BALTIMORE- Chants of MVVP rang out by the Inner Harbor early Sunday evening. The many Eagles fans who made the short trek through horrific I-95 traffic on a Thanksgiving Sunday broke out the chants after Saquon Barkley raced 25 yards midway through the fourth quarter to open a nine-point lead over the Baltimore Ravens.
Th Eagles finished up from there, winning a battle of two Super Bowl contenders, 24-19, and, once again, Barkley was superb. A week after putting up 255 yards rushing, the running back and Eagles offensive line pillaged the league’s top-ranked run defense for 141 yards. Barkley had 107 of those on 23 runs.
The Eagles fell just nine yards short of setting an NFL record for consecutive games with at least 150 yards and two rushing scores. The streak ended at six.
The most yards the Ravens had given up on the ground to a rusher all season was the Steelers’ Najee Harris who had 63. Until a garbage time touchdown with three seconds left, the Eagles were on pace to hold the Ravens to their fewest points in a game this year. The Steelers held them to 16 earlier this season.
It was the Eagles’ eighth straight victory to reach 10-2. They haven’t lost since Sept. 29 and will now play four of their final five games at home.
The Eagles fell behind 9-0 before rallying, getting a 17-yard catch-and-run from Dallas Goedert with 8:09 to play in the second quarter. Philly took a 14-9 lead on a 1-yard tush-push touchdown from quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Justin Tucker cut it to 14-12 with a 5-yard field goal with three seconds to go in the second quarter. Barkley then cemented the game with his gallop from 25 yards away.
The Eagles defense was on the field for most of the third quarter, but Tucker missed field goals from 47 and 53 yards in that quarter, and the Eagles’ lead remained 14-12 heading into the final quarter.
The defense got sacks from Nolan Smith, who now has 4.5 this season, Jalen Carter, and Zack Baun and Jalyx Hunt shared one.
TURNING POINT
Jalen Hurts’ throw to Dallas Goedert. It was a dandy and came at the perfect time. Hurts hit the tight end in stride for a 9-yard gain on an important third-and-seven from the Eagles’ 41-yard line. The completion came with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter and kept alive the drive that led to Barkley’s 25-yard TD.
STUDS
Saquon Barkley. As always, see above. One note, though: he had 117 total yards while the. Big matchup against Derrick Henry went Barkley’s way. Henry had 82 yards on 19 runs and 121 total yards. Barkley had the clinching touchdown, however.
Jalen Carter. The defensive tackle stuck Derrick Henry for a 3-yard loss after the Ravens made it into the red zone. He had three tackles and one sack while making life difficult for the Ravens’ offensive line.
Zack Baun. The linebacker had 13 tackles and was all over the field. He also shared a sack with Jalyx Hunt.
Jalen Hurts. The quarterback still has not attempted more than 30 passes during the winning streak. He threw just 19 passes against the league’s next-to-last pass defense, completing 11 of them for 118 yards. He still has only on interception in the last nine games.
Braden Mann. The Eagles punter twice pinned the Ravens inside the 5-yard line, once at the 1, the other at the 4. He had a net punting average of 48.5.
DUDS
Third quarter. The Eagles ran six plays in the 15-minute sessions for a total of 6 yards.
Special teams – again. This feels like a broken record, because every week nothing seems to improve. Three penalties on Eagles special teams in first half, two on Ringo – a fair catch interference call and illegal touching – for a total of 20 yards. The other was on long snapper Rick Lovato, who may have saved a block punt with all the pressure coming up the middle.
The kickoff cover teams gave up field position, allowing a 39-yard return at the two-minute warning.
Fumbles. Three times the Eagles forced them. The Ravens recovered all three.
NOTE
-The Eagles had -1 yard passing in first quarter vs. next to last pass defense in NFL. They had 103 in second quarter and 14 points.
INJURIES
-With just over two minutes left in the third quarter, Reed Blankenship was taken to the locker room and ruled out with a concussion. Tristin McCollum took his place.
-Britain Covey was listed as questionable with a neck injury midway through the fourth quarter.
-Tight end Dallas Goedert was ruled questionable with a knee injury midway through the fourth quarter.
-The Eagles had a bit of a scare when rookie corner Quinyon Mitchell limped off after getting hit in knee by Zack Baun while making a tackle with 11:34 to play in the third quarter. He returned on the next possession.
-Linebacker Nakobe Dean hobbled off with 4:38 to go on the third quarter. He missed only one play.
