The Philadelphia Eagles did not play their cleanest game against the Los Angeles Rams in their divisional round playoff matchup, but Nick Sirianni's team can get away with some miscues here or there when Saquon Barkley is in the middle of one of the greatest individual seasons in NFL history.
After running for 255 yards and two touchdowns in Philly's regular season win against the Rams, Barkley was able to pile up 205 yards and two touchdowns in the rematch. His final big play of the night set up a rematch against the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game.
Barkley, who has previously torched Jared Verse and the Rams with a 62-yard touchdown run, managed to pull off a second-equally heartbreaking run. Barkley's 78-yard touchdown put the Eagles up 28-15, which gave them enough of a cushion to withstand a late charge from the Rams and win 28-22 in the snow.
Saquon Barkley carries Eagles past Rams with 78-yard touchdown run
The Eagles needed Barkley to play like this in the worst way possible. Jalen Hurts was sacked six times and struggled to reel off big plays with his arm, AJ Brown had one of his worst days as an Eagles, and cornerback Quinyon Mitchell was knocked out of the game early on.
Barkley will help the Eagles face off against a Commanders team that has struggled to stop the run all season long and did not do a very good job of keeping Jahmyr Gibbs in check during their win against the Detroit Lions. Barkley may be in for another big day against his division rival.
The Eagles shouldn't be dancing in the streets after this win, as they needed a few home run plays on the ground that most teams won't allow. If Barkley doesn't play like this every game, there are some questions about how high this team's offensive ceiling can be.
However, Barkley has had no problem revealing the big red S on his chest every single week. Barkley's game-breaking plays and consistency have been the defining elements of this Eagles season, and it might be enough to take them to the Super Bowl if they can get one more fantastic showing out of him.