Rams rookie edge rusher Jared Verse hasn’t been in the NFL for very long, but he’s been there long enough to know when he’s seeing something special on the field.
Verse saw just that on Sunday night. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley set a franchise record by running for 255 yards and he ran for touchdowns of 70 and 72 yards in the second half to push his team to a 37-20 road win.
Barkley finished with 302 yards from scrimmage and the effort left Verse without the ability to compare what Barkley did with anything else he’s seen.
“He’s a different type of player,” Verse said, via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve never seen a running back like that.”
Barkley is now on pace for more than 2,100 rushing yards, which is rarefied air for a running back and a reminder that the Eagles struck gold when they moved quickly to add Barkley as a free agent in March.
Rams coach Sean McVay said after Sunday night’s 37-20 loss to the Eagles that all his team can do is bounce back.
“There’s humbling nights like this in football,” Mcvay said. “It’s all about how you respond. I do know that this team has the capability to be able to respond, and we’ll get ourselves up off the mat and we’ll have a good week of preparation this week.”
The good news for the Rams is that at 5-6, they’re only a game out of the NFC West, where all four teams are tightly locked with the Seahawks and Cardinals at 6-5 and the 49ers tied with the Rams at 5-6. If the Rams do get up off the mat, the division title is right there for them to take.
But it’s been a frustrating season for McVay’s team, and Sunday night showed how big a gap there is between the Rams and the top teams in the NFC.
Saquon Barkley put together his best game of what’s already been a career season on Sunday night against the Rams, accounting for 302 yards from scrimmage in the 37-20 victory.
Barkley rushed for a career-high 255 yards on 26 carries, scoring touchdowns on runs of 70 and 72 yards in the second half. But even without those 142 yards, the running back had 113 on 24 attempts.
He also caught all four of his targets for 47 yards.
“Saquon is a special player,” head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. “We were able to hit a couple home runs. Saquon has that ability — to hit home runs.
“When you have the type of quickness, lateral movement, that Saquon has, with the ability to accelerate, and the speed to finish, and the power to break through an arm tackle — he has everything you look for in a back. He’s been awesome, and he was awesome tonight.”
Through 11 games, Barkley has now rushed for a career-high 1,392 yards — eclipsing his 1,312 mark set with the Giants in 2022. Averaging 126.5 yards per game, he’s currently on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set back in 1984.
“I’m probably going to get a lot of credit, and everyone’s going to say this and say that, but in reality, the beauty of this game is it’s a team game,” Barkley said postgame. “My favorite quote that Nick says is, ‘It’s hard to be great without the greatness of others.’ And those guys [on the OL], and the tight ends, and the wide receivers blocking down the field are super amazing.”
While Barkley said he didn’t know he’d have this much success with Philadelphia, part of the reason he wanted to sign with the NFC East club was to be in an environment that could display his full potential.
“I’m thankful to be here. I’m thankful for the fresh start,” Barkley said. “I had conversations where [I said] I think this is the spot where I can kind of rewrite my story — I feel like I can show everyone the type of player I feel like I can be and was meant to be. And it’s working out right now, but the beauty of it, it’s the NFL, and it’s week-to-week.
“I’m surrounded [by] great players,” Barkley added. “I don’t want to be lost in that. I wanted to elevate my play because, I keep saying, I can’t be sitting here watching how great Lane [Johnson] is and watching how great A.J. [Brown] is and Jalen [Hurts] — I want to be along with those guys, and making plays, and do something special.”
With the way he’s playing, Barkley has certainly placed himself in the MVP conversation. But he said he’d much rather end up with team success than an individual accolade.
“We’ll start thinking about that when the season’s over,” Barkley said. “I love being in that conversation. It’s cool and all. But like I said, it’s a team sport. And if you told me that I could have the year I’m having, win an MVP, but not win the Super Bowl, or I could have the year I’m having, not win MVP or offensive player of the year and win the Super Bowl, I’m going to take the other one.”
So Barkley and the 9-2 Eagles will continue down the stretch, looking to keep things rolling. If Barkley continues to play as he has, Philadelphia should be dangerous in January.
“I’m surrounded by great players, and if you look at every single play that I made today, you see so many other players going above and beyond for me,” Barkley said.
“My story’s not finished,” Barkley added. “It’s going to keep going.”
Brandon Graham was putting together a solid 2024 at age 36, but it has now come to an end.
In the locker room after Sunday’s 37-20 win over the Rams, Graham said he was out for the season after suffering a torn triceps.
Graham suffered the injury in the second half on a pass play. He walked off the field and into the locker room to be examined, where he received the news.
“It was a pass play,” Graham said. “The running back came and chipped me right here on my arm, and I thought it was just — because I had been dealing with my triceps anyway. Just from pushing people, you get a little tendinitis.
“This time, it was different.”
Though Graham broke the news himself, head coach Nick Sirianni declined to discuss Graham’s injury. But he did say Graham is one of his favorite players he’s ever gotten to coach.
“We’ll see where it is,” Sirianni said. “Holding out hope, and we’ll see.”
Graham, however, did not seem hopeful at all. Instead, he seemed at peace with the situation, knowing that he’s nearing the end of his career. But he wasn’t ready to formally say this was the end.
“I know for me, I don’t want to go out like this,” Graham said. “I definitely want to be able to finish a whole season before I’m done. But if that ain’t in the cards, I’m content where I’m at, too. I’m just not there yet.”
Graham had been wrecking the game for Los Angeles’ offense. He had two tackles for loss, a sack, three QB hits, and a pass defensed on Sunday night before exiting the game.
“I’d have to say it was [one of my better games this year] because I was feeling good,” Graham said. “Hate to have to go like this, but at the end of the day, I don’t have no regrets.”
Graham is in his 15th season with the Eagles after the club selected him at No. 13 overall in 2010. Including the sack on Sunday night, Graham had 3.5 on the season with six tackles for loss and seven QB hits.
Last month, Giants co-owner John Mara said he doesn’t anticipate making any major changes during or after the 2024 season.
Sunday’s outcome will test his resolve. For multiple reasons. Beyond the embarrassing 30-7 home loss to the Buccaneers, multiple players called the team “soft” and questioned the effort of the team. Then, Mara got to watch former Giants running back Saquon Barkley have the best game of his career, rushing for 255 yards and adding another 47 receiving to go over 300 yards from scrimmage.
The fact that the Giants play on Thursday makes it very hard to make a change this week. However, if the Giants fail to show up on Thursday against the Cowboys, Mara might have no choice but to alter his anticipation — either when the regular season ends or on Black Friday.
However it plays out, G.M. Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll have to be wondering how things will play out. And whether one or both will be out based on how the team plays on Thursday in Dallas.
