In Week 13, the Philadelphia Eagles turned in about as good a game as they could in a dominant win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Yes, they still started the game off slowly. Yes, Justin Tucker missed multiple field goals and even an extra point to take effectively a touchdown off the board for the Ravens. And yes, Jalen Hurts only threw the ball 19 times for 118 yards and a touchdown – albeit without DeVonta Smith for the whole game and Dallas Goedert for part of it. But in the end, a 24-19 win over a Super Bowl favorite is impressive all the same, especially since seven of those points game on a last-minute touchdown with the game already out of contention for John Harbaugh’s team.
And in Week 15? Well, they have to do it again, welcoming the other top team in the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to town for what looks like the hardest game left on the schedule.
A thought stretch? You bet, but there is a game in between the two that Philly still has to get up for, even if it’s against one of the worst teams in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers. Is this a *gasp* trap game? No, probably not, but the Eagles should take it seriously all the same, just in case.
1. Saquon Barkley sets a new single-game rushing record… or doesn’t
While the Eagles are more or less locks to make it to the postseason come January, with ten wins already on the books with five games left to play, there’s a sub-storyline that has rapidly become the real storyline fans are rooting for: Saquon Barkley breaking Eric Dickerson’s all-time rushing record.
Sitting just 606 yards short of Dickerson’s 2,105 from the 1984 season -although in only 16 games -with five games left to play, Barkley only has to rush for 121.5 yards per game down the stretch to break the record, which, considering he’s averaging 124.9 YPG, is totally within the realm of possibility.
In Week 14, Barkley couldn’t have asked for a better draw, as the Panthers rank dead last in both rushing attempts and rushing yards allowed, sitting not-so-pretty as the only team in the NFL who has allowed at least 2,000 rushing yards on the year. The Panthers are somehow allowing 166.8 rushing yards per game in 2024, with everyone from the LA Chargers to the Washington Commanders and even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers running for over 200 yards in a game, and after gashing LA’s other team, the Rams, for 255 yards last month, this could be Barkley’s all-time great rushing game in midnight green.
… or it might not be.
Yes, if Barkley is given 25 carries against the Panthers, there’s little reason to believe he couldn’t go over 200 yards with ease, especially with injuries all over their front seven, but what if the Eagles are up three scores at halftime? What if the score is 21-3 coming into the third quarter with Philadelphia getting the ball to start the third? Would Sirianni opt to keep Barkley in the game if he only has, say, 70 yards in the pursuit of all-time individual glory? Or would the team instead lean on Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley in order to boost morale in the RB room and save Barkley from potential injury in a decided game?
There are no two ways about it; this is going to be a really good rushing game for the Eagles, with the potential for 20, 250, or even more rushing yards between Barkley, Hurts, and the rest of the roster. Who gets those yards, be it Hurts and Barkley or backups like Gainwell, Shipley, or even Kenny Pickett, remains to be seen.
2. Vic Fangio gives Bryce Young a brutal afternoon
For fans who have only occasionally checked in on the Panthers to see how Miles Sanders is shaking out in his new home – he’s currently on IR and barely played before it – you might be surprised that Carolina has actually been playing much better over the past few weeks since Bryce Young was reinserted back into the starting line.
Yes, it hasn’t really shown up on their record, as the Panthers are 3-9 and could very well end up with the worst record in the NFL when the season is said and done, but Young has played much better in his second starter run of 2024, giving Patrick Mahomes a game a few weeks back while throwing for over 250 yards in his last two games.
Now granted, could the Panthers still end up drafting a quarterback at the top of the 2024 NFL draft? With that team, you can never really know, but they seem far more likely to use the pick on a tackle like Will Campbell or a do-it-all weapon like Travis Hunter, who would instantly become a franchise-altering star both on the field and in terms of endorsement deals off of it.
Unfortunately for Young, even if he is becoming the guy in Carolina, it seems very unlikely that he will look like it in Week 14, as he’s facing off against the best defense in the NFL since Week 6 in basically every category and will have few, if any easy plays in his hometown return to the City of Brotherly Love.
Boasting a defensive secondary with just one weak spot in Tristin McCollum, who will almost certainly start in place of an injured Reed Blankenship, and a front seven that has been playing incredibly well, even after losing Brandon Graham to a season-ending pec injury, Young will have a tough time throwing the ball deep, attacking the middle of the field, and even running play-action, as a pass rush led by Jalen Carter, Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, and Nolan Smith should practically sublet a room in the offensive backfield for the afternoon.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) celebrate their touchdown pass during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
3. Jalen Hurts answers no questions in an easy Eagles win
At this point, Hurts might just be the most polarizing player in the NFL.
Some believe he’s wickedly underrated, having vastly limited his turnovers while consistently making good choices with the football as a passer, from his impressive deep ball to his career-high completion percentage and his ability to pick up important down with his legs when no one is open down the field.
And to others? Well, he’s being carried by a certified superteam, with his 21.5 passing attempts per game clearly showing that Sirianni, Kellen Moore, and company don’t feel strongly about his ability to execute as a passer, Barkley notwithstanding.
Where does the truth fall? Frankly, it’s hard to say, but it’s hard to imagine Week 14 will strengthen the case either way, as Hurts, like Barkley, could find his team up big early on and may not even need to re-enter the game after halftime or at least to start the fourth quarter.
So far this season, Hurts ranks second on the Eagles in offensive snaps, with only center Cam Jurgens logging more, 784 versus 791. Pickett, by contrast, has only played 28 snaps over three games, throwing the ball three times over that tenure. Could the Pitt product, who has only been used in garbage time this year, match or even overtake his season total in Week 14? That depends on how the game shakes out, but that feels like a more likely outcome than an Eagles loss, which, in the end, is all that really matters. Clinch a playoff berth, and this game could be the perfect early Christmas gift for fans in the Delaware Valley, especially if Barkley runs for 150 on 12 carries in half a game of action.
