Eagles defense piles up sacks vs. Giants QB Daniel Jones and now wants more: ‘It’s coming to fruition’

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Immediately after Jalen Carter grabbed Daniel Jones’ hips and wrestled him to the ground for his second sack of the day in the Eagles’ win over the New York Giants, the second-year defensive tackle popped up and looked for Nolan Smith.

A few feet away, Carter found his former Georgia teammate flexing in celebration. The defensive tackle pointed his way to give him his props.

“I said, ‘That’s ‘cause of you, man,’” Carter said.

Even though Carter’s name would show up in the box score on that play, Smith generated the initial pressure on Jones. He beat Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor off the edge and forced the quarterback to step up in the pocket.

Carter, who had breezed past Giants right guard Greg Van Roten, was in perfect position to greet Jones with open arms thanks to Smith’s efforts. His sack and Smith’s pressure served as a microcosm of the group-rush mentality the Eagles’ defensive front displayed Sunday against the Giants, combining for a season-high eight sacks.

“We’re always congratulating whoever got the pressure, whoever flushed him out,” Jordan Davis said. “It’s all about praise, man. We just try to praise ourselves because if we don’t praise ourselves, then who’s going to do it for us?”

The Eagles had plenty of praise to spread around on Sunday afternoon, from solo efforts to collective triumphs. Carter and Nakobe Dean notched a pair of sacks apiece, while Smith, Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff, and Jalyx Hunt tallied sacks of their own.

Going into the game, both the Eagles and the Giants lacked their starting left tackles in Jordan Mailata and Andrew Thomas, respectively, because of injuries. With backup Joshua Ezeudu slated to start in Thomas’ spot, Sweat said that he expected the Giants to “chip the [stuff] out of [them]” with tight-end help on the left side of the offensive line.

That’s exactly what happened early in the first quarter on third-and-6. Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger chip-blocked Sweat, only knocking the outside linebacker off his path for a moment. Sweat then swatted Ezeudu’s hands down as he barreled toward Jones and brought him down for the first sack of the game.

“We’ve been talking about it a lot, man, that somebody’s going to start it off and get us in a roll where we can all get some sacks in,” Carter said.

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Sweat provided the spark. Smith fanned the flame on the next Giants possession. As Jones lingered in the pocket for too long with his receivers well-covered by the Eagles’ secondary, Smith nearly pushed Ezeudu into the quarterback’s lap before shedding the left tackle and collecting the sack.

Dean also benefited from the Eagles’ sticky coverage that allowed only 43 net passing yards on Sunday. Late in the third quarter, Dean blitzed the B gap, where Giants running back Devin Singletary awaited him in pass protection. Singletary cut-blocked Dean and took out his legs, but Dean didn’t give up on his way to Jones.

“I was able to get my feet out from under me, then I looked up, he still had the ball,” Dean said. “So it was good. I guess it was good coverage in the back end, and I was able to get the sack.”

While Dean registered the first two full sacks of his career, Huff notched his first full sack as an Eagle back in the stadium where he played for four seasons with the New York Jets. Rushing out of a four-point stance, Huff fought through a chip from Giants running back Tyrone Tracy and turned Eluemunor around as he stormed toward Jones.

“It’s been a great change,” Huff said of his increased rushes out of a four-point stance. “It really comes from my coaches, reminding me to stay cognizant of my opportunities to use it. So I’ve just been staying on top of that.”

Through the last two weeks, the Eagles defense has combined for 13 sacks. From Carter’s perspective, nothing has changed. When the sacks weren’t coming, though, the defensive front stuck together and consistently praised one another.

Their bond as a group has provided the motivation needed to stay patient and diligent for a game like Sunday’s.

“Meetings, practice, the more we spend time with each other, through our dinners, all that stuff, that’s when we come together and we start to get that connection,” Sweat said. “And once that happens, it’s just like, let me take care of the guy next to me. You know what I mean? That’s just all it is, man. Then you feel happy when the next guy gets [one]. And then they’re happy for you when you’re getting yours.”

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Davis concurred: “When you spend time outside, that’s when you really get to start to know a person. You start to get to know who they are as a person. When you know somebody, you play harder. You play harder for them. That’s all I can say. It’s coming to fruition.”

Sunday marked a step forward for an Eagles defense that has denied a pair of offenses from scoring touchdowns for two straight games. But less than a half hour after he trotted off the field and up the tunnel back to the locker room, Carter finished giving his teammates their flowers. He was ready to move forward to the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Today, we came out and we got eight sacks,” Carter said. “That’s awesome. We’re going on to next week. We need to get more. That’s the only thing. More. More. More.”