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Saquon Barkley turned on the speed after being freed by Eagles' read-pass option

By Christiaan Defranco

Saquon Barkley turned on the speed after being freed by Eagles' read-pass option

BALTIMORE -- When Braden Mann is on the field, it usually isn't a good sign for the Eagles.

Through the first 17 minutes, 34 seconds on Sunday, the Eagles punter appeared four times as the Ravens jumped out to a 9-0 lead. Jalen Hurts missed his first four pass attempts and the Eagles committed four penalties.

Then they mounted two touchdown drives, propelled by the run-pass option, with Baltimore struggling to account for the threat of Hurts handing off to Saquon Barkley, keeping the ball or throwing it.

But Mann took the field two more times in the third quarter, in which Barkley touched the ball just twice. Through three quarters, Barkley had just 13 touches, and the Ravens were persistently knocking on the door, down 14-12. But in the fourth, the Eagles went back to their star running back and the RPOs, and they began to take over the game, physically dictating to the always physical Ravens.

Barkley finished with 25 touches for 117 yards (107 rushing) and a 25-yard touchdown rumble against what had been the second-ranked run defense in the NFL.

So, even though the Eagles temporarily got away from their bread and butter, they got back to what makes their offense go -- Saquon Barkley and the offensive line -- and ended up imposing their will on Baltimore, like they've done against so many other teams this year.

"It was a big win," Barkley said. "We knew it was going to be a tough challenge against this team. You've got to give credit to them. ... It's a blessing having a coaching staff that trusts (the run) and continues to lean on it. You also give a shoutout to the defense. That means the defense is doing a really good job, too, and not letting the game get out of hand, where we get down and you've got to get into the mindset of drop back and pass the ball.

"You've just got to keep trusting the system and trusting the guys up front. We knew how good of a defense they are, but at the end of the day, they still didn't go against us (before now). We know how great of an offense we are, how great of a run team we are, especially how great those guys are up front."

Except for a garbage-time scoring drive in the waning seconds, the Eagles' defense shut out the Ravens' league-leading offense in the second half and allowed just three points after the opening period -- even if Justin Tucker, Baltimore's once-automatic kicker, missed a pair of field goals and a PAT.

Defensive tackle Jalen Carter disrupted Baltimore up the middle with three solo tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, and two quarterback hits. The Eagles sacked Lamar Jackson three times and hit him six times.

Rookie corner Cooper DeJean stuffed Derrick Henry with an open-field tackle on a third down midway through the fourth quarter. Henry ended up with 82 rushing yards on 19 carries and three receptions for 29 yards.

Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean had 10 tackles, including five solo. Linebacker Nolan Smith finished with eight tackles, including one for a loss, a sack and a QB hit. The Ravens' offense had averaged more then 30 points per game; the Eagles, even with injuries to their secondary, didn't let them crack 20.

"They've got a lot of weapons -- receivers and running backs you've got to worry about, two good backs, obviously the quarterback, a good offensive line," said Eagles middle linebacker Zack Baun, who led the team with 13 tackles, including eight solo and one for a loss, to go along with a half-sack and a QB hit. "Obviously just staying sound in our keys (was important). We knew it was going to be a tough, gritty game. That's what we made it, and that's what we like.

"Our identity is physical, and if you're going to challenge that, then we're going to show up and be more physical."

For a franchise that once didn't value linebackers, the Eagles are getting huge production from this corps. Even DeJean, who has the speed and agility at cornerback, hits like a linebacker. And in the trenches, on both sides of the ball, the Eagles are showing they stack up to anybody.

If Baltimore and Pittsburgh have been the standard for physicality, Philadelphia is setting a new standard this year.

* * *

NOTES >> With Sunday's eighth straight victory, Nick Sirianni became the fourth Eagles head coach with three consecutive 10-plus win seasons, joining Andy Reid, Buddy Ryan and Dick Vermeil. ... Since 2021, the Eagles have the second-best road winning percentage (.727) in the NFL, trailing only Kansas City (.742). ... This was the Eagles' first road win against the Ravens. ... Mann landed five punts inside the 20-yard line and two inside the 10.

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