Nov 24, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) celebrates with running back Saquon Barkley (26) after the Eagles defeat the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images
Say it with your chest: the Philadelphia Eagles are legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
Top-three in odds to win it all, as a matter of fact:
Odds via FanDuelWe are so back.
Saquon Barkley and the Birds lit up the scoreboard on Sunday Night Football in a road win over the Rams. 37-20 was the final, and the game felt even more lopsided than the score.
Barkley, you may have heard, had himself a nice little game:
So many great players played for the Philadelphia Eagles. None of them ever got close to Saquon Barkley’s 302 yards. pic.twitter.com/zONSjSPi9J
Here's his first long TD, with audio from Merrill Reese and Mike Quick (synched up with the national broadcast by Nick Piccone):
6. SAQUON BARKLEY IS GONE! 70 YARDS! pic.twitter.com/Xt99HE6bAg
Here's the second:
9. ANOTHER ONE pic.twitter.com/spiZ3SUTAY
What is there left to say about Saquon Barkley's impact on the Birds? We'll let the memes speak:
Giants fans watching Saquon Barkley rush for over 200 yards after watching Baker Mayfield mock Tommy DeVito earlier in the day pic.twitter.com/PY5adj6XRD
Saquon this season: https://t.co/qbSgJyrzAV pic.twitter.com/axtUw1qceb
“Yeah I basically won already, I’m up 45 points and they only have Saquon left…”
Saquon: pic.twitter.com/qVkIuP2ZsV
Saquon Barkley left NY to play in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/cBrFwZDUyI
The numbers can do some talking, too:
Saquon Barkley has 500 scrimmage yards over the last two games.
The last #NFL player to have 500+ scrimmage yards over a two-game stretch?
Walter Payton in 1977. #Eagles
Saquon Barkley reached a top speed of 21.38 mph on his 70-yard TD run, his 5th play of the season reaching 21+ mph as a ball carrier, most in the NFL.
🔹 Expected Rush Yards: 4
🔹 Rush Yards Over Expected: +66*
*4th-most RYOE on any carry this season
Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/Mf3i3FCCJ2
In the last 10 years, there have been two instances of a running back having 5 or more runs of 50+ yards in a season:
* Saquon Barkley in 2018
* Saquon Barkley in 2024
Barkley already has more 50+ yard runs than any player had last season. This is his 11th game.
Saquon Barkley just became the ninth player ever to average over 9.0 yards per carry on at least 25 rushes.
Last to do it was Doug Martin in 2012. pic.twitter.com/dV09xRqjyb
Barkley, of course, credited his offensive line for the performance. Because he is the perfect player and teammate, created in a lab somewhere near Penn State:
"They're amazing. They make me look a lot better out there."
Saquon Barkley had to give the Eagles' OL their flowers after he rushed for 2 TDs and 255 yards 👏 pic.twitter.com/S5fyNFLKMt
The line did play extraordinarily well, of course. And A.J. Brown quietly racked up 109 yards:
AJ Brown had 6 catches for 109 yards, a TD, and like 8 broken tackles and we have barely said a peep about it.
TD @Eagles! 6️⃣ for @1kalwaysopen_
📺: #PHIvsLAR on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/ygPD0kW1ww
Jalen Hurts and AJ hit Will & Jazz’s handshake from the Fresh Prince after their TD 🤝🤣
(🎥: @NFL) pic.twitter.com/fYZy20T9ek
Can't forget the defense. A stellar night for them as well (though the loss of Brandon Graham is a dark cloud on that side of the ball):
DEEEAAAAN!! 🔥
Trucks Kyren Williams and gets the sack. Such a powerful force.#Eaglespic.twitter.com/fUltAywlxk
If this is the last sack of Brandon Graham’s career, it is truly difficult to put into words how fortunate we are to have had him as an Eagle
From labeled a bust early on, to a no doubt surefire Eagles jersey retired hall of famer
pic.twitter.com/onloHv4CMl
Lmao they showed a highlight reel of the rams OL double teaming Jalen Carter and its literally just him being held the entire time 😂
Jalen Carter has been double teamed on a career-high 79% of the snaps that he’s taken for the Eagles. 😲#NextGenStats powered by @AWSCloud. pic.twitter.com/5onijRD0pI
The Eagles open as 2.5-point underdogs against the Ravens in Baltimore next week.
