Late in the first half of Philadelphia’s 21-17 comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, Eagles rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter nearly made one of the most ridiculous interceptions in NFL history.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes rushed to the line after a completed pass to spike the ball with three seconds remaining. As the QB tossed the ball to the turf, Carter dove between the legs of K.C. center Creed Humphrey and nearly intercepted the spike.
Jalen Carter was so close. pic.twitter.com/G8wkJM3DON
— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2023
“I saw it on the internet, I’ve seen it on YouTube, some high school kid tried, and he actually caught the ball. I thought, ‘That’s a good idea,’ I knew they would spike it, so I tried to go for it,” Carter said, via WIP-FM.
There are a couple of videos of the spiked interception floating around — this is a great one. It would have been seismic if Carter made the pick at the NFL level. That the big man came even that close is astonishing, to be honest.
Others will probably try a similar approach after seeing Carter come up just shy on prime time. Quarterbacks must also ensure they spike the ball with velocity (as Mahomes did Monday night, which helped avoid a turnover) to avoid going viral as the first NFL QB picked off on a spike.
