Behind Enemy Lines: An Eagles perspective as Rams prepare for a Week 12 showdown

Behind Enemy Lines: Jalen Hurts/Saquon Barkley - dynamic Eagles duo

(1) Ramblin Fan: The national media has not consistently been kind to Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts. If he has success, they have a rational reason to discount his performance. If he struggles, the media seems to relish the "gotcha!" opportunity. How do you, and Eagles fans overall, grade his 2024 season performance? Is he truly capable of leading the team to a Super Bowl victory?

Philadelphia Sports Table podcast host Jeff Warren:

While Jalen Hurts has some ridiculous detractors, he's a top-10 quarterback in the NFL hands down. 
While his game has altered and developed over the years, many Eagles fans have come to realize that he's a quarterback the Eagles can win games "with" and not "because of" in terms of his skills.   This Eagles team has weapons on offense where Hurts doesn't have to do it all.  One of the intangibles Hurts brings to the equation is his demeanor and ability to not let broken plays or bad decisions snowball. 

He's cool, calm, and collected, which is one of the many reasons why he is 42-19 in his career as a starting quarterback.  He can absolutely lead this Eagles team to a Super Bowl as he has done in the past.  I would grade his 2024 season performance thus far a B+.

(2) Ramblin Fan: The addition of RB Saquon Barkley has been far better than advertised this season. He trails league-leading RB Derrick Henry by only 48 yards, despite playing one less game. But do the Eagles depend too heavily on Barkley? That is if he needs to sit out from injury or workload management, do the Eagles have a backup runner who could surprise fans? If so, who might that be?

Philadelphia Sports Table podcast host Jeff Warren:

The Eagles have shown the league that they are now a run-first offense because of the skill set Saquon Barkley brings to the field.  By signing Barkley, they invested heavily in the running back position, something they haven't done in some time.  Expect to continue seeing Saquon Barkley being the centerpiece of the Eagles' offense since he's averaging 5.8 YPC. 

That said, should an injury arise, the Eagles offensive scheming would need to change as Kenneth Gainwell and rookie Will Shipley would not be able to produce as high a level as Barkley does.  In that scenario, more weight would be placed on Hurts' shoulders and the passing game.