The matchup between Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry was never meant to be a direct competition.
“It ain’t basketball. It ain’t like I go out there and tackle Derrick Henry,” Barkley said. “To be honest, I don’t know if I really want to tackle Derrick Henry.”
Luckily for Barkley, the Philadelphia Eagles have a whole team of defensive players focused on stopping Henry, and they did a good job of that on Sunday. They also contained Lamar Jackson in their 24-19 win over the Baltimore Ravens, which marked the Eagles’ eighth consecutive victory.
The much-anticipated running back battle between Barkley and Henry didn’t meet expectations. Barkley ended the game with 107 rushing yards, including a 25-yard touchdown with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter. Henry finished with 82 rushing yards and three catches for 29 yards.
Although Barkley may have edged ahead of Jackson in the MVP race, the Eagles’ defense stole the show. Coach Nick Sirianni’s response when asked how he felt his team matched Baltimore’s physicality showed the Eagles’ mentality:
“They had to match ours,” Sirianni said. “That was our message going in — that they got to match our physicality. Again, that’s a very physical team, that’s a well-coached team, that’s a team with a lot of good players. But yeah, I’d like that question rephrased a little bit.”
Justin Tucker’s struggles continued for Baltimore. The star kicker missed two field goals and an extra point, contributing to the Ravens’ loss. As a result, Baltimore (8-5) fell 1 1/2 games behind first-place Pittsburgh in the AFC North. The Eagles (10-2) recovered from an early 9-0 deficit with two touchdowns in the second quarter. Tucker made a 50-yard kick just before halftime, but the Ravens didn’t score again until the game’s final seconds.
“Couldn’t get any rhythm going,” said coach John Harbaugh. “In the second half, we really couldn’t finish.”
With the Ravens trailing 14-12, they had possession for most of the third quarter but couldn’t capitalize. Tucker missed field goals from 47 and 53 yards.
“We’re just going to rally around him,” said Baltimore safety Ar’Darius Washington. “We know he’s a great kicker. He’s probably the greatest of all time. Whatever he’s going through, we’re going to be there for him. He’s our guy.”
Barkley’s touchdown put the Eagles ahead 21-12, and a field goal extended the lead to 12. Jackson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely with 3 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough.
Jackson fell to 23-2 against the NFC as a starter, throwing for 237 yards and rushing for 79.
“The front just kept at it, that’s it. We didn’t keep a spy on him, we didn’t do anything extra,” said Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean.
This game featured the Ravens’ top-ranked offense against the Eagles’ number-one ranked defense. The Ravens took an early lead, helped by six Eagles penalties in the first quarter. Jackson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews to make it 9-0.
However, the second quarter was dominated by the Eagles. Jalen Hurts threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert and later scored on a 1-yard run, although he appeared to mishandle the snap before securing the ball and pushing it across the goal line.
