ClutchPoints
When the Philadelphia Eagles take the field for their first offensive drive of the Super Bowl, all eyes on the Chiefs’ defense, on Kansas City’s sidelines, and in the Superdome as a whole, will be on one player above all others: Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley.
The do-it-all tailback who can impact a game as a rusher and a receiver, Barkley led the NFL in rushing yards in the regular season, has run like wild in the playoffs, and could become the all-time single-season rushing champion as soon as the first quarter of the Super Bowl if he rips off one of his signature 40-yard runs.
And yet, because Barkley will draw so much attention in the Super Bowl, other players will get less attention as a result, with the potential to blow up because of their lower spot on the scouring report.
Could that player be NFC Championship hero AJ Brown? Well, discussing that question with reporters on Thursday, head coach Nick Sirianni gave props to his thousand-yard receiver before noting that even he doesn’t know who the Chiefs will prioritize and who, as a result, will fly under the radar.
“A.J. is a phenomenal player. You say reestablished himself. He missed three games and still had almost 1100 yards, three or four games, and was in and out the second half quite a bit this year. So, it was just the way we kind of have won this year, but he’s still the same dominant player that had 1400 plus yards the last couple years and had a couple less yards for different circumstances this year. You saw that in the NFC Championship game,” Sirianni told Eagles reporters.
“So again, we don’t really care how we win. We just want to win. So, if that means throwing it 50 times and running it once, A.J. and [WR] DeVonta [Smith] and [TE] Dallas [Goedert], that’s going to be good. If it’s vice versa, those guys are so selfless, which I love about this football team. They’re so selfless, they’re going to catch a big-time block that’s going to help change the game. We’ll see how the game plays out. You can’t really tell that until you get into the game and see the flow of the game. I’ve got a lot of faith in him of what he can do and Jalen delivering the ball to him. Got a ton of faith in that operation. Two of the best players right there in the world with Jalen and A.J., so we got good options there.”
Because of his reputation, teams have routinely tried to force Hurts to beat them with his arm as they key in on Barkley. In the NFC Championship, Hurts proved why that strategy isn’t ideal, as he and Brown proved that their connection remains one of the best in the NFL. If the Chiefs decide to crash the line and have a spy on Barkley at all times, don’t be surprised if Brown...
