The Eagles finally snapped their losing streak, beating the Giants on Christmas in what was ultimately a close call. Despite some frustrating moments on both sides of the ball, there was some really encouraging play from the Eagles’ young guys.
Another quiet day for Jalen Carter. While he had a few pressures rushing the passer, he continued to struggle to make an impact as a run defender. In fact, Matt Patricia seemed to want Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, or Milton Williams on the field on early downs. This might be a better choice in the long run to keep the rookie fresh for the playoffs, but its noteworthy that Carter’s run defense can’t be relied on anymore. Carter also had a penalty that hurt the Eagles’ defense (turned a 4th-and-4 punt into a first down) and probably should’ve had a second one (Giants were questionably called for a false start).
With injuries to the linebacker group, Nolan Smith played off-ball linebacker in sub-packages. His athleticism made it easy for him to flow to the ball, but it was evident he had a hard time breaking down and making tackles from that position. When Smith played on the edge, he made some nice plays and hustle tackles. He is slowly coming along and developing into a interesting role player on the Eagles defense.
