Eagles, down to 3rd quarterback, bury Cowboys as Saquon Barkley breaks 2,000 yards
PHILADELPHIA − Tanner McKee made his NFL debut by replacing an injured Kenny Pickett, then played like the second coming of Dan Marino.
That wasn't even the Eagles' biggest storyline.
Neither was C.J. Gardner-Johnson's 2 interceptions, including a 69-yard return for a touchdown. Nor was the Eagles clinching the NFC East title for the second time in three seasons after demolishing the Dallas Cowboys 41-7 on Sunday.
Rather, it was Saquon Barkley, who had just 25 yards rushing with less than a minute left in the first half, ending up with 167 yards. That put him over 2,000 yards for the season. Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to surpass that mark.
At 2,005 yards, Barkley is 101 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson's record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Will Barkley get the chance in the season-finale this coming weekend against the Giants?
"I mean, it’s up to (head coach) Nick (Sirianni), to be honest," Barkley said. "And you know, whatever his decision is, I’m all for it. If his mindset is, we’ll go out there and try it, I’ll go out there and try it. But if his mindset is, let’s rest and get ready for this (playoff) run, then I’m all for that too."
Sirianni officially said "We'll see" when asked. But Sirianni might have already answered the question by pulling Barkley after his 23-yard run with 11:34 left in the game got him over 2,000.
At that point, Sirianni called timeout, allowing the fans to serenade Barkley with "MVP! MVP!" chants. Barkley's his teammates hugged him as Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run" blared over the loudspeakers.
"I didn't know I broke it on that run; I'm not going to lie," Barkley said. "But it was just special, the fact that going out there, you knew what you needed, and then it's like, in your mind, ‘Alright, damn, I want to get this.’
"But then when you look up, and you're in the huddle, and you got Lane (Johnson) saying, ‘Let's go get this for this mother effer.' You're like, 'Wow.'"
But the same question about how the Eagles handle the finale applies to Jalen Hurts, out with a concussion, and most of the other starters. The Eagles (13-3) were eliminated from getting the No. 1 seed and first-round bye in the NFC when Minnesota beat Green Bay later Sunday.
The Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed, meaning they'll host the No. 7 seed the weekend of Jan. 11-13 in the wildcard round.
Pickett re-injured his ribs when he was hit by Dallas' Micah Parsons in the third quarter while throwing a touchdown pass that was nullified by a holding penalty. Pickett came off the field and went to the locker room as McKee came on.
"I left it all out there," Pickett said. "I did everything I could to play today, stay in there as long as I could. I have no regrets or anything. Leaving the stadium, we got the win. That's all that matters. So it was a special day for everyone in there."
That included McKee, the Eagles' sixth-round pick in 2023 who had never gotten into a game in nearly two full seasons. His first play was a handoff to Barkley on 3rd-and-goal from the Cowboys' 17. Barkley got 9 yards, and Jake Elliott kicked a 26-yard for a 27-7 Eagles lead.
McKee then led a TD drive that began with his first NFL pass attempt and completion, a 9-yard pass to DeVonta Smith. He capped the drive with a 20-yard TD to A.J. Brown, who absent-mindedly threw the ball into the stands.
"I felt so bad because I threw it so far," Brown said. "I’m just glad we got it back."
McKee also threw a 25-yard TD to Smith, and went 3-for-4 for 54 yards. He had a passer rating of 156.2. A perfect rating is 158.3. Pickett was 10-for-15 for 143 yards and a touchdown.
In all, the Eagles backup quarterbacks went 13-for-19 for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns for a passer rating of 141.9 They accounted for 34 of the Eagles' 41 points.
"Jalen Hurts is a special football player," Sirianni said. "But to be able to win in a scenario where you're a man down, whether it's Jalen or whether it's (linebacker) Nakobe (Dean), it takes everybody. We talked about that (Saturday) night."
And yes, that included the defense, as the Eagles forced 4 turnovers, one week after forcing 5 in a 36-33 loss to the Commanders.
That began early when Gardner-Johnson stepped in front of Cooper Rush's pass intended for Brandin Cooks. Gardner-Johnson returned it 69 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring.
But the Eagles offense had trouble getting going as the Cowboys tied the game on Jalen Tolbert's 4-yard TD catch. Dallas outgained the Eagles 117-14 in the first quarter, keying in on Barkley without having to worry about Hurts as a running threat.
The Eagles had a 17-7 lead on Elliott's 31-yard field goal with 1:55 left. Then Gardner-Johnson's second interception set up the Eagles at their 35 with 36 seconds left.
Barkley gained 15 yards on the first play. Then Pickett hit Smith for 49 yards down to the Cowboys' 1 with 13 seconds left. Pickett was then stopped on a tush push with 2 seconds left. He tried again on second down and got in.
Soon after, Barkley wore down the Cowboys, and the Eagles' celebration for winning the NFC East, not to mention Barkley's milestone, was well under way.
But Barkley knows there's still so much more to go, even though it's his first time on a division winner after six seasons with the Giants.
"At the end of the day, you're not getting remembered for being a 2024 NFC East division champ," Barkley said. "I'm happy. It’s my first hat and T-shirt game. I didn't even know that was a thing, to be honest.
"So I'm happy to be part of that, and we did it as a team. But we all know what the goal is."
And it's not Dickerson's record.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.