PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles were an unflappable force against a pitiful rival prone to such a pummeling. They were the pillar of dependency they’ve built themselves to be. They dismantled the Dallas Cowboys in a final score so demeaning, 41-7, that future researchers will be shocked to discover the backup quarterbacks played. They secured their second division title in three seasons, officially restoring their pursuit of the Super Bowl that’s eluded this regime of coaches and players, a team that’s weighing its records and trinkets against an ultimate trophy.
Saquon Barkley sat with his NFC East Champions hat backward and askew. He wasn’t wearing the T-shirt that came with it. “I didn’t even know that was a thing, to be honest,” the running back said of the swag. It certainly wasn’t a thing during the six years he spent with the New York Giants, a miserable team that may only avoid the indignity of experiencing Barkley breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record because next week’s regular season finale has been rendered meaningless.
The Eagles are the NFC’s No. 2 seed in the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings beating the Green Bay Packers eliminated any shot the Eagles had at a wild card-round bye and home-field advantage against any opponent. In a sense, that certainty supplies those inside the NovaCare Complex an opportunity at a quasi-bye. Nick Sirianni, who’s won his second division title in his fourth season as head coach, can rest a roster that’s somewhat battered. Jalen Hurts, who missed Sunday’s game in concussion protocol, doesn’t have to rush back. Barkley, whose 314 carries embody the bulk of a historic load, can take a well-deserved breather. A string of other starters can recover.
Such a decision wouldn’t diminish this team’s resonance in history. Statistics verify greatness seen with gaping eyes. Barkley has accumulated 2,005 yards rushing by leaping over a defender backward, by rampaging the Rams with two 70-yard scores, by out-dueling Derrick Henry in a battle of contenders with a retro billing. Barkley already holds the Eagles’ single-season rushing record. He’d need 101 yards against the Giants to surpass Dickerson, a status that’s mostly important because our memories are futile and our arguments fickle. There will still be those, perhaps Dickerson himself, who’d point out Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in one fewer game. There will be Philly fans who’d never forgive Sirianni if anything unfortunate happened to the team’s MVP candidate in a completely avoidable setting.
Barkley said, “it’s up to Nick.” Sirianni said, “I’ll think about it tonight at some point.” The intimation: if there’s not a No. 1 seed to play for, Barkley ain’t playing.
“I came here to do something special,” said Barkley, who, with 167 yards, fielded his 11th 100-yard game of the season. “Obviously, breaking a record is special. But I want to be part of — I want a banner up there. I think we all do.”
Saquon Barkley is just the 9th player in NFL history to reach 2,000+ rushing yards‼️@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/3o7SCoMWO0
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 29, 2024
No, as nearly everyone in the Eagles locker room on Sunday said, their goals are so much bigger. Send in the backups in Week 18. Send in the special team role players. Send in security chief Dom DiSandro if possible. It’s still probable that such a squad can still stifle the Giants, who, at 3-13, shouldn’t be assembling any further plans to diminish their draft stock. Let a young Eagles team once again demonstrate why its depth is so valuable. Let Kenny Pickett start a second time after seizing a 24-7 lead in relief of Hurts. Let Pickett, a New Jersey native who grew up an Eagles fan, gain more experience after getting knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the third quarter. Or let Tanner McKee build on an NFL debut in which the 2023 sixth-round pick completed 3-of-4 passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
Hell, let McKee take his shot at a second game ball for his living room. A.J. Brown nearly lost McKee’s first by chucking the quarterback’s first-ever touchdown ball deep into the stands after a 20-yard, back-shoulder strike. Brown grinned at the mistake. He hadn’t thought about the ball’s significance until Sirianni told him on the sideline. “I felt so bad,” Brown said. With the help of DiSandro, and the willingness of the good-spirited fan who caught the ball, Brown retrieved it for McKee by exchanging his game-worn (and autographed) jersey with the fan after the game.
“We’ve got great fans here,” Brown said.
Lincoln Financial Field echoed “M-V-P” chants in the third quarter, when Barkley, on a 23-yard run, became the ninth running back in NFL history to surpass 2,000 yards. Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” blared from the stadium speakers. Each member of the offensive line embraced Barkley. So did Tyler Steen, a backup guard, like several backups on Sunday, fulfilled a key role in unbalanced formations that supplied another Barkley 23-yard run earlier in the third quarter
Sirianni got emotional at the podium talking about the team’s depth players. Pickett. McKee. Steen. Oren Burks led the team with eight tackles after starting “Mike” linebacker Nakobe Dean was ruled inactive with an abdominal injury. Fifth-round rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. logged a half-sack. Third-round rookie Jalyx Hunt platooned significantly at edge rusher after Bryce Huff, returning from wrist surgery, exited the game with a shoulder injury. Veteran safety Avonte Maddox contributed to a second-half shutout while replacing both C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship in different stages of the game — a backup role Maddox embraced after backup cornerback Isaiah Rodgers usurped his role in Dime packages that were again deployed on Sunday.
“We deep,” said Milton Williams, who starts and rotates often along the defensive line. “We got guys that’s hungry, playing with a chip on their shoulder. We know what we can do.”
“I think we do have an unbelievable team,” McKee said. “Guys obviously know that it is a next-man-up mentality. Everybody has each other’s back. When I heard, ‘Hey, I’m going in,’ all those guys had a ton of confidence in me. I know we have a ton of confidence in all the other guys that are second-, third-string, whatever it is that when they get out there and when they get called on, they’re going to go out and make a play. And it’s just going to keep rolling.”
GO DEEPER
Eagles clinch NFC East, Barkley hits 2K yards in win vs. Cowboys: Takeaways
The Eagles embody the confidence, identity and swagger they spent the offseason pursuing. They spent the last few months of last season wondering where it all went. It’s partly why general manager Howie Roseman signed Gardner-Johnson to a three-year, $27 million contract. Foremost, the 27-year-old forces the turnovers last year’s system failed to frequently produce. Gardner-Johnson intercepted Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush twice on Sunday. On the first possession of the game, Gardner-Johnson snagged a deep pass up the left seam and house it for a 69-yard pick-six. Gardner-Johnson’s six interceptions in 2024 are now tied for the career-high he set in his last stint with the Eagles, a 2022 campaign that ended in Super Bowl LVII.
Only five other teams have forced more turnovers than the Eagles (25). They scored 24 points off four Cowboys turnovers. Zack Baun and Nolan Smith both forced fumbles. Gardner-Johnson’s play redeemed his ejection after two unsportsmanlike penalties last week when the Eagles blew a two-score lead to the Washington Commanders. It’s a persona the defense must learn to contain. Backup safety Sydney Brown was ejected after throwing Cowboys cornerback Troy Pride to the ground near the tunnel. Pride and wide receiver Jalen Brooks were also tossed for their involvement in the scuffle that boiled over.
“I think it was a learning lesson,” Gardner-Johnson said of his ejection. “I’ve got to grow the hell up.”
Maturation is arriving when the Eagles need it most. They’ve distanced themselves from worse teams. DeVonta Smith logged six catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns, often roasting a mismatch with Andrew Booth, the eighth-string cornerback for the Cowboys who’d been signed from the practice squad last week. They’ll close out 2024 against an organization nearing rock bottom. They’re aware of the more consequential factors beyond their division title that’s on their T-shirts.
“It’s cool,” Barkley said. “I’m not going to downplay it. But, at the end of the day, you know, you’re not going to be remembered for being the 2024 NFC East Division champs. … I’m happy to be a part of it, and we did it as a team. But we all know what the goal is.”
(Top photo of Saquon Barkley: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
