The Eagles OL wears you down and Saquon beats you down. Originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

BALTIMORE – The Eagles offensive line wears you down. And then Saquon Barkley knocks you out.

That’s the formula.

It’s been the formula for the Eagles since the bye week. It was her formula against whoever was on her schedule. And it was their recipe for success again on Sunday afternoon with a 24-19 win over a Ravens defense that came into the game ranked No. 1 against the run.

“You have Saquon back there to make you look better than you maybe are,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “We stuck to it consistently. Some of these small runs turned into big wins and breakthrough successes. It wasn’t pretty at all. We knew it would be difficult to get here.”

At the end of Sunday’s game, the Eagles had rushed for 141 yards against a Ravens team that hadn’t allowed more than 125 yards on the ground all season. And Barkley finished the game with 107 yards. Not quite the 255 he had last week, but pretty darn impressive.

Not only is Barkley the first 100-yard rusher against the Ravens this year, but the second-closest individual against Baltimore in 2024 was Najee Harris with 63 yards in Week 11.

Barkley had 63 yards rushing in the fourth quarter on Sunday.

And his 25-yard touchdown run was the knockout blow everyone was waiting for.

“Late in the game we tell him, ‘Come on, put your cape on.’ Put on your cloak. Hurry up. “Let him out,” AJ Brown said. “He did exactly that.”

On that 25-yard touchdown run, Jordan Mailata’s pull block got things started, and then Jahan Dotson and Parris Campbell blocked downfield to help Barkley find his way into the end zone. It was similar to watching Brown and Britain Covey block a long touchdown run in the LA game last week.

Before that drive, the Eagles had two 3-and-outs early in the second half. But they covered 71 yards in 7 plays and extended the lead to 21-12 in the fourth quarter.

“It was a great decision,” Barkley said of the touchdown run. “We have an incredible offensive line. I think week after week you can see that. Especially our tackles, their ability to move and how big they are and being able to move at that size… I kind of saw the look and just trusted that he was going to make the block , and I just walked through it. As quickly as I could, practically with my eyes closed, I got to the open field. Jahan and Parris did a really good job running away from the DB to create space for me to get to the end zone.”

And then on the next drive, the Eagles were able to use 11 plays to gain 25 yards with 5:08 left to play, making a comeback nearly impossible. Those moments when everyone in the stadium knows how to run are fun for an offensive line because it’s just a chance to impose their will.

The Eagles are really good at that right now.

“I really appreciate how our O-line played in those moments and how (Barkley) was persistent in getting downhill and somehow finishing,” Jalen Hurts said. “I see him making a big impact on our team in those moments this year, especially when you have to lean on him at the end of games when we are ahead.”

Barkley continues to lead the NFL in fourth quarter rushing with 481 yards.

And Barkley has now passed for over 100 yards in 8 of 12 games this season. He has already accumulated 1,499 rushing yards, which leads the league and is already third on the Eagles’ all-time list behind LeSean McCoy in 2013 (1,607) and Wilbert Montgomery in 1979 (1,512).

After 12 games, Barkley is still on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s NFL rushing record set in 1984.

So it was no surprise to hear “MVP!” Chants from Eagles fans making their way to Baltimore.

“I appreciate the MVP chants. It’s great,” Barkley said. “But at the end of the day the most important thing is to win football games. And I was so locked in, so focused. And my preparation, the way I work throughout the week, and there’s a reason why I get these chants.

“If I continue to take care of it, we will see what happens after the season. But at the end of the day, we just have to keep getting wins and put ourselves in a position to go deep into the playoffs.”

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