A highlight of the Philadelphia Eagles' success during this playoff run has been its defense. For all the praise Saquon Barkley gets for electrifying the offense, the defense has been just as much of a factor in getting them to Super Bowl LIX to face the Kansas City Chiefs.
And one of the players who has been an absolute rock star for that Philly D is Jalen Carter.
So what do the Chiefs need to do to contain the big man and impede his effectiveness?
Well, speaking from my eight years playing in the NFL as a lineman, I know personally that there are a few ways to stop a defensive beast like Carter.
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The first step is using the scheme to target Carter in the run game and building in help in the passing game. The Chiefs will have both of these built into the game plan. With Carter playing nearly exclusively on the left side of the defense — which puts him primarily over the right guard for the game — an offense can plan for where he will be each snap. This allows the scheme to attempt to take advantage of that, but the menu is limited with Carter playing inside against a defensive end on the edge who is more exposed.
The two styles of run plays that can help an offense against Carter are an inside zone with a tight end "slicing" back or a trap-type run. The goal of these runs is hitting Carter from different angles, which in theory will slow him down if he’s looking around for where he’s getting hit post-snap. Also, these plays are potential body-blow opportunities that you hope are cumulative throughout the game and slow Carter down later.
Both of the Eagles' playoff opponents have tried these plays with some success.
The Rams opened the game with a wham play where Carter was subject to a trap block by the Rams left guard.
The Commanders used an inside zone run with the tight end sliding back to block Carter low. Normally, this play has the tight end coming behind the offensive line for the widest defender, most often the defensive end. But it’s switched here to get a shot on Carter.
These are essentially the only two concepts that are available to use against a defensive tackle because of their alignment inside the box. With a defensive end, you can crack that player from outside in, and you can use formational help with a tight end bluffing on runs, some fly sweep action and more.
The nature of these runs only allows them to run a couple of times a game. They are designer runs and these are professional ball players. They will figure them out quickly, including Carter, who saw the tight end coming the second time the Commanders tried to use the tight end to cut him down.
The last option in the run game is using double teams between the right guard and right tackle to move Carter off the ball. So those plays tend to be in the gap family. Duo and power are plays when double teams are built in on the front side and those are just more opportunities to get more bodies on Carter and the body blow theory. You must try to outwork him in these moments and use everything you have within the rule book to frustrate him.
Carter is most dangerous when rushing the passer and this is where the majority of the game plan to stop him will revolve for the Chiefs. Carter has two main pass-rush moves, and he thrives when he’s on the move.
The first is an inside club move. He will attempt to move the offensive guard trying to block him outside and then quickly hitting the guard with an inside club move to get a run at the quarterback.
The Saints right guard is not in a bad position here. He’s inside out and has not gone too far, but when he goes to strike Carter with his inside arm, it’s just enough for Carter to time up the club to get the right guard off balance. Carter uses the offensive lineman’s inside arm punch against him by making it a lever to use for the club move.
Here, Carter goes inside again but against the center. It’s the same idea.
Carter’s other pass rush move is a quick outside double-hand swipe, if you’re going to two-arm punch him straight off the ball.
Carter’s least successful pass rush is a bullrush converted to an outside swim or rip when the offensive lineman has his weight too far forward, trying to stop Carter from pushing them back into the quarterback. This move tends to take longer to execute and Carter is able to get pressure later in the down.
When I’m asked how to stop a defensive lineman, the most common answer I give is to just punch him quickly. The quicker you tend to get your hands on a defensive lineman, especially one as big as Carter, the quicker the rep can be had by the offensive lineman. However, Carter is a unique pass rusher for his size.
He’s not a player with an awesome get-off, meaning he’s not a threat to beat you up the field or get into your chest ASAP, because he doesn’t fire off the ball at the snap like a traditional defensive lineman. He’s looking for the offensive lineman to make the mistake of believing he’s going up the field so he can go inside. Then he’s using that inside arm to get his club to your shoulder to get you off balance.
When blocking Carter, you’d want to invite him to rush down your center by staying a half-man inside on Carter and not using your inside arm to punch. Creating a tad bit of distance by setting back or vertical and then using your outside arm to stun him while having your inside arm ready for his club move.
This might invite that double-hand swipe, but creating that distance off the ball will mess with Carter’s timing.
When and if you’re able to force him down your center, his secondary move is predictable. When he is rushing down your center, the offensive lineman has to force himself not to lean forward and settle his hips down quickly to avoid that late swim or rip against your body weight moving forward.
Blocking Carter will be a team effort for the Chiefs offensive line. It will require taking advantage of double teams in the run game and making sure in pass protection to use techniques that do not give him the space to hit the pass rush moves he likes.
Easier said than done.
Geoff Schwartz is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz.
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