Jalen Carter is one lucky man. The Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle managed to avoid any kind of punishment from the referee despite appearing to land a late hit on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes .
When the scores were 37-4 in the fourth quarter during Super Bowl LIX on February 9, Carter charged down Mahomes quickly and smashed both hands into his face mask. Mahomes fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Carter’s fellow DT Milton Williams .
The referee saw nothing wrong with Jalen Carter’s challenge. However, Williams was penalized and ordered to pay $14,069 as a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct.
That wasn’t the only time the second-year pass rusher got to Mahomes. Early in the first half, he chased down the 29-year-old and grabbed onto his left leg, forcing a wayward pass. There was nothing wrong with the tackle, but Mahomes and the Chiefs escaped a bad injury with minor headaches.
Mahomes’ head bounced off the turf. He was okay to continue but shortly after conceded two interceptions and one pick-six. The combination of Carter, Williams, Josh Sweat, and Zack Baun recorded six sacks on the 2x NFL MVP in the game, which eventually ended in a 40-22 victory for the Eagles.
Jalen Carter revealed the difference between winning a Natty and a Super Bowl
Carter is among the few athletes who were champions in college with the Georgia Bulldogs before becoming Super Bowl winners. However, the 23-year-old revealed that the feelings after the two victories are different.
Man!!! it’s different; it’s not like winning the Natty. Natty feels good but this Super Bowl is way different. Way more publicity and more everything.
Jalen Carter told NFL Network‘s Stacey Dales after the game
Carter played three seasons with the Bulldogs and won multiple CFP finals (2021 and 2022). He had a total of 83 combined tackles, 19 tackles for losses, four pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.
The Eagles took him ninth overall in 2023, and he hit the ground running. In his first season, he had 33 tackles and one fumble return touchdown. The following season, he recorded 42 tackles and 12 tackles for losses en route to the Super Bowl. However, illness cast doubt on his availability for New Orleans until a couple of days before the game.
I don’t know, man, it hit a couple players on the team. A couple players got sick. But we fought through it, man; we still knew what the goal was. We came out here and we executed. It’s all love, man. I love this team.
Jalen Carter said
Carter has a total of 75 tackles and 10.5 sacks in his first two years to go with the Lombardi Trophy on his mantlepiece.
