Any concerns about whether the Eagles defense could remain strong after an offseason change in coordinators have been put at ease in the 2023 season.
The Eagles forced six turnovers while winning their first two games and they stepped things up even more on Monday night. The Eagles held the Bucs to 174 yards and of offense and had two more takeaways in a 25-11 win that moved them to 3-0 on the year.
One of the takeaways came on a forced fumble by first-round pick Jalen Carter just before halftime and led to a field goal. The defensive tackle also jarred the ball away from Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield on a sack one play before the turnover. The Bucs recovered that ball, but neither Carter nor anyone else on the Eagles defense would be denied.
“This defense is awesome,” Carter said, via Ed Kracz of SI.com. “I love this defense. Everybody trusts one another, plays their roles, and does what they have to do. When one goes down it’s the next man up and we don’t worry about who it is, we trust him as much as the guy who started the game. I love this defense.”
Carter’s contributions came in front of a lot of family and friends. He said in his postgame media session that a large group came about 100 miles from his hometown of Apopka, Florida to Tampa to see him continue the impressive start to his NFL career. Neither they nor anyone else pulling for the Eagles were disappointed in what they saw.
