Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts smiled as he described his 44-yard touchdown run.
“Saquon needed a break,” Hurts said of teammate Saquon Barkley. “So I told him I’ll get one.”
Barkley happily did the rest.
The Eagles escaped with a 28-22 win over the visiting Los Angeles Rams in an NFC divisional-round playoff game on Sunday afternoon. Barkley finished with 205 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the snow and caught four passes for 27 yards.
Hurts completed 15 of 20 passes for 128 yards and rushed for a touchdown for Philadelphia. The Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship Game, where they will host the Washington Commanders next weekend.
Matthew Stafford completed 26 of 44 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams. Kyren Williams finished with 19 carries for 106 yards, and Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson each had a touchdown catch.
Barkley scored a 78-yard rushing touchdown to make it 28-15 Philadelphia with 4:36 remaining. He cut to his left and sprinted untouched past the Los Angeles secondary.
The Rams pulled within 28-22 on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Parkinson with 2:48 to go.
The Eagles punted on their next possession, and the Rams had a chance for a go-ahead touchdown. Philadelphia’s defense held firm, as Stafford threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-11 from the Eagles 22-yard line to prompt a turnover on downs.
“This game in a lot of ways epitomized the resilience, the grit, the ability to overcome adversity,” said Rams coach Sean McVay, whose team started 1-4 before making a late run into the playoffs. “We just had a couple things that we couldn’t overcome. There will be some things that we can learn from.
“But this is the time for gratitude, for appreciation. I love this group, I love this coaching staff, I love these players.”
The score was even at 13-all after Rams kicker Joshua Karty made a 34-yard field goal with 7:37 to play in the third quarter.
Philadelphia inched ahead 16-13 with 2:19 left in the third quarter when Jake Elliott made a 44-yard field goal.
The Rams pulled within 16-15 after a safety with 26 seconds to go in the third quarter. Neville Gallimore came up with a sack in the end zone on the play.
The Eagles made it 19-15 on a 23-yard field goal by Elliott with 13:23 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Elliott connected again, this time from 37 yards out, to make it 22-15 with 6:18 to play.
The Eagles opened the scoring on their first drive of the game. Hurts faked a handoff to Barkley, tucked the ball and sprinted right for his 44-yard score. Elliott missed the ensuing extra-point attempt, though.
The Rams responded with a touchdown on the next possession to grab a 7-6 advantage. Stafford fired a strike to Higbee for a 4-yard TD.
The Eagles struck again with another big-play touchdown to pull ahead 13-7. Barkley found an opening at the line of scrimmage and burst to his right for a 62-yard score with 1:07 remaining in the first quarter.
Barkley’s performance was strikingly similar to his 255-yard, two-TD game against the Rams in the regular season.
Los Angeles cut its deficit to 13-10 on a 30-yard field goal by Karty with 12:47 to go in the first half.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said his players deserved credit for holding the Rams in check.
“We played championship defense,” Sirianni said.
Hurts twisted his knee awkwardly when he was sacked in the third quarter. He returned to the field to help the Eagles hold on for the win and avoided specifics afterward when asked about the play and how he was feeling.
“I finished the game,” Hurts said.
–Field Level Media
