Eagles 37-20 Rams (Nov 24, 2024) Match Recap

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – – When Saquon Barkley looked up at a SoFi Stadium replay of his latest big run for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night, he happened to see a graphic that showed he had 173 yards rushing — just 16 shy of what he known to be his career high.

“I said, ‘Oh, I wish I never saw that,'” Barkley said with a laugh. “That’s just the devil talking, that’s the way I look at it. … I’m a big believer that if it happens, it happens just let it come to you.”

Barkley decided to continue racing for his teammates, not for records. A few plays later, both his personal best and several additional superlatives fell right to him with his second massive touchdown run on a historic night.

Barkley ran for scores of 70 and 72 yards in the second half and finished with an Eagles-record 255 yards rushing in Philadelphia’s seventh straight victory, 37-20 over Los Angeles Rams.

Barkley had the ninth-most yards in a game in NFL history, thanks largely to his huge TD run in the second half. He sprinted for a 70-yard score on the opening snap of the third quarter, and he added another big run up the middle with 2:44 to play.

“Saquon has that ability to hit home runs and sometimes that’s how it goes,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “You get a short gain, short gain, short gain — boom, home run. Saquon is that type of player, and our offensive line did a good job of handling the variations up front.”

Barkley had 302 total yards – becoming the 12th player in NFL history to top 300, and the first Eagles player – while also becoming the first NFL player with two 70-yard TD runs in a game since Maurice Jones- Drew in 2009.

Barkley leads the league with a career-best 1,392 yards rushing, including a league-best seven 100-yard rushing games in his seismic first season with Philadelphia after six frustrating years with the Giants.

“To be honest, I’m not surprised,” said Barkley, a two-time Pro Bowl selection. “I didn’t know I was going to have this much success, (but) I’m thankful to be here. I’m thankful for the fresh start. A big reason I wanted to come here (is) I felt, that this is a place where I could rewrite my story and show everyone the type of player that I feel I can be and was meant to be, and it’s working right now.”

While he averaged 9.8 yards per carry. carry, Barkley obliterated the Eagles’ franchise records of 217 yards rushing by LeSean McCoy in 2013 and 296 total yards by Duce Staley in 2000. He also had the all-time rushing performance against the Rams, surpassing DeMarco’s 253 yards for Murray’s yards. Dallas in 2011.

AJ Brown caught six passes for 109 yards and a TD from Jalen Hurts, who threw for 179 yards as the NFC East led Philadelphia (9-2) surged for a 24-point second half.

Kyren Williams rushed for a score and Demarcus Robinson caught a TD pass for the Rams (5-6), who lost their second straight home game.

Matthew Stafford passed for 243 yards while being sacked five times by Philadelphia’s top-ranked defense, and Los Angeles couldn’t keep up with a Super Bowl contender in the second half of just its second loss in six games. Puka Nacua had nine catches for 117 yards and Cooper Kupp caught a 27-yard touchdown pass with 1:07 left.

The Los Angeles defense gave up 480 yards, making several weeks of progress for a unit that also looked overmatched early in the season.

“(Barkley) gets tough, hard-earned yards and then you give him a vertical seam, which he got a few times,” McVay said. “He has the explosiveness and the long speed and the ability to finish. That’s what opened up and blew up the game for him. He was outstanding.”

The Eagles improved to 4-0 against the Rams in the Los Angeles area since the franchise returned home, but they led just 13-7 at halftime despite dominating both sides of the ball in the second quarter.

Barkley had just 73 yards rushing in the first half for Philadelphia, but he broke up the play and the Rams’ defense with his deft run up the middle to start the third quarter.

“He makes a cut that I didn’t think anyone else could make,” Sirianni said. “Like, he just stopped for a dime.”

Los Angeles answered with Robinson’s short TD catch, but Kenneth Gainwell rushed for a 13-yard TD moments later, one play after Barkley’s 31-yard catch-and-run on third-and-long.

In the final minutes, Barkley found another gaping hole in the middle of Los Angeles’ defense.

“One of our guys came out of the hole back,” Rams nose tackle Kobie Turner said. “When you give that guy room to run and now he’s up at the second level, he can make guys miss and has the speed to break away.”

Injuries

Eagles: CB Darius Slay (concussion) back for second half. … WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) sat out for just the third time in his four-year career. … Afterwards, 15-year veteran DE Brandon Graham said he is out for the season with a torn triceps.

Rams: Starting RT Rob Havenstein (ankle) missed his third straight game and backup Warren McClendon struggled in pass protection.

Next

Eagles: At Baltimore next Sunday.

Rams: At New Orleans next Sunday.

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AP NFL: