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Saquon Barkley’s career night propels Eagles past Rams: Key takeaways

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Saquon Barkley’s career night propels Eagles past Rams: Key takeaways

By Jourdan Rodrigue, Brooks Kubena and Zach Powell

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley continued his remarkable season Sunday in a dominant performance against the Los Angeles Rams. Barkley rushed for a career-high 255 yards on 26 carries and added two touchdowns, solidifying Philadelphia’s 37-20 win over the Rams on “Sunday Night Football.”

The Eagles (9-2) used a second-half burst, beginning with Barkley’s 70-yard touchdown run in the opening minutes of the half, to get ahead of the Rams with a two-score advantage. While Philadelphia and Los Angeles exchanged scores over the next couple of drives, the Eagles maintained their lead. The Rams (5-6) had a chance to cut into Philadelphia’s double-digit, third-quarter advantage but a missed field goal stymied a comeback effort.

Philadelphia gained momentum in the first half by recovering a first-quarter fumble and kicking two field goals. While trailing by one point early in the second quarter, Philadelphia retook the lead on an A.J. Brown touchdown reception to give the Eagles a 13-7 lead at the half. A TD run by Kyren Williams was the Rams’ lone scoring play in the first half.

Barkley reached another level

Barkley is in the MVP conversation. This matchup marks his seventh 100-yard game of the season. He totaled a career-high 302 yards from scrimmage. Barkley’s 70-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half gave the Eagles a two-score lead the Rams never overcame. His 72-yard touchdown run set the final score.

The running back’s impact on the success of this team is immense. It’s reached the level of the quarterbacks who’ve dominated the NFL’s MVP honors for the last 12 years. The last non-QB to win was Adrian Peterson in 2012. Barkley should at the very least be considered to break that streak. — Brooks Kubena, Eagles beat writer

Too many mistakes, too much Barkley

It’s tough for a team to climb out of a hole of its own making, and the Rams dug themselves deep on Sunday night. They turned the ball over on their first possession (Williams’ fourth fumble of the year) and netted minus-6 (yes, minus-6) yards over four second-quarter drives. They also allowed a 70-yard touchdown from Barkley on the first play of the third quarter.

Missed tackles particularly in the second and third levels and another big Barkley game (302 total yards — 255 rushing, 47 receiving) were the story of the day for the defense. The Eagles had 407 yards of offense with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter. By the time the clock hit 2:44 in the fourth quarter, Barkley had notched another 72-yard rushing touchdown and the Rams had allowed 316 net rushing yards as the Eagles closed in on 500 yards of offense. — Jourdan Rodrigue, Rams senior writer

Philadelphia’s defense is the real deal

The Eagles’ defense has been dominant during their seven-game win streak. The Rams are just the latest team they’ve destroyed. After surrendering 8.8 yards per play on their first two drives on the field, the Eagles held the Rams to negative-six yards on their four possessions leading into halftime. The Eagles sacked Matthew Stafford five times. They forced four fumbles and recovered one.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is expertly at the controls of a talented unit that’s reaching maturation. Nakobe Dean is an effective blitzer. Cooper DeJean defended yet another third-down stop. Brandon Graham clobbered Stafford on a punt-forcing sack (though the veteran said after the game he’s done for the season due to a torn tricep. Coach Nick Sirianni said the team is holding out hope.). Isaiah Rodgers has showcased the depth of the secondary, replacing Darius Slay yet again after the starting cornerback exited the game with a concussion. — Kubena

Philadelphia’s success is overpowering mistakes

Sirianni is managing one of the hottest teams in the NFL. There were some sloppy moments on Sunday night. The Eagles were 0-for-2 on their first two red-zone opportunities. Three penalties thwarted their second try. Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore weirdly called a fourth-down draw that gave the Rams a final Hail Mary just before the end of the first half.

That’s all easily forgotten baggage. This team has the offensive talent and defensive dominance to apparently erase any error. Sirianni entered the season on the hot seat. At this point, it’s only opposing sections of box scores that are feeling the heat. — Kubena

Eagles’ pass rush keeps Stafford uncomfortable

For the offense, it was a complete inability to deal with the pressure Fangio sent to hassle Stafford. Even though they largely rushed with four, when they did send extra rushers they bowled back skill players in blocking roles. Against the Eagles’ typical defensive fronts the Rams devoted extra attention to dynamic defensive lineman Jalen Carter, but he still made his presence felt as the game continued and other rushers (such as Graham) easily won in multiple spots including around the right side against backup right tackle Warren McClendon.

Even some of the movement the Rams created horizontally and vertically with their run-blocking strategy on their first touchdown drive was countered by Fangio and his aggressive defense as linebackers and defensive linemen adjusted to fill those spaces. Rams coach Sean McVay found himself in an all-too-familiar place against the veteran defensive coordinator: With a bottled-up run game and offense overall, and a quarterback hassled too often to sustain drives

That Eagles fans overwhelmingly filled SoFi Stadium on a night the Rams as a franchise paid tribute to its Legends community only added to the embarrassing showing — a night where, for all the glitz of Prime Time, the Rams showed they can’t truly hang with the big boy teams this season. — Rodrigue

Required reading

(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

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