After Saquon Barkley’s first practice with the Eagles in OTAs, something struck him. He looked around the huddle and saw A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Jalen Hurts and the best offensive line in football.
It was a collection of talent like he had never played with before.
But in an offense full of stars, none has shone brighter than Barkley this year. He had a 2,000-yard season and is a finalist to win the MVP award and the Offensive Player of the Year. Of course, none of that matters to Barkley.
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When asked about being the focal point of an offense this talented, Barkley’s thoughtful answer on Wednesday gave an insight into his team-first mentality.
“I don’t look at it that way,” Barkley said. “I think football is the best sport and I have loved it since I was a little kid. The main reason why I love it is, obviously I have passion for it and it’s something I wanted to do, but I think it’s the greatest team sport. I think people get lost in that. We forget about that.
“We talk about quarterback play and we’ll have quarterbacks go against each other. This week I’m pretty sure, the media’s talking about Josh Allen and Pat Mahomes’ record against each other but that’s not it. That’s not how the game is played. The game is a team sport. You can have nine guys all on the same page and two guys are not on the same page and the play won’t work.
“I don’t look at it as who are the stars? It comes with it. You might have media deals, you might have commercials, you might have followers on IG. But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is how you compete as a team. If you don’t have a great team, it don’t matter. You won’t be successful. I think I’m a prime example of that right now.”
NFL
Despite having one of the best rushing seasons in NFL history and all the accolades that have come with it, Barkley has been singularly focused all season. He wants to win.
Sunday will be Barkley’s first trip to an NFC Championship Game and he makes it in his first year with the Eagles. In six years with the Giants, he made it to the playoffs just once.
Barkley’s team-first mentality really seems to mirror that of Jalen Hurts.
“I’ve always known that about him,” Hurts said. “His eagerness to work in the offseason, experiencing a lot of losing, coming into a situation where he’s just focused on winning. And he put forth the right type of effort and all the other things have gone in his favor in terms of his personal success. I know that’s something that we’re all proud of, to be a part of that. But I know he wants to be a part of something greater.”
Back for the playoffs
After a year with the Eagles in 2023, linebacker Nicholas Morrow left in free agency and ended up playing in 11 games for the Bills this season.
His connection to Philly this year was Nakobe Dean.
“Yeah, I kept in contact with him and hit him up throughout the season,” Morrow said. “It was pretty nice to see. It was cool to go out there and watch him play and take advantage of his opportunity.”
Dean had a great season as the Eagles’ middle linebacker but it ended with a torn patellar tendon in the wild-card round against the Packers. In a twist of fate, it was actually Dean’s injury that brought Morrow back to Philly.
The day the Eagles put Dean on IR last week, they signed Morrow to the practice squad. And a few days later, the veteran linebacker played 18 special teams snaps in the Eagles’ 28-22 win over the Rams in the divisional round.
While the Eagles played Oren Burks in Dean’s spot and had Jeremiah Trotter Jr. as the primary backup, they needed someone to fill in on special teams and Morrow took that role.
“It’s a little weird,” said Morrow, standing next to his pop-up stall in the Eagles’ locker room on Friday. “Obviously, so much football has been played. People have good relationships so that’s kind of different. But everybody has welcomed me with open arms. It’s been fun learning the defense and integrating myself back into the fold.”
Not only did Morrow play 18 snaps on special teams but he also had 2 special teams tackles in the win over the Rams. The 29-year-old doesn’t know what the future holds but he’s just worried about doing what he can for the Eagles in this playoff run.
He’ll get another chance in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday after the Eagles elevated him on Saturday.
“I’m just going to do my job,” Morrow said. “Whatever opportunity is in front of me, I’ll take advantage of it and go on.”
Defensive Player of the Year?
Zack Baun was already named a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro and this week he found out he’s one of five finalists to be named the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year.
“That’s really cool, really special,” Baun said. “Honestly, not even on the spectrum of a goal of mine. I really just try to be the best player I can be and try to maximize my potential and my ability. For that to be, not an end result, but an outcome of the work I’ve put in, I’m really proud of myself. It’s a lot of credit to the guys up front and the guys on this team for aiding in my success. I really appreciate their efforts.”
Baun, 28, should be proud of himself. He’s one of the best stories of the 2024 NFL season. The other guys nominated for the award this season are Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, Pat Surtain II and T.J. Watt.
None of those other names would have been surprising before this season. Garrett and Watt have each already won a DPOY. Surtain was already a Pro Bowler and All-Pro before this season. And Hendrickson was already a Pro Bowler with three double-digit-sack seasons before 2024.
But Baun? He came out of nowhere and was an afterthought when the Eagles signed him in March.
The Eagles have had just one AP Defensive Player of the Year since the award’s inception in 1971. Reggie White ran away with it in 1987 when he had 21 sacks in 12 games.
Home-field advantage
The Eagles on Sunday will play their third straight home game in the playoffs and their fifth straight overall. This is the first time in franchise history the Eagles have played three home games in a single postseason.
And they’re really enjoying that home-field advantage.
“I think it is the obvious. It's the atmosphere. It's the crowd. It's the noise,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “When the parity is so close – which the NFL is, and that's week to week and even more so in the playoffs – everything matters. You being able to communicate or not being able to communicate on offense is a huge deal.
“So I know how rowdy it will be. I know how rowdy the fans will be. We love playing in front of them. Especially in this atmosphere. We love playing in front of them regardless of what game it is, but I know the last time we were in this setting when I was here in '22, it was an electric crowd.”
If you want an example of how crazed Eagles fans can be, we got one earlier this week. The Eagles began selling pints of the snow off the field from the divisional round for $50 a pop. Pretty silly, right?
The 100 pints sold out in a few hours.
“People bought snow?!” Darius slay said. “That’s why this is the best city, man. Because they passionate around here, man. They buying snow. I love it. You know what? Let me go pack some snow up right now so they can go buy mine.”
Equipment staff shoutout
Speaking of the snow, Sirianni gave a special shout-out to Eagles’ VP of equipment operations Greg Delimitros during his Monday press conference.
The Eagles were able to beat the Rams 28-22 on Sunday as snow began to fall really hard in the second half of that game. That type of snowfall can put a lot of stress on the equipment staff.
“I can't say enough about Greg and our equipment staff, of how much detail and how much effort went into making sure those guys had the right footing,” Sirianni said. “I asked Greg earlier this week to write up everything he has that he's ever done for a snow game in his career. The detail that he came back to me with was outstanding.
“Again, just goes to show you it takes everybody. Just so appreciative to Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie and this organization that we have the right guys in place in each department. Greg and his guys were on full display yesterday of how good they did. I mean, shoot, the pressure we got at the end ended up helping us win the football game.”
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