Malcolm Jenkins: 'We're Sick About Carson, But We're Still Confident'
Malcolm Jenkins is a Super Bowl champion and veteran NFL safety. He sits down with CBS Philly's Joe Santoliquito every week. All of Jenkins' Post Snap interviews are archived here.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Eagles have lost Darren Sproles, one of the best return men in the NFL, Chris Maragos, one of the best special teams players in the NFL, Jason Peters, arguably the NFL's best tackle, middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, one of the NFL's best defensive playmakers—and now MVP candidate Carson Wentz, lost for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee.
The Eagles are still 11-2, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the best record in the NFL. The Eagles still control their own destiny, if they win the final three games of the season they will host the NFC playoffs.
Malcolm Jenkins certainly believes all is not lost without Wentz.
"We're sick about Carson not being with us on the field, but he's still with us, and as far as our team goals, everyone feels confident we can still achieve them," Jenkins said. "If any team is built to deal with injuries, it is this one. The other thing, too, is Carson, knowing Carson the way I do, wouldn't want us to dwell on him being out.
"Knowing him, he's going to find some kind of a way to contribute to us being better, whether it's up in the booth or down on the sidelines telling the coaches and us what he sees. There's no way Carson is sitting in the stands just watching the game. He's going to be involved and we want him involved. That's just it with this team, everyone is still involved.
"I know JP [Jason Peters] is still coaching up the offensive line. If it's preparation during the week, Carson won't miss meetings. Carson would want us to succeed and keep pushing along. Think about everyone we've lost, and they're all irreplaceable, and we're still 11-2. We just keep plugging in. The guys who have come in have played well. We're a team, and this is a team sport."
Jenkins has been on some very close teams—the one that comes first to his mind are the New Orleans Saints team he was on from 2009-2011. In each of those three seasons the Saints made the playoffs and won the Super Bowl in 2009-10, Jenkins' rookie year.
"This team is very similar to that team, and that Saints team won a Super Bowl," Jenkins said. "We're still playing for something here. That's a big deal. We have a lot to play for. There wasn't any doubt against the Rams on Sunday. We're 11-2 and we still have a chip on our shoulders. The last two weeks told us a lot about ourselves. We played two good teams, but the tape is something guys can learn from.
"The whole time against the Rams, and we did everything we could to mess it up, we still won. Chris Long shifted our momentum back. Everyone has contributed to our success. It's been fun to be a part of that. That's the No. 1 priority—locking up that No. 1 seed. There is nothing about our situation right now that tells us to take the foot off the gas. No. 1 seed is important. You win two home games and we're in the Super Bowl.
"If you told me in August we'd lose Sproles, Maragos, Peters, Hicks and Wentz and you're going to be 11-2 in December heading into the playoffs, I would be interested to hear that story how it happened," Jenkins said. "It's a story that's still ongoing."
Malcolm Jenkins is a finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
Follow Malcolm Jenkins on Twitter @MalcolmJenkins and Facebook at Malcolmjenkinsnfl
