INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The lasting image of this indelible season will be a running back in the open field. It will be the fusing of memories: a cut, a catch, a careening force of MVP caliber, carving his name into Philadelphia sports lore.
Saquon Barkley supplied two runs on Sunday night that will not soon be forgotten. They will be relished between rounds inside the most desolate dive bars on the most depressing days. Yeah, but remember that run? Someone will immediately ask which one. Sometimes the first will be cited. Someone will chortle. They’ll joke about how Landon Dickerson flattened that Los Angeles Rams linebacker who flailed helplessly as Barkley slipped by for a 70-yard score on the first play of the second half.
A beer will crack open the second story. Suds will flow through fingers, like Barkley off the left side of the line. Remember how he planted that foot and exploded? Diving Rams edge rusher Jared Verse only grabbed air. Barkley was already gone, already dashing, already mashing two single-game franchise records simultaneously on a 72-yard touchdown run.
Like this if you love Saquon Barkley.
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Reply that you love Saquon Barkley.@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/0h0Whzyn49— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 25, 2024
Saquon Barkley has set an Eagles single-game rushing record AND career-high with 255 yards‼️@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/8spJ32UbFz
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 25, 2024
Perhaps Barkley’s 255 rushing yards, along with his 302 scrimmage yards, will by then have successfully supported an MVP campaign that cornerback Isaiah Rodgers offered up unprovoked in the postgame locker room as if the award served as both synonym and definition for the player who fueled the Philadelphia Eagles in their 37-20 win over the Rams in SoFi Stadium.
“It’s my first time being around an athlete like that,” Rodgers said. “Everything he does is shocking to me. It’s new to me. I’m just enjoying the show right now, just like everybody else is.”
The majority of Sunday’s announced 74,400 paid attendees were wearing green. A rowdy contingent crowded one of the stadium tunnels, chanting “M-V-P” as Barkley exited the field. No Philadelphian has ever seen a running back like him. No teammate can even summon the words to describe the player whose seven 100-yard games spurred on a winning streak that’s now reached seven games.
“You can’t,” Dickerson said.
The left guard would’ve at one point also lacked the breath. He was somehow out in front of Barkley, blocking on a screen, one of the running back’s four receptions for 47 yards. Barkley is the all-around catalyst. Coach Nick Sirianni said, “He’s got everything you look for in a back.” The head coach watched his offense squander its first two red zone opportunities, then lean on Barkley while trailing 7-6 on a second-quarter drive in which he logged 42 of its 62 total yards, including a toe-tapping, 13-yard catch along the sideline to the Rams 7.
Two plays later, Jalen Hurts completed a 6-yard touchdown to A.J. Brown, a catch that required an official review. Brown, a three-time Pro Bowler, is finding himself the beneficiary of favorably shaped defenses. He caught six passes for 109 yards, a significant total considering his tandem playmaker, DeVonta Smith, was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
“When you combine an issue with other issues, you got a problem,” Hurts said.
Issues. Oh right. There were some in-game issues. But that baggage will rot on the LAX tarmac, long forgotten by an Eagles team whose offensive talent and defensive dominance can apparently erase any error. Three penalties in four plays forced the Eagles to settle for a second field goal in the first quarter. And, inexplicably, Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore called a fourth-down Hurts draw that, upon being stopped, gave the Rams two seconds to attempt a Hail Mary just before halftime.
But Josh Sweat sacked Matthew Stafford to purge any potential damage. After surrendering 8.8 yards per play on their first two defensive drives, the Eagles held the Rams to negative six yards on the final four drives of the first half. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit held the Rams to fewer total yards (290) than Barkley gained. They sacked Stafford five times. Brandon Graham’s will long be remembered. The 15-year veteran pumped up what felt like a home crowd before clobbering Stafford on a third-and-9. He moved into third place on the franchise’s all-time sack list (76.5), trailing only Reggie White (124) and Trent Cole (85.5).
But that’s where Graham will likely stay. The team’s longest-tenured player told reporters that his season is over after tearing his tricep in the second half. He said a Rams running back chipped him on the play, striking his arm with pain he first thought was something small. But the injury “stung a little longer.” He stayed on the sideline. He began embracing his teammates. Later, in the locker room, he called his wife and kids. They cried together. Graham, who announced earlier this year that 2024 is a final farewell tour, may have played his final down.
Brandon Graham hits Matthew Stafford as he throws a pass in the third quarter. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
“Hate it had to go like this, but at the end of the day, man, I don’t have no regrets,” Graham said. “Man, I really put it all, put it all today, like I do every weekend. We just gonna see where we go from here, man. But I’m hoping we hold that trophy regardless in the end. And like I say, I’m gonna do my part as far as a captain. And the mission’s still the mission. And I’m still gonna be me.”
Sirianni wouldn’t even speak on the possibility of losing Graham without some finality from upcoming medical counsel. “Love him,” Sirianni said. “One of my favorite guys I’ve ever been able to coach. We’ll see where it is. Again, I’m not ready to talk about it yet. We’re holding out hope.”
“That sucks,” Barkley said of Graham’s assessment. “I’ve only been able to be his teammate for such a short period of time, but I felt like I’ve known him for my whole life. He’s the reason why this transition for me has been so easy, him along with all the other guys. It’s cool to have a vet like that, to be able to talk to him about anything. I remember OTAs, sitting in the sauna and we were just talking about life and getting to know each other. The energy and the passion that he brings, not only to his team but to the city. He epitomizes what it means to be a Philadelphia Eagle.”
Brandon Graham announces that he is out for the year. pic.twitter.com/Mi9j0x5Mot
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) November 25, 2024
Barkley is fulfilling the requirement himself. His impact on the success of the Eagles is unquestionable. His influence has 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 the award was Adrian Peterson in 2012. Barkley should at the very least be considered to break that streak. His production defies human limits. He spoke with reporters next to his locker, where there was a notice from the league for a randomized drug test. It was actually tight end Dallas Goedert’s. He’d jokingly slapped it on Barkley’s locker to deliver an unsaid point.
Barkley signed with the Eagles to rewrite his story. He’s now produced more yards than ever before in his career with the Giants.
“My story’s not finished,” Barkley said. “It’s gonna keep going. When the season is all said and done, we’ll look back and smile and be happy with the things that I did or the things I didn’t do. Right now, we’re just getting ready for the flight. Get some good sleep. Get rest and recover.”
(Top photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
