PHILADELPHIA — Five hours after Jalen Carter was disqualified from the Eagles’ season-opening win over the Dallas Cowboys before he even played a down, the star defensive tackle remained in the locker room. He hugged defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo, both of whom needed to take on almost every defensive snap in Carter’s absence. He vowed that an incident like the one on Thursday, when he spat at Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, would never occur again.
“That’s a mistake that happened on my side. Just won’t happen again,” Carter said by his locker after the Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Cowboys. “I feel bad for just my teammates and the fans out there. I’m doing it for them. I’m doing it for my family, also, but for the fans. They show the most love, you heard them. To not be able to start the game, finish the game, it f—ed me up. We’ll get it better. It won’t happen again. I can make that promise.”
There’s no rationalization for Carter’s behavior, which forced his teammates to play the entire game without the centerpiece of their defense and could have put the Eagles in peril. Carter, who had four personal fouls last season and has a history of straddling the line between aggressive and foolish, did not commit this wrongdoing in the name of trying to make a play. Television cameras showed Prescott spitting in the direction of the Eagles defense while in a huddle after the opening kickoff. Carter then approached Prescott, encountered him face-to-face, and reciprocated with a loogie that hit the rival quarterback in his collar. An official witnessed Carter’s wrongdoing, threw the penalty flag and ejected Carter.
“It’s a disqualifiable foul in the game,” referee Shawn Smith said. “It’s a non-football act.”
THE PLOT THICKENS.
More angles and context have surfaced about Jalen Carter’s ejection.
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Carter did not offer his version of Prescott’s role in the incident.
“When things start to come out and you start seeing things, you can go off that,” Carter said. “But I don’t have nothing to say about it. I’m trying to make sure the team’s straight.”
Prescott told reporters that he spits “a thousand times” during games, that Carter was “trolling” Cowboys offensive lineman Tyler Booker and Prescott spat in front of himself trying to avoid his linemen.
“I would say (Carter) was back there and was in that sense, and he goes, ‘Are you trying to spit on me?’” Prescott said. “At that point, I mean, I felt like he was insulting me. I wouldn’t spit on somebody. ‘I’m damn sure I’m not trying to spit on you.’ We’re about to play a game. I’m wondering why you’re trying to mess with the rookie, and so when I stepped through, I actually say the words like, ‘Why the hell would I?’… but I’m probably even more colorful. ‘What would I need to spit on you for?’ He just spit on me in that moment, it was more of a surprise than anything. Refs obviously saw it through the flag. I was like, ‘Hell yeah, we get 15 yards to start the game off.’ Didn’t realize he was getting ejected.”
Carter was escorted to the locker room by Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro with teammates and fans in disbelief.
“I didn’t even know he was kicked out,” Ojomo said. “I thought you got a personal foul and he was coming back in.”
Carter admitted to being “super amped” before the game. The starters sat during the preseason and waited this long to hit an opponent. He would not offer details about what went through his mind during the incident — “things went how they went,” he said — and only promised not to commit the transgression again. He said he was calm when he walked off the field, and that it was “intense” watching the game from the locker room. He gave his teammates tips during halftime and the weather break.
“I wanted to be out there with the guys so bad just to support and help,” Carter said.
Without Carter, Davis and Ojomo each played 50 of 56 defensive snaps. Byron Young played 21 defensive snaps and Gabe Hall played five defensive snaps. Prescott said the Cowboys changed their blocking scheme in an effort to stop Carter, so the Pro Bowler’s absence “helped in that matter.” The defensive linemen did enough to challenge Prescott and the Cowboys, with Davis recording six tackles (including one for a loss). Young helped knock the ball out of Miles Sanders’ hands on a game-changing fumble with the Cowboys threatening to score. Ojomo recorded the Eagles’ only credited quarterback hit. But even they would agree they missed Carter, whose presence changes the defense — and the way offenses play the Eagles.
“We needed him out there today and he wasn’t out there against a really good offense,” Sirianni said. “I was really proud of the way the guys stepped up and played. … We need Jalen Carter on the field and, like I said, we will keep everything in-house, but we have to get all these things corrected as a whole. … You see how I coach with emotion, and I want them to play with emotion, and that’s what I kind of say all the time is you have to do it within the rules of the game. We need everybody out there to help us be successful.”
The issues on the Eagles’ defense were mostly in the secondary, where Adoree’ Jackson was vulnerable in coverage against CeeDee Lamb. (It appeared that Quinyon Mitchell spent most of the game on George Pickens — not Lamb. Sirianni did not explain why.) The Cowboys star receiver finished with seven catches for 110 yards, and the damage could have been worse if not for four drops. To the Eagles’ credit, they made key stops in the second half — including the critical turnover with Young and Jihaad Campbell — and held the Cowboys scoreless after allowing points on all four possessions in the first half. The second-half drive chart included a fumble, a punt, another punt and a turnover on downs.
“I think the D-line, we try to lead the defense,” Ojomo said. “They got us on a couple runs today, but at the end of the day, we got the win. I think we didn’t give them a point in the second half, right? That’s amazing.”
A key talking point after the game was the lack of discipline, and though the comments were not directed toward Carter, his ejection personified it. Nolan Smith committed a taunting penalty. Reed Blankenship was flagged for a personal foul. The Eagles were penalized nine times for 110 yards.
Jalen Hurts and Lane Johnson both said they had conversations with Carter. Carter said he had not yet spoken to Sirianni, but he knows the conversation is coming. Sirianni would not reveal what the discipline would be for Carter — “I’m going to keep all our conversations and all my disciplinary things in-house, but we have to fix it as coaches,” Sirianni said — and Carter did not know if the league would try to suspend him.
“If I get that text or that call, then that conversation will happen,” Carter said.
Carter entered the season as a potential defensive player of the year candidate. He solidified himself as one of the league’s best defensive linemen last season when he was named second-team All-Pro in his second season, and there’s a belief within the organization that he’s only beginning to realize his immense talent. He’s eligible for a contract extension after the season, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he becomes one of the NFL’s highest-paid defensive players. Carter wore a shirt after the game that read, “MY FIRST YEAR BEING RICH.” One can only fathom what his career earnings will be if he realizes his potential. That will also require Carter to harness his recklessness, which has been seen with both penalty flags from officials and even assistant coach Clint Hurtt restraining him on the sideline.
The Eagles don’t want to eliminate it. Carter’s talent comes with a mean streak, which is sometimes viewed as an asset — if channeled appropriately. By coincidence, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked earlier this week if Carter required a “certain nastiness” to reach his potential.
“I don’t know that nastiness is the right word. That kind of invokes Conrad Dobler-type stuff,” Fangio said. “I just think he has to play with the right mindset to reach his potential, or come close to reaching his potential. He’s just got to be on top of the details, play with great effort, and be focused.”
Did Dobler spit on opponents? He was once dubbed the NFL’s dirtiest player. Personal fouls are intolerable, but spitting at somebody is another level.
“He’s devastated,” Johnson said. “It’ll be a lesson learned for him. We missed him out there today.”
The Eagles survived on Thursday without Carter. They need him this season. That will require Carter sacking quarterbacks — not spitting on them.
(Photo: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
