6 takeaways from a heart-pounding, thrilling 28-22 win over the Rams

This one had everything you could ever want in an NFC Divisional Playoff game – big runs, pieces in the passing game, defensive takeaways and a heart-stopping, last-possession ending to a close, incredibly tense afternoon in a wind-blown blizzard at Lincoln Financial Field as the Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship Game with a 28-22 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Next up: Washington Commanders Sunday at 15.00, the third meeting of the season between the teams.

Where to start with takeaways? How about him who has done it all season and delivered in a huge way again this…

1. Saquon Barkley with home runs

Los Angeles did a much better job against Barkley the second time around — he had a franchise-record 255 yards on Nov. 24 with scores of 70 and 72 yards. On Sunday, the Rams bottled him up in many ways … but not in every way. And Barkley still delivered bombs.

He scored on touchdown runs of 62 yards and 78 yards and gained 205 yards (an Eagles playoff record) on 26 carries. The 62-yarder came in the first quarter and pushed the Eagles into a 13-7 lead. The 78-yarder was spectacular — it came with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left and gave the Eagles a 28-15 advantage. Barkley sprinted across the back of the end zone after the score and slid in the snow in joyous celebration, and he deserved it all. The two runs totaled 140 of his 205 yards, so he gained 65 yards on the other 24 rushing attempts as the Rams rushed the line of scrimmage with powerful run blitzes and well-executed run passes, and they tackled him extremely well.

“I just want to play well for the team,” Barkley said. “Before that, I kept telling myself to just lock in, stay focused and the o-line did a really good job. I was able to put things over my shoulders and pop two bigs. “

But the Eagles stuck with Barkley and it paid off, as it has all season.

2. The defense gets the last stop

Philadelphia’s defense, the best in the NFL all season, struggled against a Rams offense that played well throughout the game. Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 26 of 44 passes for 324 yards, Kyren Williams ran for 106 yards and the Rams threatened for most of the game with 402 total net yards offensively and also answered Barkley’s 78-yard touchdown run with a 10-play, 70 -yard touchdown drive that took just 1:48 off the clock. But the Eagles’ defense also did a lot of great things with two takeaways — Jalen Carter knocked the football away from Stafford and cornerback Isaiah Rodgers recovered and returned it 40 yards to the Rams’ 10-yard line for three points — and Nolan Smith, too, who got a strip-sack by Stafford and Zack Baun recovered a takeaway that led to three more points.

And then, fittingly, the defense was on the field at the end of the game, as the Rams drove all the way to the Philadelphia 13-yard line with just over a minute left in the game. Carter then got a great pass rush up the middle and sacked Stafford for a loss of 9 on a third-and-2 play. On fourth-and-11, Carter pressured Stafford again, who threw incomplete to wide receiver Puka Nacua, and the game was over.

“It was surreal. I was really focused on trying to finish the game,” Carter said after the game. “I know I had the play on third, but I was trying to get everybody. I knew they had one more play in them and we got a stop and won the game.”

Carter finished with two quarterback sacks, 5 total tackles, a forced fumble, a tipped pass and was the constant focus of the Rams’ blocking scheme. The Eagles had five total sacks and overcame the loss of cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who left the game on the defense’s opening drive and was ably replaced by Isaiah Rodgers.

“We believe in each other, we trust each other, and we’re here for the long haul. We’re hitting the ball a lot. We’re trying to go the whole way. There’s only one goal – win that Super Bowl,” Carter said.

3. Jalen Hurts: Steady, calm and a huge play to start the game

Quarterback Jalen Hurts and the passing game aren’t exactly where they collectively want to be, but wins are wins. Hurts capped the game’s first drive with a 44-yard touchdown run and accounted for 70 yards on 7 carries. He also completed 15 of 20 passes for 128 yards and did not turn the ball over. However, the attack searched for a constant rhythm throughout the game. The weather didn’t help and there were some opportunities down the field that didn’t go through, and in the end it was a game with some plays Hurts wants back, but a result he loves: Another win and a step closer to Super Bowl.

“That’s everything. That’s what you work for. That’s what all our energy and all my energy has been directed toward,” Hurts said when asked what it means to still be playing this late in the season and trying to get to the Super Bowl. “Enough is never enough. Our performance today was enough to win, but enough is never enough in terms of the standards we have for ourselves and what we want to do. There’s always a hunger. There’s always a desire for more and this urge to continue to improve and that’s how it will continue to be At this point in the season, the first thing is about getting better.