As the Eagles continue their rampage that could be a Super Bowl run, evaluating their chances feels like an exercise in sizing up two different teams. Normally the physical toughness of a team is integrally tied to whatever’s happening on the mental and emotional side, but that doesn’t seem to be entirely the case with Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Eagle’s physical toughness is keyed by Saquon Barkley
The Eagles are a mercurial bunch, but the key to their mental toughness is running back Saquon Barkley. Philadelphia has plenty of guys who come to play every week, but Barkley is definitely the team leader when it comes to tuning out distractions and background noise.
Sunday’s win against the Steelers was a perfect example of how this works. Statistically, this was one of Barkley’s worst games of the season. He ran for just 65 yards on 19 carries, and his contributions in the passing game were also negligible as he caught a pair of passes for another nine yards.
But this game wasn’t about big stats for Barkley. The Eagles pounded Pittsburgh into submission, relying on tough defense and ball control. Unlike some of his stats-oriented teammates, Barkley didn’t make a fuss about his numbers, mostly because he spent enough years with the Giants to know what happens when players do that.
The Philadelphia Eagles are also a team that was built out from the offensive and defensive lines, which also makes a huge difference at this point in the season. The ability to dominate the line of scrimmage is what wins slugfests like the Pittsburgh game, and the Eagles will likely face similar battles in the postseason.
Philly’s mental toughness is a very different story
Then there’s that mercurial side. Whether it’s about coach Nick Sirianni going sideways emotionally early in the season or their wide receivers picking fights with the quarterback, this is a pop-up problem that feels like it could surface at any time.
The Eagles have now won ten in a row, but you wouldn’t have known that from the comments of star receiver A.J. Brown after a surprisingly close win against Carolina in a possible trap game before the Steelers contest. Barkley was dominant in that one with 124 yards on just 20 carries, and quarterback Jaylen Hurts was responsible for three touchdowns, two via the passing game and another on the ground.
But Brown let Hurts know he wasn’t exactly happy with his lackluster receiving numbers, and the result was another strange week in which we all wondered if the Eagles were going to go sideways again.
Confrontations followed in a series of meetings that Brown described as “very uncomfortable,” which is the last thing that should be happening during a long winning streak. Order was restored against Pittsburgh as Hurts “watered the passing game,” to use his words, but it feels like there’s at least one more of these eruptions coming in the next few weeks. Maybe even in the playoffs, too.
Jalen Hurts is the random variable in this equation
The variable here is the quarterback. Jalen Hurts is a marvelously gifted player who can beat opponents with his arm or on the ground, and at this point he’s played hurt enough that it’s impossible to question his physical toughness.
But Hurts can be a bit dodgy when it comes to the mental and emotional part of this. He has a tendency to go inward once in a while when he’s criticized or he has a bad game, and the star quarterback has been known to deliver some murky quotes of his own.
These may seem like minor quibbles, and there are at least 20 other teams that would love to exchange their problems for some of the nonsense that goes on occasionally in Philly. Until the Eagles can make a complete run and capture the Lombardi Trophy, though, they’ll always be hovering in the background to make us all wonder if the Eagles can maintain their focus and physicality.