Eagles-Rams Film Review: Jalen Carter makes everyone on the defensive line look better

This was one of my favorite Philadelphia Eagles defensive performances of the season because it was against a serious offense. Sean McVay is an outstanding football coach and this Los Angeles Rams offense is talented. Although the Rams scored 20 points, the defense dominated. The score would have reflected the domination without some questionable passing interference calls and a late touchdown. Let’s get into it. (Previously: Eagles-Rams offensive film review.)

Defense

The Rams came out and had success on the first few plays of the game. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one worried that McVay had figured out the Eagles’ defense. Then I remembered that Fangio is the Eagles’ defensive coordinator! He quickly adjusted and started using these 5-man fronts on early downs to stop the Rams’ running game. It was a genius move, and these 5-man fronts were very important throughout the game on 1st down. I will write properly about Brandon Graham after the season, but he had a fantastic game. The Eagles will miss his ability to kick inside, as it allows them to be very unpredictable with their fronts. Isaiah Rodgers deserves huge credit for forcing the fumble here. The Eagles’ defensive backs are playing hard in run defense and having a big impact.

It feels weird to be so positive about a player after he gets beat, but I can’t say anything good things about this rep by Quinyon Mitchell. Puka Nacua is an outstanding player. McVay calls the perfect play against the Eagles’ single-high coverage and Quinyon has to play with outside leverage against an in-breaking route. This play should be open 99 times out of 100. Despite this, Quinyon covers it perfectly and nearly breaks it up. Every single cornerback will get beat at times. The best ones make you work for every single yard.

The announcers talked about Jalen Carter being double-teamed a lot in this game, and this clip shows why. Sadly, Jordan Davis gives the Eagles nothing as a pass rusher. I would love him to win his one-on-one here and give opposing offensive coordinators something to consider before immediately double-teaming Carter. Davis is a handy early down run defender, but his pass-rushing skills have not improved.

Most people will watch this play and complain about the pass interference call on Slay. Watching this play live, I did the exact same thing. However, there are a couple of more interesting notes on the All22. Firstly, this is one of the first times I’ve seen Josh Sweat kick inside and Zack Baun line up as the EDGE next to him. The Eagles will need someone to replace Brandon Graham’s role if they are to remain unpredictable with their fronts. This signals that Josh Sweat could take on that role. I’m fascinated to see who does it because I am certain that the Eagles will need to use some 5-man fronts against the Ravens this weekend. Secondly, the Eagles’ route distribution is outstanding once again. Fangio knows how to coach a secondary.

Ed Reed Blankenship. What a player. You can’t play the ‘robber’ role any better. The Eagles played a lot of single-high coverage in this game, which did not surprise me. The Rams are known for running many crossing routes, and the ‘robber’ safety can help take away the crossing route in the middle of the field, as Blankenship does here. Blankenship does an amazing job taking away two routes in the middle of the field, but the pass would have been completed without a fantastic recovery by Darius Slay. I feel bad for Slay because he’s playing so well this year but just cannot stay healthy. I hope the Eagles give him time to rest because I want him fit and firing for the post-season. He’s having a great year when he’s on the field.

I know fans can sometimes get over-excited when a rookie is playing well (especially in a small sample size), but Cooper DeJean deserves the hype. He’s transformed this defense. The Eagles live in nickel now and don’t have to play any base because of how good DeJean is against the run. As well as this, his coverage has been excellent. His pressing at the line of scrimmage has really stood out and helped him shut down Cooper Kupp in this game. The Eagles smashed the 2024 NFL Draft, didn’t they?

Nakobe Dean has been lights out the past few weeks, but this was his best game. He looked good in coverage, blitzing the quarterback and in run defense. You can tell that he’s not overthinking anything and he’s trusting his instincts right now. The sign of a great defensive coordinator is that his scheme makes players look better. Many people were surprised that Dean was starting over Devin White at the start of the season, but no one is questioning that decision now. Fangio seems to have got all the big personnel decisions right this year. I’m really happy for Dean. This is an awesome play.

Yeah, I’m not ready to talk about Brandon Graham yet. I didn’t know about the injury until the end of the game, and it instantly ruined my good mood. I spoke about Brandon Graham in the first 10 minutes of my podcast this week, so if you want more thoughts on him, please feel free to listen here. He’s not just a fantastic dude; he’s a fantastic player. He’s looked as good as he ever has over the past few weeks, and the Eagles are really going to miss him on the field. Personally, I’m just so gutted for him as an individual. It won’t feel right watching this Eagles’ defense without BG on the field.

Look at the attention Jalen Carter commands on this play. Blitzing the weakside linebacker opposite Carter is easy money. Dean is a fantastic blitzer, and this is not the first time he’s made a running back look stupid in pass protection this season! This is ‘Whip’, a concept I’ve spoken about before. It’s where the weakside linebacker blitzes, and the strongside EDGE drops into coverage. It’s a Fangio stapl,e and it’s worked a lot this season.

If this is the last ever time I post a clip of Brandon Graham, then it’s a wicked play to end on. My brain tells me that BG is 36 years old, which means that this is likely the end of the road for his playing career. My heart tells me he won’t want to go out like this…

I hope I see BG back in the Eagles’ green next season.

The Eagles’ route distribution was good the majority of the time, but there were a few shaky plays. I try to comment on things I think could be an issue moving forward, so I thought I’d just mention this. I do not like the Eagles’ dime package, and it doesn’t seem to work with Avonte Maddox on the field. I hope the Eagles try something else because I can see this being an issue on an important 3rd and long over the next few weeks. It’s a shame Kelee Ringo can’t play in the slot because I would rather see him out there. You could push Quinyon inside and play Ringo on the outside in dime but that feels a little silly considering how Quinyon is playing right now.

Milton Williams gets the sack, but the Eagles’ pass rush is about Jalen Carter. He’s a superstar. I am a little concerned about how reliant the Eagles are on Carter, but I appreciate that all teams are reliant on their superstars to some extent. Carter makes everyone on the defensive line look better because he constantly takes on double teams. Sometimes, two offensive linemen aren’t enough to stop Carter.

I’m excited to watch this defense play against a phenomenal Ravens offense. It’s going to be a fascinating game to break down next week. Go Birds!

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.