the edge for Philly. In the middle of the line, Moro Ojomo and Jordan Davis have played out of their mind,s replacing Carter in his absence.
It also helps to have one of the NFL's best secondaries, with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean leading the way. This unit has allowed just a 56.5% completion percentage and 13 passing touchdowns, both of which are the lowest in the NFL.
That doesn't even include the linebackers, where Zack Baun was selected to his second straight Pro Bowl, and Nakobe Dean became one of the best blitzing linebackers in the NFL. Also, rookie first-round pick Jihaad Campbell stepping in for Dean in the Bills game and having the highest PFF grade of any Eagles defender in the game.
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It's safe to say that Fangio has this defense rolling at the best time as they are Super Bowl ready.