The Philadelphia Eagles are in the NFC Championship for the second time in three years after they disposed of the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
While Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown struggled to find a rhythm through the snow-drenched air, Saquon Barkley put together another MVP-caliber performance. Barkley set an Eagles playoff record with 205 rushing yards, including a late 78-yard touchdown scamper that put the game on ice.
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In two playoff games, Barkley now has a combined 324 rushing yards. He even has former Giants teammates coming out of the woodwork to support him. The bigger story, though, is whether Philadelphia can ride Barkley to a Super Bowl victory.
This was a hot topic on ESPN's Get Up on Monday. Former Eagles rival Alex Smith is vehement that Hurts needs to do more in order for Philly to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
Former Eagles rival Alex Smith says Philly needs more from Jalen Hurts to win Super Bowl
"They could win yesterday in the snow. ... Can they hoist a Lombardi doing this? I don't think so." 😯
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 20, 2025
—Alex Smith on the Eagles' passing game pic.twitter.com/bHvf9SxykM
Smith noted that Hurts is conservative by nature and as a result Kellen Moore has called a risk-adverse passing offense all year. The former Washington quarterback believes the ride-Barkley formula can work for one more week given the Commanders' soft run defense, but he doesn't think it will be enough to beat Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.
Time will tell if Smith is proven wrong, but his analysis isn't out of left field.
At some point, the Eagles are going to need Hurts and the passing game to come up with big plays. You obviously can't remove touchdowns and Brown dropped two passes, including what could have been a long touchdown, but we might be talking about a different outcome against the Rams if Barkley didn't break loose for two long TD runs.
There is no denying that Hurts hindered the offense in the win. He struggled to cope whenever the Rams got pressure even before the knee injury and he held onto the ball way too long in the snowy conditions. He took three sacks as a result, including an avoidable safety.
After the injury, the Eagles' passing game disappeared to the tune of -1 passing yards and -0.3 yards per attempt. It is highly unlikely that Hurts will be 100% for the NFC Championship Game.
Even though Barkley is on a historic run and Vic Fangio's defense has been awesome, it is fair to question whether a limited Hurts will be enough to beat Jayden Daniels and the Commanders and then take down one of the two greatest QBs in the game today.