Okay, we gave you a few hours. How are we feeling now? Is everyone okay? That was another rough one to watch, but two more wins this season will give the Philadelphia Eagles their second Lombardi Trophy,
But, we'll be honest. We can't take too many more games like we saw during the Divisional Round. Philly's game vs. the Los Angeles Rams has long been decided. Our stomach is still tied in knots, and we've been eating Advil and Tylenol like they are Tic Tacs.
Following games like that, one could go on for hours about the takeaways. How do you hand out game balls unless you hand them to a dozen people?
It's a difficult ask, but we did or best. We've identified a half-dozen Birds who were the hammer during Sunday's win, another who played the part of the nail, and a few guys who toed the line.
Here's a look at a couple of Eagles' Divisional Round performances.
Let's start with some of the heroes.
Saquon Barkley - Hammer
Saquon Barkley probably won't win league MVP, but that won't be because he shouldn't. They'll give it to a quarterback, but you can't convince any Birds fans that 26 isn't deserving.
The heroics have carried over into the postseason. One day, we'll all be old men and women, and we'll still talk about the day he ran for 205 as a blizzard coated the Lincoln Financial Field turf.
Two TD runs helped lift the good guys to victory.
Zack Baun and Oren Burks - Hammers
Zack Baun has been a stud all season. Oren Burks has gotten more burn as the Eagles have dealt with injuries at the linebacker position. Both were studs on Sunday.
Whether they were disrupting entire offensive drives by themselves (Baun) or intuitively filling passing lanes to bat the ball down when a pass rush wasn't going to end as planned (Burks), these guys made us proud. Both also tied for the team lead in total tackles.
Jalen Carter - Hammer
This guy is on a trajectory that is otherworldly. Each week, he finds new ways to 'wow' us. Sunday was no different.
Just check out the stat line: Five tackles (three solo), two sacks, three QB hits, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup, a forced fumble. Philly doesn't win this game without him, and we mean that literally.
Carter probably saved a TD @Eagles pic.twitter.com/qDedFtBiiL
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 20, 2025
Moro Ojomo - Hammer
Moro Ojomo probably won't ever elevate higher than a depth piece if Philly's defensive line remains as currently constructed. He always brings it when he gets his opportunity though. A timely sack in this game was one of Philly's second-half defensive highlights. He also notched a TFL and an additional hit on Matthew Stafford.
Braden Mann - Hammer
Games like this can often come down to time of possession and field position. Credit Braden Mann for doing his part.
We know what it's like in Eagles Nation to flounder because of a less-than-adequate punter. Mann need not be mentioned in that category.
Despite the blizzard, he averaged 49.8 yards per boot on four punts, and his handling of the ball on a Jake Elliott FG attempt was one of the lesser-mentioned key ingredients to the Eagles victory.
Jalen Hurts - Nail
This needs to be said. Before kickoff, only two things worried us. There were only two things we thought might facilitate an Eagles loss.
One was an underwhelming performance by Jalen Hurts. The other was a bad showing by Jake Elliott.
Let's start with QB1. Philly survived, but if Jalen performs in the NFC Championship Game as he did in the Divisional Round, Philly WON'T BE PACKING THEIR BAGS for a trip to New Orleans.
That sack and safety... That can't happen... The fumble at the end of the first half... That can't happen.
Philly can win a Super Bowl with Jalen Hurts, and they can miss out on the opportunity to play for one because of him too. This time around, for the most part, they won despite him and not because of him.
Toeing the line (but, only barely)- Jake Elliott
Technically, Jake Elliott still hasn't missed a postseason field goal. He made all three of his attempts during the Wild Card and Divisional Round, but he missed one of his pair of extra points vs. the Green Bay Packers and two of three extra-point attempts vs. the Rams.
His coaches clearly aren't as confident in him as they once were even though they continue to say the right things. We're worried. We aren't going to lie to you.
Toeing the line - A.J. Brown
The Eagles offense doesn't operate at peak efficiency if A.J. Brown isn't on the field. The facts are the facts. That's been proven, but this game was a littel strange.
Philly tried to get the ball to him. He was targeted seven times to be exact. We saw a couple of bad throws, but he also couldn't come up with a deep-ball attempt he should have caught.
In the end, what matters is results, and we saw a couple of drops and two receptions for 14 yards. Truth be told, we aren't worried about A.J. at all. He did have a tough time finding space consistently vs. Ahkello Witherspoon though, but that happens to a lot of guys.
Toeing the line - The Eagles' O-line
Again, we aren't going to tell you we're giving up on the Eagles' O-line, but they weren't their best selves in this one.
A Mekhi Becton penalty erased a nice catch and run by Dallas Goedert to set up a first-and-goal opportunity. A Lane Johnson penalty forced Philly to settle for three points instead of a TD.
Jordan Mailata struggled vs. Jared Verse, and the Hurts safety was partially on his O-line, but again, this is one of the units we have the most faith in, and Philly's three rushing TDs simply aren't scored without the work of the guys up front.
Final thoughts: The good news is we made it to another round. Bring on the Washington Commanders. There's a lot to clean up, but that's certainly a game the Eagles can win.