This one had everything you could ever want in an NFC Divisional Playoff Game – big runs, chunk plays in the passing game, defensive takeaways, and a heart-stopping, last-possession ending on a tight, incredibly tense afternoon in a wind-blown snowstorm at Lincoln Financial Field as the Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship Game with a 28-22 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Next up: The Washington Commanders on Sunday, 3 PM, the third meeting of the season between the teams.
Where to begin with the takeaways? How about with the guy who has done it all season and who again delivered in a huge way in this one …
- Saquon Barkley with home runs
Los Angeles did a much better job against Barkley the second time around – he had a franchise-record 255 yards on November 24 with scoring runs of 70 and 72 yards. On Sunday, the Rams bottled him up in a lot of ways … but not in every way. And Barkley still delivered bombs.
He scored on touchdown runs of 62 yards and 78 yards and gained 205 yards (an Eagles playoff record) on 26 carries. The 62-yarder came in the first quarter and pushed the Eagles into a 13-7 lead. The 78-yarder was spectacular – it happened with 4 minutes, 47 seconds remaining and it gave the Eagles a 28-15 advantage. Barkley sprinted across the back of the end zone after the score and slid in the snow in a joyous celebration and he deserved every bit of it. The two runs totaled 140 of his 205 yards, so he gained 65 yards on the other 24 rushing attempts as the Rams crashed the line of scrimmage with heavy run blitzes and well-executed run fits and they tackled him extremely well.
“I just want to make good plays for the team,” Barkley said. “Before that, I just kept telling myself just locking in, being focused, and the o-line did a really good job. I was able to set stuff over my shoulders and pop two big ones.”
But the Eagles stayed at it with Barkley and it paid off, as it has all season.
- The defense gets the final stop
Philadelphia’s defense, the best in the NFL all season, battled against a Rams offense that played well throughout the game. Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 26 of 44 passes for 324 yards, Kyren Williams ran for 106 yards, and the Rams threatened for much of the game with 402 total net yards offensively and also answered that Barkley 78-yard touchdown run with a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that took only 1:48 off the clock. But the Eagles’ defense also did a lot of excellent things with two takeaways – Jalen Carter punched the football away from Stafford and cornerback Isaiah Rodgers recovered and returned it 40 yards to the Rams’ 10-yard line, which resulted in three points, and also Nolan Smith who had a strip-sack of Stafford and Zack Baun recovered, a takeaway that led to another three points.
And then, fittingly, the defense was on the field at the end of the game when the Rams drove all the way to the Philadelphia 13-yard line with just over one minute remaining in the game. Carter then had a great pass rush up the middle and sacked Stafford for a loss of 9 on a third-and-2 play. On fourth-and-11, Carter again pressured Stafford, who threw incomplete for wide receiver Puka Nacua and the game was over.
“It was surreal. I was really focused on trying to finish the game out,” Carter said after the game. “I know I had the sack on third down, but I was trying to get everybody together. I knew they had one more play in them, and we got a stop and won the game.”
Carter finished with two quarterback sacks, 5 total tackles, a forced fumble, a tipped pass, and he was the constant focus of the Rams’ blocking scheme. The Eagles had five sacks in all and overcame the loss of cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who left the game on the defense’s opening drive and was capably replaced by Isaiah Rodgers.
“We believe in each other, we trust in one another, and we’re here for the long run. We hit the ball out a lot. We’re trying to go all the way. There’s only one goal – win that Super Bowl,” Carter said.
- Jalen Hurts: Steady, calm, and a huge play to start the game
Quarterback Jalen Hurts and the passing game aren’t exactly where they collectively want to be, but the wins are the wins. Hurts finished off the game’s first drive with a 44-yard touchdown run and accounted for 70 yards on 7 carries. He also completed 15 of 20 passes for 128 yards and didn’t turn the ball over. However, the offense was searching all game for a constant rhythm. The weather conditions didn’t help and there were some opportunities down the field that didn’t come through and in the end, it was a game with some plays Hurts would like to have back, but a result he loves: Another win and one step closer to the Super Bowl.
