The Philadelphia Eagles are winners of seven games in a row following their 37-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams on the road at SoFi Stadium.

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense caught fire in the second half, producing scoring drives on four consecutive possessions to end the game. This, while defense continued its string of strong performances, allowing 20 or fewer points in seven out of their last nine games. 

On the back of a record-breaking performance by Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia now moves to 9-2 on the season and is tied with Minnesota for the second-best record in the NFC. 

Here are five big picture takeaways from their convincing victory in Hollywood:

1.)  Saquon might actually have a chance at the MVP 

The addition of Saquon Barkley continues to pay massive dividends for this Eagles offense. Sunday night’s efforts that saw the star back accumulate over 300 yards from scrimmage, boosted by a pair of 70-yard touchdown runs. Barkley set both franchise and career highs with 255 yards on the ground. 

The success Barkley has had since his arrival in Philadelphia cannot be understated on either side. While Barkley has helped turn this Eagles offense into a perennial juggernaut, the first-year acquisition has also seen his production revitalized.

Through just 11 games, Barkley has already set a career high in rushing yards with 1,392, and with six weeks of football left to play, that number will only improve. Currently the NFL’s rushing leader (with Derrick Henry yet to play this week), Barkley is on pace for 2,151 rushing yards. This would break the NFL’s single-season mark held by Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, set in 1984. 

With such an impressive accomplishment potentially in reach, could there be a chance that Barkley could become the first non-quarterback to win the award since Adrian Peterson in 2012? Here is how the two currently match up.

While there have been a few players to come close, the Eagles haven’t had a player win the MVP award since Norm Van Brocklin in 1960. Whether Barkley ends the drought remains to be seen, but he is currently listed with the fourth-best odds to win following his massive performance.

2.) The decision to not acquire an EDGE at the deadline could become an issue

Prior to the NFL trade deadline, the expectation was that the Eagles would be buyers, particularly looking to acquire help along the EDGEs. After only accumulating just 6 sacks through four weeks to start the season, Philadelphia returned from the BYE a different team on the defensive end entirely, most notably along the defensive line. 

Boosted by a unit that has produced at least three sacks in five of its last eight games, including a five-sack performance last night against the Rams, Philadelphia had seemingly turned a corner in terms of how its defense should be viewed.

However, now with free agent acquisition Bryce Huff on the IR for the foreseeable future with a thumb injury and legendary pass rusher Brandon Graham out for the season with a torn tricep, Philadelphia could be in a bit of trouble. 

While the Eagles were able to avert crisis in terms of a potential Josh Sweat injury, who returned to the game after a brief absence. Depth along the outside of the defensive line has never been the strong suit of this Eagles team. Philadelphia will now rely on the continued emergence of Nolan Smith, while giving a more extensive look to 2024 third-round pick Jaylx Hunt, who tallied 24 snaps in yesterday’s win. 

It’s possible the Eagles could look to outside help.

3.) Fangio still has McVay’s number 

Initially it seemed as if Rams coach Sean McVay might have finally figured out the ghost of Vic Fangio that has haunted him for years. Through the first two drives of the game, the Rams offense was able to produce 123 yards on 14 plays that did not see a single third down. 

The next four drives for the Rams, however, resulted in three punts and a sack to end the half. The Eagles defense stifled a Rams offense that had scored 26+ points in three of their last four games. Particularly during the second quarter which saw the Rams produce -6 total yards of offense, through the tone of -1.7 yards per play. 

The Eagles held the Rams to 0-8 on third downs on the night, which brings their opponents conversion total over their last four games to an impressive 9-44. Philadelphia also held Matt Stafford to his lowest passing total since week six.

4.) Jalen Carter continues to shine 

With each passing week, Jalen Carter continues to show why he has the potential to be the league’s most dominant interior defensive lineman. 

Carter continued to add to his ironman streak after playing in every single snap last week versus the Commanders. He followed up that performance by playing in all but ten snaps last night versus the Rams, as the coaches finally allowed him to get a rest with the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. 

While watching Carter play 114 consecutive snaps dating back to week 10 is surely impressive, what’s even more impressive is his play during this time.

Per Next Gen Stats, Carter was double-teamed on 22 of his 35 pass rush reps, his second highest rate of the season. 

While Carter’s impact on the stat sheet was felt at a minimal level, the attention he faced allowed teammates such as Milton Williams to dominate their one-on-one matchups.

After not allowing a sack in three of their last four matchups, the Rams offensive line allowed five against Philadelphia.

5.) Maybe the Eagles are who we thought they were

Much has been made over the legitimacy of this Philadelphia Eagles team.

The world wanted to know if they were closer to the 2022 unit that finished just shy of a Super Bowl or the 2023 unit that faded into obscurity.

If you’re looking for a sense of satisfaction through the level of competition, the Eagles schedule up to this point probably doesn’t fit that narrative. If style of play is your preferred reasoning for why a team will succeed, this Eagles team is one of four teams that invested heavily in the running back position, and they are enjoying the fruits of their labor. 

So what sets this Eagles team apart if it isn’t style points or strength of schedule?

Coincidentally, it’s the same reason why the team was successful in 2022 and wasn’t in 2023.

Coaching. 

While it’s true Philadelphia arguably has the most talented roster in all of pro football, they proved last season that talent isn’t enough. In this league, talent wins you games, but coaching keeps you in them.

That specifically is what stands out about this coaching staff: adaptability.

Whether it’s the big things, like watching a team that was porous at tackling at the start of season and changing their practice habits to improve.

Or the simple things, like the team’s inability to score consistently in the first quarter of games with a -30 point differential in the first quarter, but a +127 point differential through quarters 2-4, thus noting the ability to change on the fly. 

At the start of the season, Sirianni referred to the hirings of Moore and Fangio as ‘home runs.’

While I’m sure he envisioned success, the level of success they’ve been able to reach up to this point has been extraordinary. 

Cover Image Credit: The Philly Blitz Media