As Saquon Barkley explained the emotions he felt after his record run ended this week, he was asked about winning the rushing title in 2024.

Not so fast.

“I have to be careful what I say because Derrick (Henry) can still understand that, you know what I mean?” Barkley said. “He’s a special player and you can’t count on him for anything.”

It’s clear Barkley has a lot of respect for Baltimore’s Derrick Henry, who enters Week 18 with 1,783 rushing yards. Henry is 222 yards from Barkley, so it’s obviously a long shot as the Ravens prepare to play the Browns, but Barkley isn’t counting Henry out.

Barkley actually spoke to Henry on Wednesday. Two of the NFL’s best running backs have grown close. They cheered each other on in free agency this offseason as they moved on from their former teams, and they also cheered each other on during this historic season.

When it was pointed out to Barkley, who reached 2,000 rushing yards this season last week, that the first eight members of the 2K Club have not reached that mark, he was quick to mention King Henry.

Henry finished 2020 with 2,027 yards with the Titans and this is now the second-best season of his incredible career.

“Derrick Henry could do it,” Barkley said.

Then it was mentioned that Henry was 217 yards shy of 2,000 yards in the 2024 season.

“I’m not going to lie, I knew that number,” Barkley said. “I spoke to him today. He talked to me to see if I would get (the record). Apparently the news got out that I was sitting. I told him you could do something special too. Be the first to do it twice. You never know.”

Take a paw up there

Jalen Carter has the ability to ruin games. You can see him hitting double teams, punting in the backfield, hitting quarterbacks and taking out running backs. All the things that get recognition.

But there’s another thing Carter has been exceptionally good at in 2024.

He knocks off passes at a really high rate. After not having a single pass breakup as a rookie in 2023, Carter has intercepted six passes this season. He scored his sixth goal on Sunday against the Cowboys and he almost shot the ball into the arms of his teammate Nolan Smith.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said some players’ abilities are simply “innate.”

“Yes, he has a knack for it,” Fangio said. “It usually is. Some guys have a knack for it. He seems to have a knack for it. It was good.”

Carter has his own theory about why he’s so good at the hit pass.

“I think it comes from when I played offense in high school,” he said. “I’m used to running routes, making little plays in the middle and catching the ball like that. If I hurry up and see that it’s not going to be a rush where I can get a sack or something, I can usually see a quarterback’s eyes and see where someone is coming behind me and I can put my hand up.”

Carter’s six batted passes rank second among defensive tackles in the NFL this season, behind only Cameron Hayward, who has batted eight. And that’s the most passes batted by any Eagles DT since at least 1999.

Trevor Laws had five passes batted in 2010, Darwin Walker had 5 in 2003 and Fletcher Cox had the most batted passes Fletcher Cox has ever had in a season in his rookie season in 2012. Carter has more batted passes this year than the rest of the Eagles’ DTs combined: Jordan Davis (2), Thomas Booker (1), Milton Williams (1).

Chance for Tanner

You’ll hear a lot of people calling Sunday’s Week 18 game against the Giants “meaningless.” And from a playoff seeding perspective, it is.

But this game is significant for the reserve Eagles, who will get a rare chance to showcase their skills in a regular-season game. The top pick on this list is third-string quarterback Tanner McKee, who will be making his first NFL start.

“This is my chance to play a lot of snaps and reps and go out there and show what I’ve been working on all year,” McKee said. “Obviously I put in a lot of work on the practice field and things like that. I feel like I can show that and I’m really excited about the opportunity.”

The Eagles drafted McKee in the sixth round out of Stanford last season and have been developing him ever since. Last week against the Cowboys, McKee made his NFL debut as a replacement for the injured Kenny Pickett and played well. McKee completed 3 of 4 passes for 54 yards and 2 touchdowns. His only incompletion was a great ball to AJ Brown in the end zone, but Brown was unable to keep his feet in the field.

McKee, 24, said this is a great opportunity to show his team and the rest of the league what he can do. It’s also a chance for a big confidence boost.

Even though McKee barely played all year, he believes he has improved as a quarterback.

“I almost feel like I’ve had another season with the offense, I just feel more comfortable,” he said. “Everything happens by itself, with different controls or where your eyes should be. Just not thinking as much, seeing the defense, spooking guys or just being able to confirm things with your eyes a little quicker.”

Harnessing Sydney Brown’s aggression

Since the first game last Sunday against the Cowboys, Eagles second-year safety/special teamer Sydney Brown has not been afraid to take on the opponent in a heated game.

Finally, Brown was sent off in the fourth quarter for physically knocking down a Cowboys player in the tunnel after two Cowboys chased him.

“It’s unfortunate that there was a fight at the end, but this is just a learning experience for Sydney,” Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay said. “When the whistle blows, it won’t put anyone in a difficult situation in the future. When you have a guy like Sydney Brown, you’re not going to take away his tenacity. You have to learn to sharpen those emotions after the play is over, just so you don’t put anyone in a bad position.”

The week before, starting safety CJ Gardner-Johnson was ejected against the Commanders. And you can also use Jalen Carter as a defensive player who regularly plays up to the line of aggression (and sometimes even slightly above it).

It’s about finding that balance. But Clay certainly appreciates the edge and emotion Brown brings to special teams.

“Sydney can do it from a physical perspective, especially from the outside,” Clay said. “So he brings a head start. You always want your boys to support each other. I think they do a good job on special teams supporting each other and trying to get out of the blunders and make sure we don’t lose anyone in the future.”

Talent development in the NFL

Nick Sirianni always talks about the post-practice development phases the Eagles follow for their younger players. As they prepare to play a game that will feature a lot of these guys, he was asked more about these developmental stages.

Sirianni said Frank Reich had similar practice times in Indianapolis when Sirianni was offensive coordinator and the Eagles had done the same before his arrival. So it was a no-brainer to keep doing it.

Sirianni explained why on Friday.

“It’s just so important,” Sirianni said. “If you’re on the scout team and you’re not getting a lot of reps with the starters, then you’re not reproducing your plays, right? You do what it says on a card. It’s a lot different to make a play when you hear it in the huddle and have to process it and execute it, one of our plays, than when you look at a card and say, ‘Do this.’ It’s just different. We have to try to enable them to develop further.”

While Sirianni said he didn’t want to reveal all the talent development methods, he did share one more detail. On Friday or Saturday – it’s up to the position coach – these scout team players have an additional meeting to discuss their practice reps. The Eagles always have to prepare their starters for the game, but they also want to continue to bring their backups with them.

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