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Tim McManus
Landover, MD. , philadelphia eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata Didn’t understand why teammate Jordan Davis Kept yelling “20 years!” during pregame warmups and then repeated the call as he ran into the tunnel after them win 29-18 Above Washington Commanders on Saturday night.
Malaita forgot that they could win the NFC East with a win, and it would be the first time a team won the division in consecutive seasons since 2004.
The goals are huge for the defending champions, but the Eagles took a moment to enjoy the accomplishments after the game, posing for photos and patting each other as they wore division champion gear, including T-shirts that read: “Been There, Won That.”
“It’s hard to do,” said coach Nick Sirianni, who has led Philadelphia in each of his five seasons. “In this division, we’ve seen data that says it’s hard to repeat as champs, and we’re happy with that. We’ll celebrate that. We’ve got a lot of ground to clean up. And again, we have a lot of other goals in mind.”
the eagles are running after Saquon Barkley Led the offense with 132 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He had 84 yards after contact, which is his most in a game since 2019 (also a Week 16 game at Washington, when he had 119 yards with the Giants).
“My mentality was to run this game like I’m at 230, 235 [pounds],” Barkley said. “This is my coach.” [Jemal Singleton] Said. Sometimes I don’t do this. I’ve had games where I’ve raced 200 yards because I’ve been able to more like skateback because God has blessed me with that ability.
“That was the mentality and I want to carry it forward.”
The play that epitomized his approach occurred on a 12-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. Barkley broke down the seam, lowered his shoulder to absorb the initial contact, turned and flexed his strength to get past potential tacklers for the score.
“He was like running in anger [Barkley],” Mailata said. “This is what he wanted.” …It’s best to run in anger. You feed it.”
quarterback jalen hurts Had a quality walk too. He finished 22 of 30 with no interceptions for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns. He added 40 rushing yards on seven carries.
The reigning Super Bowl MVP has led the Eagles to the playoffs every year since taking over as the full-time starter in 2021. This season hasn’t been the easiest for Hurts or the offense, but the Eagles are hitting form with the postseason on the horizon.
“These times, these are rare times,” Hurts said. “So, something we all need to embrace and just enjoy the moment right now, and take it one day at a time, like we always do.”
