NEW ORLEANS — Chris Jones marveled on the sight.
Three years in the past, within the last minute of Tremendous Bowl LVI, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald go off the road of scrimmage on fourth down, wrapped up Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and took him to the bottom. Burrow narrowly averted a sack by flipping an incomplete go.
The play clinched the Rams’ Tremendous Bowl LVI victory.
“Doing it on the biggest stage — that speaks volumes,” mentioned Jones, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ three-time All-Professional defensive lineman. “That was major.”
On Sunday, Jones and Philadelphia defensive sort out Jalen Carter might play Donald-esque game-wrecker roles within the Tremendous Bowl LIX matchup between the Chiefs and Eagles on the Superdome.
Pittsburgh Steelers nice L.C. Greenwood holds the Tremendous Bowl document with 4 sacks in Tremendous Bowl X in 1976. Inexperienced Bay’s Reggie White, Arizona’s Darnell Dockett, Carolina’s Kony Ealy, Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett and Inexperienced Bay’s Willie Davis every had three, based on profootballreference.com
Jones and Carter won’t attain these totals due to the eye they’ll demand. Nonetheless, their presence and disruptive skills can open the door for others to thrive.
That’s what Donald, an eight-time All-Professional and sure first-ballot Corridor of Famer, did for the Rams.
“Different heights, different arm lengths, different weights,” Eagles offensive lineman Landon Dickerson mentioned, “but the one thing that I think all those guys have in common is a high football IQ.
“They’re very athletic and they’re very explosive, but they focus on the details of the game — they’re paying attention to the small things and that’s what I think sets guys apart. You can be the biggest, fastest, strongest guy around, but if you don’t have those details it’s hard to become a great player.”
Jones, 30, was chosen by the Chiefs within the second spherical of the 2016 draft after enjoying at Mississippi State. In 2022 he amassed a career-best 15½ sacks because the Chiefs gained their second Tremendous Bowl in 4 years. The following season he had 10½ because the Chiefs repeated as champions. Final March, Jones signed a five-year extension that included $95 million in ensures, based on Overthecap.com.
Who did the 6-foot-6, 310-pound Jones sample his sport after?
“I never patterned my game after anybody,” he mentioned. “I watched Aaron Donald — he was too small. I watched Fletcher Cox — he was too big. I was like, ‘I don’t know who the hell I’m going to watch,’” and developed himself.
Jones had 5 sacks this season, rising his profession complete to 80½. His versatility makes him particularly troublesome to comprise, Eagles All-Professional sort out Lane Johnson mentioned.
“He can play at a high level inside, and then go outside at defensive end and do the same thing,” Johnson mentioned. “So he has a rare blend of size and speed, and those traits of where he can do that, and that’s what sets him apart. Nobody else can do it.”
Jones’ upbeat perspective is contagious — “I’ve never seen him have a bad day,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo mentioned — and the defensive star has grown in different areas.
“He just used to just play the game of football because he loved it,” Spagnuolo mentioned, including that Jones has turn out to be “a guy who’s kind of studied it and played more of a leadership role.”
Carter, 6-3 and 310 kilos, has emerged because the pressure the Eagles projected once they chosen him with the ninth choose within the 2023 draft out of Georgia.
“He combines quickness and strength and he’s still got a lot of room to grow,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio mentioned.
Carter, 23, had six sacks as a rookie whereas enjoying restricted snaps due to conditioning points. When coach Nick Sirianni employed Fangio earlier than this season, the veteran coordinator had a easy plan for Carter.
Eagles defensive sort out Jalen Carter saved strain on Matthew Stafford of their playoff sport and had two sacks, together with one to stymie the Rams’ last drive.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Occasions)
“He had to play more — and we’ve done that,” Fangio mentioned. “I’m a better coach when your best players are on the field, not on the sideline. So had to get him in shape.”
This season, with opponents typically double-teaming him, Carter had 4½ sacks. He was particularly disruptive within the Eagles’ divisional-round victory over the Rams, sacking Matthew Stafford twice and creating alternatives for teammates.
“We knew the type of player he was when they brought him in,” Eagles defensive sort out Milton Williams mentioned. “It’s going to get scary the older he gets because he’s just going to keep learning and growing.”
Carter’s profile has been low through the buildup to Sunday’s sport. He was not a featured participant for interviews early within the week, missed last media periods Wednesday and Thursday due to sickness and was listed as restricted in follow. On Monday, nonetheless, he advised the Eagles’ web site he was accustomed to enjoying in championship video games after serving to Georgia win two nationwide titles.
“I’ve been on big stages before,” he mentioned, including, “The goal was to win those games — and our team got that [win]. That’s the goal for this week — win the Super Bowl.”
Chiefs All-Professional middle Creed Humphrey and two-time All-Professional sort out Joe Thuney mentioned Carter can disrupt each speeding and passing performs.
“He plays with such energy and intensity,” Thuney mentioned.
Whereas some gamers dream of throwing, catching or working for a last-second, game-winning landing within the Tremendous Bowl, defensive linemen have an equal.
“I mean that’s a walk-off sack,” Jones mentioned. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Donald got here shut.
“Hopefully, we’re up by 14 points or something like that, so we don’t have to get a sack,” Jones mentioned. “But if it has to end like that, I’ll be ready.”
