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The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX despite less than 100 total yards from Saquon Barkley. After his 200-yard performance in the NFC Championship Game, expectations were sky-high for the running back. Even though they stopped the run game, the Kansas City Chiefs were blown out. Barkley spoke about their defensive game plan while giving praise to Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“We knew that the focus would be on the run game and we took advantage of it,” Barkley told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. “We took advantage of it in the pass game. Jalen [Hurts] came out, played big and it took a team effort. Coaches, everyone in the Eagles organization, it takes all of us.”
Barkley got 25 carries for 57 yards and only broke off one ten-yard run all game long. If the Chiefs saw that stat line, with no touchdowns for the Offensive Player of the Year, they would assume they held the Eagles up defensively. Before that NFC Title Game, their passing game was faltering significantly.
But the Eagles were dominating through the air against the Chiefs, with touchdowns to AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. The rushing game was not the reason Philly won for the first time all season.
The Eagles won this game because of their defense. They put Patrick Mahomes on his heels in the first half without blitzing and never let up. The game was effectively over at halftime after a pick-six from Cooper DeJean and a huge interception from Zach Baun. Combine that with a big passing game, Philly was unbeatable on Sunday night.
The Eagles had the best running game of the season thanks to Barkley in his first season in Philadelphia. He racked up 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season and cracked Terrell Davis’ record for regular season and postseason yards. After their late-season collapse last season, they needed a better running game this year. GM Howie Roseman accomplished that by picking up Barkley.
Jalen Hurts won the Super Bowl MVP because he was extremely efficient. He was 17/22 with one early interception that the Eagles’ defense rendered irrelevant by forcing a three-and-out. While he lost his first Super Bowl, it is his second great performance in the big game, laying the groundwork for a successful decade as the Eagles quarterback.
The Eagles will have pieces to replace this offseason, potentially including offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, but should rest easy knowing how great their quarterback was in this game.
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