Saquon. Barkley. — 5 takeaways from Eagles-Rams two days later

It took me two days to comprehend the absolute show that Saquon Barkley displayed on Sunday night in Los Angeles.

Everyone is talking about how idiotic the Giants front office is. I beg to differ. They let Barkley come to the Eagles. They are geniuses.

With the Eagles’ dominant 37-20 win over the Rams, they are now tied with the Bills and Vikings for the third-best record in the NFL at 9-2, behind the 10-1 Chiefs and 10-1 Lions. 

This was their seventh straight win. They have not lost since September. This feels like a complete flip from last season’s demoralizing collapse. This is an astonishing ascent.

Here are my five observations two days after the win:

MVP

The last time a non-quarterback won MVP was Adrian Peterson in 2012. That should change in 2024.

I have officially run out of things to say about Barkley. I cannot describe what he is doing anymore. I just do not know.

You think you see it all with him. But every week he does something even more incredible. From backward hurdles to daggers to game-winners. This time around, Barkley opened the third quarter, a one-possession game at the time, with a 70-yard touchdown run, and then followed that up with a 72-yarder to put the game away in the fourth. 

Like, what?

He finished with 255 rushing yards, breaking LeSean McCoy‘s franchise-record, and the ninth-most yards rushing in NFL history. He also had 302 scrimmage yards.

He has 1,392 rushing yards this season and is on pace for 2,151 yards rushing, which would be an NFL record for rushing yards in a season.

Barkley has 500 scrimmage yards over the last two games, joining Hall-of-Famers Walter Payton (1977) and Ollie Matson (1954) as the only players in NFL history to record 500 scrimmage yards over a two-game span.

He became the sixth player in NFL history to record multiple rushing touchdowns of 70+ yards in a game. The others are Lenny Moore (1956), John Fuqua (1970), Barry Sanders (1997), Frank Gore (2009), and Maurice Jones-Drew (2009).

Barkley’s 1,649 scrimmage yards are the second most by any player in his first 11 games with a team after Eric Dickerson’s 1,726 with the Rams in 1983.

You think of the great Eagles running backs, Wilbert Montgomery, Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy. None of them ever did what Barkley has done through 12 weeks.

I am sorry if you do not think Barkley is the MVP. You are wrong.

Give the defense their props

Barkley is going to take a lot of attention away from the Eagles’ defense, but they were incredible again.

They shut down a high-flying Rams offense to 14 points, 222 yards, and 4.4 yards per play before their garbage-time touchdown.

I say it every week, but they are incredible. The coverage, pressure, and tackling are amazing. There is no weak link in this unit. They have held opponents under 300 total yards for seven straight games.

This is a very powerful Rams offense led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Matthew Stafford with two elite receivers, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, and a really good back in Kyren Williams. They netted 123 yards and seven points on their first two drives. After that? 122 yards and seven points on their next seven drives. By then the Eagles were up 23 points and the game was over.

They also held the Rams to 0-for-8 on third downs.

Around this time last year, the Eagles were replacing Sean Desai with Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator, and the group was spiraling. Now, Vic Fangio has these boys rolling.

Getting pressure on a tough cookie

Going a little deeper, Stafford is very difficult to pressure. He has been at it a while and can get the ball out of his hands quickly. He had not been sacked at all in three of his last four games. But, the Eagles got to him.

Milton Williams had two huge sacks, and Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, and Nakobe Dean each had one. They got five sacks on Stafford, who had been sacked four times in his last five games.

The Eagles had six sacks in four games before the bye. They now have 27 in the last seven games.

The Eagles also had 11 quarterback hits, including three each from Williams and Graham (who I will get into).

A.J. Brown stepping up

With DeVonta Smith out with a hamstring injury Sunday night, A.J. Brown came up big.

Brown caught six of seven targets for 109 yards, including catches of 28, 27, 19, and 17 yards and that six-yard TD that was initially ruled an incomplete pass. He seemed to open on every single play.

They went to Brown early and often, crushing the Rams’ secondary. But on the first drive, they seemed to abandon it. The drive stalled out inside the 10 and they settled for three. But when they needed him, Brown was there, catching everything and picking up tough yards,

Oh, and of course Barkley was involved, too. He caught four passes for 47 yards.

B.G. out for the year, how do they fill-in?

The news that Graham is out for the remainder of the season with a torn tricep is devastating. Not just because he is the leader of this team and an amazing human being, but also because of the level of play he was producing on the field.

In year 16 at age 36, he has not missed a game, had 15 solo tackles, and 3.5 sacks. He continued to be a valuable rotation piece on the defensive line of the Eagles, and maybe their best EDGE rusher.

Specifically Sunday night, he had a sack, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, and a pass breakup.

He left the game without anyone really knowing. It was in the middle of the second half, he embraced with teammates, went into the locker room, and revealed his status to the media postgame.

“If I had to go out like this… I gave it everyone I got,” B.G. said postgame.

His sack Sunday night was the 76.5th of his career, moving him past Clyde Simmons and into third place in Eagles history.

The Eagles are going to miss everything about him. His leadership, his personality, his energy, and of course his play.

Now, where do they go from here?

Well, with Bryce Huff out for at least another three weeks, the Eagles are very thin at EDGE rusher. Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt are all who remain. Philadelphia is expected to sign K.J. Henry to their practice squad. He was a fifth-round pick of the Commanders last season and was let go by Dallas the other day. He cleared waivers Monday and is good depth on the edge.

Also, former Pro Bowler Shaquil Barrett, who announced his retirement in July, has applied to be reinstated to play immediately. He played 24 games over 2022 and 2023, finishing with 7.5 sacks and 78 pressures, including 56 pressures last season. He could be perfect for the Eagles.

But for now, Sweat and Smith have been very good, and Hunt has shown some promise, but he is very inexperienced.

So we will see what they do.

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