Through the first three quarters of the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 16 showdown against the Washington Commanders, there were probably a few Philly fans more nervous than they should be.
Early in the fourth quarter, with a slim 14-10 lead, though, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley changed all that when he took a run 12 yards for a touchdown, but it showed him running over about three Commanders defenders to the end zone, which was the exclamation point to the 29-18 victory over Washington. After the game, Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata reacted to the run the way all Eagles fans did during the game when they saw it on television or in person.
"Angry runs are the best," Mailata said via NBC Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro. "You feed off of it. You can’t help but feel like that’s a true act of a great player, really. You gotta enjoy that."
Barkley was awesome in the win, but the offensive line was even better
The Eagles got an excellent performance from Barkley, who rushed 21 times for 132 yards and one touchdown in the win. While the 12-yard run was great, he also had a 48-yard run that propelled the victory.
While the Eagles fan base can love the Barkley performance after two 100-yard games in the last three games, the offensive line deserves some love for the improvement in its play. They only allowed one quarterback hit and two sacks while blocking for 207 rushing yards in the win over the Commanders.
Philly's offensive line has dealt with injuries and inconsistent play from most starters, but Mailata has been the one constant for the team. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 81.1, ranking 11th out of 82 offensive tackles in the NFL. He has allowed just four quarterback hits and one sack in 494 pass block snaps.
Read more: Nick Sirianni said what literally no Eagles fan said after Jake Elliott's misses
The Eagles have offensive momentum at the right time, with the offensive line and Barkley rolling. Whether they can carry that into the postseason for a run for the Super Bowl is a whole other question.