Jason Kelce rips Jalen Carter for missing Eagles-Cowboys game due to spitting incident

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter missed most of his club's 24-20 win over the rival Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 4 after being ejected for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

During the latest edition of the "New Heights" podcast, Eagles icon and current NFL analyst Jason Kelce ripped Carter over the incident.

Jason Kelce: "What are we doing?"

"I'm just like, 'Why the (expletive)? What are we doing?'" Kelce said about his initial reaction, per Sports Illustrated's Kristen Wong. "It was just a very frustrating moment, not only because [Carter's] one of our best players, but it's just a really awful thing to be out there. It's an awful thing to be a part of as a fanbase, as an organization."

Without Carter in the lineup before the game's first snap, the Eagles surrendered back-to-back touchdown drives and field goals in the first half against Dallas at Lincoln Financial Field. A weather delay of nearly an hour helped to slow both offenses down, and Carter acknowledged after Philadelphia's win that he made a "mistake" that "just won't happen again."

A video showed that Prescott spat on the ground in Carter's direction before the quarterback was struck. Prescott insisted after the game that he "wasn't trying to spit on [Carter] or was even aiming to spit on him." While Carter was fined for his actions, Prescott received no punishment from the league. 

"You got four quarters now to have Dak spitting towards you on your mind, to take that out on (Cowboys guard) Tyler Booker," Kelce said about Carter's reaction to Prescott. "That's the beautiful thing about football. You don't need to do that back. You got four quarters to do something back to this dude."

What the Eagles now need from Jalen Carter

On Tuesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio used his media availability as a way to remind Carter that the third-year pro has "got to lead through his actions." Kelce echoed Fangio's take during the podcast. 

"[Carter] has to be smarter than this," Kelce added. "He has to be better than this. ...He has a chance to be one of the best defensive linemen in this era of football. That's how good this kid can be. That's how dominant he has been to this point. Don't let this dumb behavior jeopardize the career and person and legacy you can build. Especially in this city. ...He's taken accountability — now, moving forward, we need you to be better than that, Jalen. And you need to be better than that for yourself."

Carter will have a chance to redeem himself when the Eagles face the 0-1 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.