Eagles counting on Barkley as difference maker in Super Bowl rematch

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni are ready for a Super Bowl rematch with Patrick Mahomes and former Eagles coach Andy Reid.

Two years after the Kansas City Chiefs knocked off the Eagles in the Super Bowl — and won another last season — the teams will play again on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.

The difference in the outcome this year just might be Philadelphia's addition of 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley. Barkley has turned the Eagles' run game from a concern for the opposition through the last decade to a downright fear. Fear that Barkley can score from anywhere. Fear that Barkley can shift momentum at any time.

Just look at how he bookended the last two playoff games — a 60-yard TD run on the Eagles' first offensive play in the NFC championship game against Washington and a 78-yard TD in the snow that was the final exclamation point in a victory over against the Los Angeles Rams the previous week.

Hurts now has a weapon out of the backfield to run wild against the Chiefs.

Even with Barkley, the Chiefs are early 1 1/2-point favorites to win the Super Bowl, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

Hurts delivered a record performance in the Super Bowl, throwing for 304 yards against Kansas City and a touchdown, running for 70 yards and three scores, and adding a game-tying 2-point conversion.

Hurts joked after Sunday's NFC title clincher that Sirianni had “let me out of my straitjacket” after he threw for 246 yards and a touchdown and ran for three scores following weeks of modest passing numbers. Hurts developed a reputation this season as more of a game manager, the kind of QB not necessarily asked to make big winning plays, while not losing the game.

Sirianni scoffed at the idea that Hurts, who tweaked his left knee during the divisional round and suffered a concussion in late December, is anything but the dynamic dual threat that can lead the Eagles to their second Super Bowl championship.

“It’s amazing how much doubt there is sometimes. I can’t quite comprehend it because it doesn’t look like what people think it should look like,” Sirianni said. “But the guy has been clutch. He’s won a ton of football games. ‘But you ran for this many yards.’ We don’t care how we win. We don’t care. If we rush for 300 and pass for one and we win, great. If we rush for one and pass for 300, great. Who cares?”

What’s working

No pressure, but all the Eagles need to do to win a Super Bowl is play with total team domination, just as they did against the Commanders.

A.J. Brown had 96 yards receiving and a touchdown catch. Dallas Goedert had seven catches for 85 yards and both receivers had key blocks in Barkley’s 60-yard run for a score on the opening drive. All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun led the Eagles with 12 tackles. The Eagles' defense forced four turnovers and scored 21 points off three fumble recoveries.

What needs help

Winning the big one.

After the Eagles lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Sirianni said, “We use this pain, we use this failure to motivate us so we can make it a strength."

The Eagles found another source of motivation for this season — last season's epic collapse, going from a 10-1 start to a 1-5 finish and a loss in the wild-card round.

“It’s been the story of the 2023 to the 2024 Eagles. As bad of a feeling we had about how last year ended, I think it makes you who you are,” Sirianni said Sunday.

Can the Eagles finally tap into the failure fuel and join the 2017 Eagles as the only ones in franchise history to win a Super Bowl?

Stock up

Barkley is just 30 yards shy of breaking Terrell Davis’ mark of 2,476 total yards rushing set in the 1998 season when the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl.

“A lot of these things come down to how you finish. And I think being able to lean on him when we’re trying to bring things home, I think that’s a huge impact he’s made for us,” Hurts said.

Barkley could have a triple threat of reasons to celebrate in New Orleans. He could knock Davis out of the top spot in the rushing record book, the Eagles could win the Super Bowl and he turns 28 on Feb. 9.

The Chiefs have allowed 296 total yards rushing in two playoff games.

Stock down

The Eagles played their most complete game of the season and the 55 points were the most any team has scored in a conference championship game since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger. But it could have been 58.

As he has been for much of the season, Jake Elliott remains perhaps the top concern for the Eagles. He did make all of his extra points for the first time in three playoff games. But he was wide right on a 54-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, and long distance kicks remain an issue. Elliott's counterpart, Kansas City's Harrison Butker, made a 54-yarder in last year's Super Bowl.

Can the Eagles trust Elliott from way downtown with a championship on the line?

Injuries

Eagles offensive linemen Cam Jurgens (back) and Landon Dickerson (knee) both played one half of the game with injuries while 36-year-old defensive end Brandon Graham, who has been out since Nov. 24 when he tore his triceps, has hinted all season that he might be able to return for the Super Bowl. “We'll see,” he said Sunday. Running back Kenneth Gainwell was evaluated for a concussion.

Key number

3 — The Eagles are one of three NFL teams with four Super Bowl berths since 2004, joining New England (seven) and Kansas City (four) during that stretch. Sirianni is the third head coach to reach multiple Super Bowls in his first four career seasons, joining Joe Gibbs (1982, ’83) and Mike Tomlin (2008, ’10).

Next steps

Most sports fans remember the Super Bowl matchup between the two teams. The Eagles, though, won the most recent meeting in November 2023. Hurts scored a go-ahead tush-push in the fourth quarter that allowed the Eagles to walk away with a 21-17 victory. Mahomes was held to 177 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception in the end zone.

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