Dec 28, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (98) sacks Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images Gregory Fisher
As it turns out, having healthy shoulders is fairly important if you want to play defensive tackle in the NFL.
Jalen Carter missed three games after undergoing surgery on both of his shoulders on Dec. 4. He returned Sunday with two healthy shoulders, much to the chagrin of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
Here's a sampling of what the third-year defensive tackle did Sunday, as the Eagles were able to hold the reigning NFL MVP to 289 total yards:
Jalen Carter is OFFICIALLY back. pic.twitter.com/IibtZ9VkU8
Jalen Carter sacks Josh Allen! pic.twitter.com/KGpYrnQhWi
I honestly don't know what Jalen Carter can do at this point 😅
The man never gets a holding call in his life.#Eagles pic.twitter.com/E8r3COFbYU
Jaelan Phillips sacks Josh Allen, ball pops loose (and far back into Bills territory), and Eagles recover. pic.twitter.com/SgK50vyB3Z
While a missed pass from Allen on what would have been a game-winning two-point conversion ultimately allowed the Eagles to hold on to win the game 13-12, Carter blocked the previous extra-point attempt by Buffalo kicker Michael Badgley:
Jalen Carter is a FREAK OF NATURE pic.twitter.com/GD9WyRlVsI
Had the Bills made that extra point, Allen's one-yard touchdown run with just five seconds left in the game would have been game-tying. The Bills would have needed just a Badgley extra point to win 14-13. Because of Carter's block, Allen's late touchdown brought the Bills within one. Sean McDermott elected to go for the win on a two-point conversion, as opposed to tying it on an extra point and sending the game to overtime. That's not an uncommon strategy in today's game, but there had to be part of McDermott that worried if he sent Badgley back out for an extra point attempt, Carter might again block it to end the game.
Carter's performance doesn't necessarily stand out in the box score, as he had just one total tackle, the second-quarter sack of Allen. But if you watched the game, you saw Carter creating opportunities for his teammates on just about every play.
As OnPattison's Grace Del Pizzo wrote, the Eagles won Sunday despite an offensive second-half performance from their offense. Carter was probably the biggest reason why.
