When the Philadelphia Eagles needed a big defensive play in their snowy Divisional Round showdown against the Los Angeles Rams, it felt like Jalen Carter always stepped up and delivered the goods.
He sacked Matthew Stafford early, hurting his ribs in the process, then Peanut punched the ball out of Kyren Williams' hands to set up an Isaiah Rodgers fumble recovery and ultimately dominated the final drives of the game to ensure Philadelphia gets one more game at the Linc to close out the season.
Asked about Carter's performance in Week 20, Eagles All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun celebrated his play, calling his “monstrous” teammate the best in the league in only his second professional season.
“Oh my gosh. That dude is just a monster,” Baun told reporters via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “The best in the league. Even when the stat sheet doesn’t say it, I know he had a great game today, but even when the stat sheet doesn’t say, he’s making a big impact in the game. The forced fumble, the TFLs, the sack, he always has a bunch of batted passes. He does it all, and it’s fantastic.”
Nick Sirianni, too, celebrated Carter for his strong play, telling reporters after the game that even he is in awe of how incredible the second-year Georgia Bulldog has played in 2025.
“Yeah, he's a special player. Jalen Carter is a special player, and he's done so many of the right things to continue to make himself a special player. Can't say enough about Vic [Fangio] and the job he does of putting him in positions to succeed. Clint Hurtt, he's a special coach. He has helped Jalen, and then all the credit goes to Jalen, who has continued to get better. He's consistently done the right things in and out of the building, from his conditioning to his weight to his style of play. Jalen Carter, he's special,” Sirianni told reporters.
“For him to rush the passer the way that he did, and our group rush the way that we did in moments where the footing wasn't great. That, to me, was a championship effort by the defense. And we earned a right to play for a championship, the NFC Championship, this week against a really good football team. Jalen Carter, I can't say enough good things about his development as a player. That just doesn't happen because of talent. He's talented as — you guys see it. He's so talented. But, in this league there are a lot of guys that are talented. It takes more than talent to reach your potential, and he's continuing to rise. That speaks a lot to Jalen Carter.”
Playing almost every single defensive snap for the Eagles versus the Rams, Carter finished out the game with a very impressive stat line, as Baun pointed out. If Carter can just keep his efforts going and impact the Washington Commanders in the same way next week, he might just get to see a Super Bowl before he turns 24.