September 18, 2026
George Walker IV/USA TODAY NETWORK
Titans star DT Jeffery Simmons will try to wreck the Eagles' offense Sunday in a Week 2 game.
Eagles DT Jalen Carter has made the Pro Bowl in each of his past two seasons. He recently got a huge contract. He can be one of the game's most disruptive forces on the inside.
But the fourth-year pro can also be inconsistent, has battled injuries, has been ejected from a game for spitting, and last week the yin-yang of his arsenal surfaced when he came through with a critical PAT block against the Commanders but generated very little pressure and was held in check by RG Sam Cosmi.
Carter is now also currently dealing with a wrist injury that will probably have him in a cast Sunday.
Carter can be the best at his position if he can stay healthy and cause more havoc from kickoff to when the clock hits 0:00. He can be just like the star on the interior for the Eagles' opponent Sunday for Week 2 in Nashville.
Titans DT Jeffery Simmons, a four-time Pro Bowl star and one-time All Pro, currently holds that title. He is the best interior lineman in the game but stuck on a defense with no other stars to reap the benefits of his work, and he's buried in a small market on a bad team where he gets scant national attention and plays infrequently on prime time.
Simmons now has to contend with the imminent return of Rams DT Aaron Donald, a future Hall of Fame who could possibly reclaim the best DT title after a one-year retirement hiatus.
Since the start of 2023, Carter's rookie season, here is where Simmons ranks among NFL iDLs:
| Jeffrey Simmons | Stat | Rank |
| Sacks | 21.5 | 2nd |
| TFL | 38 | 2nd |
| QBH | 41 | 7th |
| FF | 6 | 1st |
Imagine if this guy had someone else alongside him to take some pressure off?
Since entering the league in 2019, Simmons has had no other teammate on the Titans d-line make the Pro Bowl outside of Jurrell Casey making it as as an alternate when Simmons was a rookie.
Even with new head coach Robert Saleh installing a new scheme and some offseason additions meant to improve Tennessee's defensive front – EDGEs Jermaine Johnson and Jacob Martin, iDLs John Franklin-Myers and Solomon Thomas – the Titans were abysmal in Week 1 against New York Jets team that hadn't won a Week 1 road game since 2018.
Simmons didn't produce a sack or TFL but per Next Gen Stats he lead the defense with six hurries, the most of any NFL DT in Week 1. The Jets helped neutralize him by running the ball to the edges and with a short, quick passing game. Geno Smith only attempted 24 passes.
When the Eagles and Titans last met in 2022, Simmons managed just one QB hit and batted one pass, a tame showing by his standard. He was held in check by Pro Bowl LG Landon Dickerson in the 35-10 Eagles win.
But on Sunday, Simmons won't collide with Dickerson, who went on IR this week, and will be lining up against Drew Kendall or some other Eagles backup, which could cause some problems for an Eagles offense looking to take a step forward with its run game and find more consistency after an uneven showing against the Commanders.
Here's an example of Simmons fighting off an initial double team, then rag-dolling Jets first-round RT Armand Membou to stop Breece Hall dead in his tracks.
Like most elite DTs, Simmons sees a steady dose of double teams. He will even see tight ends come across to make wham blocks on him. The Jets, like most opponents, used some screen game, quick pass game, end arounds and other creative schemes to either move the ball away from Simmons or to get as many hands on him as possible.
Saleh will use Simmons in multiple alignments so blocking him won't just be the responsibility of the fill-in at left guard. C Cam Jurgens and RG Tyler Steen will also see him across from them at times during the game.
Sometimes, the Jets used three different guys to block him just to execute a simple inside zone run. Freeze this video at the 0:03 mark and you'll see six hands on Simmons.
One tactic Saleh will surely take on passing downs is aligning multiple pass rushers at the line of scrimmage to create a "5-O" situation for the Eagles' o-line. "Five out" is a call for each lineman to pick up one pass rusher and leave any extra rushers to either a tight end or running back in blitz pickup.
This strategy is intended to create one-on-one situations for pass rushers, and guys like Simmons thrive off those scenarios, especially against interior linemen.
One one one situations between Simmons and Kendall or whoever is Dickerson's replacement could cause some disruption for the Eagles' offense.
They will surely have a plan, like the Jets did, and they'll have to hope Simmons for two straight weeks can't wreck it.
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