If you looked at the box score of Super Bowl LIX, you would have no idea that Eagles DT Jalen Carter even played. He had no sacks, no tackles, no batted passes. However, he had a massive impact on the game, and was a big reason that the rest of the Birds' defensive line dominated.
In the leadup to gameday, we detailed the Chiefs' offensive line quite a bit, as it felt like a significant weakness. Their O-line looked like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Joe Thuney | Mike Caliendo | Creed Humphrey | Trey Smith | Jawaan Taylor |
At RT, Taylor was a penalty machine all season who is susceptible to speed rushers.
LT was a problem spot for the Chiefs all season. They tried three different guys there, who all got benched, before moving Thuney from his normal LG spot out to LT. Thuney is a very good guard, but he is not a good LT, and is not built for the position.
And finally, Caliendo filled in for Thuney at LG. That was a major downgrade.
The Chiefs have two very good linemen in Humphrey at C and Smith at RG.
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That brings us to Carter, who in my opinion is the Eagles' best defensive player, even with a Defensive Player of the Year nominee in Zack Baun at linebacker. Carter usually lines up opposite the RG, and he got double-teamed all season, usually by the RG and the C.
That posed a tough decision for Andy Reid and the Chiefs' offensive staff. Would they try to single-block Carter with Smith, or double him with Smith and Humphrey, thus using their two best offensive linemen to block Carter, and exposing their weaker players to one-on-one matchups against the Eagles' other talented pass rushers.
They mostly chose to double Carter, with devastating results. Let's take a look at the tape.Carter actually got single-blocked some early in the game. Here he chased down Mahomes and got a knockdown on a pass that was nearly intercepted by Isaiah Rodgers. He also got single-blocked on a 2nd down with the Chiefs backed up against the shadow of their own end zone. Carter got Mahomes to move off his spot and check it down. He was also held on the play, but there was no call, just like the rest of the season. This should have been a safety.
But Carter faced a lot of doubles in this game. Here he is getting doubled by Smith and Humphrey. Josh Sweat straight-arms Thuney back into Mahomes' lap. Mahomes then has to avoid Nolan Smith, and eventually throws incomplete because of the pressure.
(On a side note, if you've ever wondered why NFL scouts ding offensive tackles for having short arms, that's ☝️ why. Thuney has 32 1/4" T-Rex arms, while Sweat has 34 5/8" long arms. Thuney can't get his hands on Sweat who basically treats Thuney like Bugs Bunny stiff-arming Elmer Fudd.)
Here's a tight end screen that is called for Travis Kelce. Carter is initially doubled by Smith and Taylor. The Chiefs try to occupy Sweat's attention with some eye candy (having receivers run jet motions behind the screen), but he ignores that nonsense and gets to Mahomes before the screen play can develop.
Here Carter is doubled once again by Smith and Taylor. The Chiefs try to block Sweat with a combo of Kelce and Isiah Pacheco (lol), and Jalyx Hunt beats Thuney on the other side.
Here Carter occupies Smith and Humphrey. Because Carter tries an outside rush, Humphrey is basically a spectator, blocking nobody. Sweat and Milton Williams work a game on the other side against Thuney and Caliendo and sack Mahomes.
This time Carter is doubled by Smith and Humphrey, and running back Samaje Perine chips him for good measure. Sweat bull rushes Thuney, who bumps into Mahomes as he's throwing, which leads to an off-target throw that is picked off by Baun.
Here he's single-blocked by Smith and thus identifies, "Welp, something is wrong here." He sniffs out that it's a screen and messes up the play.
Doubled again, one-on-ones everywhere else, and Jordan Davis gets the sack.
And finally, he's not doubled here, so this doesn't exactly match up with the theme of this article, but I thought some of you might just enjoy this violent hit on Mahomes after this Milton Williams strip sack.
It still blows my mind that nine teams passed on this guy in the 2023 NFL Draft.
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