Saquon

Los Angeles is the city where stars go to shine so it should be no surprise that Saquon Barkley had the best game of his career in LA on Sunday night. He ran for 255 yards and finished with 302 total yards and a pair of TDs. Barkley had two runs of 70 or more yards.

Wow.

You run out of superlatives when talking about Barkley and how special he is. He’s never played at this level in his pro career. The Eagles have given him a good home and Barkley has rewarded them with a season for the ages. He is on pace to run for more than 2,000 yards…in 16 games. What an absolute stud.

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— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 25, 2024

The Eagles beat the Rams 37-20. Things were a little slow to start with the Eagles having to settle for FGs early on. They trailed 7-6 in the second quarter. The Eagles then went up 13-7 at the half and just took control in the second half. The offense was able to march up and down the field. The defense made plays and the Eagles were up 37-14 before the Rams added a garbage time TD.

The offense piled up 481 yards and looked really good at times. Jalen Hurts had started slow in some recent games, but that wasn’t the case in LA. He fed the ball to AJ Brown, who finished 6-109-1. Hurts played smart and protected the ball.

Cris Collinsworth praised the Eagles OL throughout the game and deservedly so. The guys up front were dominant for most of the game. They opened some big holes and really pounded on the Rams defense. Barkley made sure to praise the OL after the game. The Rams young DL won some battles, but the Eagles OL definitely won the war.

The Eagles defense was tested by a good offense. Matthew Stafford led the Rams to an early TD and you wondered if Sean McVay might have Vic Fangio figured out. After two early drives, the defense came alive and limited the Rams for most of the game. One of the keys was the outstanding play of the DL, especially Brandon Graham. He had a sack, 2 TFLs and 3 QB hits. That’s the good news.

The bad…

Brandon Graham says he is out for the season.

He tore his triceps.

— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) November 25, 2024

Ugh. That is heartbreaking. BG was having a terrific season and really stood out against the Rams. Even when he wasn’t making plays he was being disruptive and creating chances for others. Milton Williams had 2 sacks. Nakobe Dean had a sack where he ran over the RB and got Stafford down. The Eagles finished with 11 QB hits. This was an outstanding performance by the front seven.

It will be important to get some injury news. Darius Slay left with a concussion. Josh Sweat hurt his ankle/foot. He came back and played, but you hope he’s okay. The Rams are a physical team. The Eagles are playing at a high level right now, but injuries are always an X-factor. The Eagles will have to figure out how they want to replace BG. It won’t be easy since he was playing well and also is one of a kind as a personality.

The defense limited the Rams to 290 yards. That’s their lowest total of the season in a game with both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua playing. Once the defense got a feel for what the Rams were doing, they were able to make some plays and affect the offense. Fangio is a good coach and his guys are getting the job done.

This was the Eagles first prime time game since September. This team is a lot different than the early season Eagles. Anyone who hadn’t seen them recently was probably surprised at the defense being much improved and Barkley taking his game up a notch. The Eagles are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. This team seems to get a little better every week.

They can enjoy this win until the plane lands in Philly. Then they have to start thinking about the Ravens. That will be the toughest game of the year and the Eagles biggest test.

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