Getty Philadelphia Eagles DT Jalen Carter will play the Cowboys for the first time on Sunday
The Dallas Cowboys have an all-important matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, and the tension is already tangible. However, the latest comments from the Eagles’ breakout DT Jalen Carter are said with a grin rather than a grimace.
Carter has been an impact player in his rookie season with the Eagles, consistently getting into opposing backfields. As he prepares for his first game against the Cowboys, he spoke with SI.com’s Mike Fisher and Isaiah Deanda Delgado and dropped an eye-catching quote.
“I’m ready to kill the Cowboys,” Carter said. “Everybody’s got beef. I might as well join the wave.”
The article makes it clear that Carter’s not providing any additional edge to these comments. If anything, he’s just having fun with his newfound rivalry in the NFC East.
That being said, one can imagine how Cowboys players might feel about his comments. These games are already chippy, but a rookie adding in his jokes or take might just earn said rookie an additional pop or attention when Sunday afternoon rolls around.
Cowboys Have Difficult Task with Carter, Philly DL
Dallas boasts one of the best defensive lines in the NFL thanks to a dominant pass rush with guys like Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence. It’s hard to directly compare unit to unit, but the Eagles may beat out the Cowboys in that department.
Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham all come to mind, but Carter has contributed at an elite level for a rookie. According to Pro Football Reference, Carter has 3.5 sacks, 6 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in seven appearances.
For an edge rusher, those would be solid rookie stats. For an interior defender, those numbers hit the upper echelon in terms of league-wide production. ESPN states that his 25% pass-rush win-rate is the best in the league.
Carter will be a major factor on Sunday, and the Cowboys will need their talented and experienced offensive line to play their best in order to mitigate his, and the rest of the Eagles’ defensive line’s impact.
Prescott and Hurts Face Off for Second Time Ever
Besides all of the obvious context that makes this matchup a huge one, there is also the added factor of the quarterback battle. The aforementioned pass rushers like Carter and Parsons will be gunning for Dallas QB Dak Prescott and Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts, but the two have only battled head-to-head once ever.
Hurts is 2-2 against the Cowboys all-time. But injuries and other factors have meant the QB’s only meeting happened in 2021, in which Dallas took a 41-21 win over the Eagles. Prescott had one of his better career games with 238 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Hurts threw for 326 passing yards, two scores and two interceptions.
Prescott has done very well against the Eagles in his career, going 8-3 as he enters the first clash of 2023. Beating Philadelphia in Week 9 will be a different task, as the Eagles only have one loss on the season and there’s no question that Lincoln Financial Field will be rocking for the game.