No running back had rushed for over 63 yards against the Baltimore Ravens this season. 

Saquon Barkley rushed for 61 in just the fourth quarter. 

Barkley finished with 102 rushing yards and a touchdown, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense was once again phenomenal as the Birds won their eighth consecutive game with a 24-19 victory over a very talented Ravens team. 

Entering Sunday’s game the Ravens were ranked last in the NFL in passing defense and possessed the second-ranked rush defense. The Ravens allowed an average of 3.7 rushing yards per carry and 277.7 passing yards per game. I thought the Eagles should attack the Ravens’ weak secondary and just take some pressure off Barkley. He has been so great, but I don’t want to see him overused before the playoffs. This game, along with the Panthers this Sunday, could have been a great time to take it easy on Barkley. I really wanted to see the passing game dominate, but that never really happened. 

I knew deep down that wasn’t going to happen, either. Why stop something that is working? Barkley, along with the Eagles’ stout offensive line and overall rush attack, wears down defenses, and that showed again in the fourth quarter with Barkley’s 25-yard TD. Again, 61 of his 102 yards were in the fourth quarter. 

The Ravens did well against the run until the end when they were clearly gassed. They stopped Jalen Hurts from a huge rushing game, but he still finished with 29 yards, including his 11-yard run before Barkley’s TD to make it 21-12. Still, I would have liked to see Hurts attempt more than 19 throws. I thought A.J. Brown would shine against this secondary, but he only finished with 66 receiving yards. I would have loved to see him and Dallas Goedert involved more.

Still, the job got done. The Eagles went into Baltimore — a tough place to play — and beat a Ravens team many picked as Super Bowl favorites before the season. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are MVP candidates, and the Eagles did a great job against them. In fact, entering the game, only three running backs in NFL history have had 1,300 rushing yards, 10 rushing TDs and averaged 6.0 yards after 12 weeks. Yup, two of them were Barkley and Henry. Well, Henry averaged 4.3 yards Sunday and was held out of the end zone. Barkley averaged 4.7 yards, added another TD and eclipsed 100 yards for the eighth time this season. Henry has six 100-plus yard games.

Let’s take another step forward… 

Henry has played one game more than Barkley because Baltimore has not had its bye week. Henry has 1,407 yards with 13 TDs in 13 games. Barkley has 1,499 yards and 11 TDs in 12 games. Now, which one sounds like the MVP? Should Jackson remain above Barkley in the MVP conversation? I don’t know, but the Eagles’ defense made a point that Jackson can be stopped. I really think that Barkley is, without a doubt, the best player in the league right now. 

However, Barkley had a better game than Henry and Jackson because of the Eagles’ defense, which continues to play amazing. The Ravens had averaged 427 yards per game, 30 points per game and 7.0 yards per play entering the game. Before the Ravens’ garbage time TD with less than a minute remaining, the Ravens had 302 yards of total offense and 12 points. Before that meaningless score, Baltimore averaged 4.7 yards per play. They made big-time stops when needed. After allowing nine points in the first quarter, the Ravens got just three points on their next nine drives. 

I think they did a great job at containing Jackson. They sacked him three times, and they hit him six times. Jalen Carter finished with two quarterback hits and four tackles, three for loss. Carter is having a very good season, too, so that wasn’t surprising to see him do well. Zach Baun led with 13 tackles, eight solo, and shared a sack with Jalyx Hunt, a rookie who was drafted in the third round and will be needed to step up now. Nakobe Dean added 10 tackles, Nolan Smith eight. 

Even without Brandom Graham and Darius Slay, two leaders on defense, and having Reed Blankenship leave in the third quarter with a concussion, this defense has been playing amazing. And what about Cooper DeJean? He made a great solo tackle on Henry, partially body slamming the 247 pounder on the ground. After playing this way against a high-octane offense like the Ravens, we can confidently say the Eagles’ defense is legit. And let’s give all the credit in the world to Vic Fangio. This time last year, the Eagles just switched up their defensive coordinators and that unit was in complete shambles. Now, the Eagles are one of the best defensive teams in the NFL. And it’s not just the starters, the entire defense is ready to play each week. 

Look at Tristian McCollum. … a guy called into action after Blankenship left, and he made a HUGE stop on the Ravens’ fourth-and-8 play with 6 minutes, 18 seconds left. He rushed to the ball and forced an incomplete pass. This was only McCollum’s 12th career game, and he was ready for it. That has a lot to do with Fangio and the way he gets his guys ready for battle. 

The Eagles are now 5-1 on the road (well 6-1 if you count that Brazil game to open the season). That is a great sign, especially if the Eagles cannot get that top seed and have to go to Detroit to play the NFC Championship game on the road. I think the Eagles still can get the top seed because the Lions still have the Bills, Packers and Vikings and, realistically,the Eagles could win out. They should beat Carolina, Dallas and the Giants. The Steelers and the Commanders may just be the last two difficult games on the Eagles’ schedule. Things will get interesting down the stretch, but they could get that top seed and first-round bye.

Now, hopefully, the Carolina game is not that classic “trap game,” because the Eagles really need that win to keep their hopes alive for the top seed. But I think the Eagles win that game, but the Panthers are playing pretty well. They only lost to the Chiefs by three points, and Sunday took the Buccaneers into overtime. They defeated the Giants and Saints a few weeks ago. So, the Eagles better not take them lightly. This is an opportunity to get a big win, and the Eagles are at home. The Lions also have the Packers on Thursday, so if Green Bay wins, that should give the Eagles even more motivation to beat the Panthers.