Saquon Barkley carves up Rams defense in snow, Eagles move to NFC title game

Saquon Barkley was called upon to deliver in a big spot.

The Philadelphia Eagles running back lined up next to quarterback Jalen Hurts in the shotgun formation with less than five minutes to play in the divisional round playoff game on Sunday. Hurts looked over at Barkley, barely seeing through the snowstorm that plagued Lincoln Financial Field. The superstar athlete looked back at his quarterback and said, “I got this.”

Barkley took the handoff and ran like he was shot out of a cannon. He hit the hole, avoided a tackle and ran for a 78-yard touchdown. He knew he would score from about 30 yards out.

The Eagles’ faithful cheered as they watched their team hang on against the Los Angeles Rams for the remainder of the game and win, 28-22.

Barkley, who was going to be the driving force of the offense with the weather taking a turn for the worse, ran for a record 205 yards on 26 carries. He had two touchdowns in the game, including a 62-yard score in the first quarter.

“The elements were great, but the atmosphere was even better,” Barkley told NBC after the game. “Our fans are amazing. It was a close one, but that’s playoff football, and at the end of the day, we got the job done.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford gave Los Angeles everything it had in the final minutes. A 10-play, 70-yard drive after Barkley scored in the fourth quarter led to a touchdown pass to Coby Parkinson. It brought the game to within one score.

The Rams got a stop and were able to get the ball back for one final drive. Stafford got Los Angeles down the field thanks to an incredible catch from Puka Nacua.

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But the Eagles’ defense held strong and forced an incompletion on fourth down to force a turnover and solidify the game.

Philadelphia’s defense came up big. Aside from the stop on the final Rams drive, they forced two fumbles that led to Eagles field goals. Six points proved to be the difference in the game.

Hurts was 15-of-20 with 128 passing yards and 70 rushing yards. He had a 44-yard rushing touchdown to start the game but got banged up in the second quarter that stymied his ability to run for the rest of the game.

Stafford was 26-of-44 with 324 passing yards and two touchdown passes. He was sacked five times, including on the final drive that put more pressure on them to get the first down.