Saquon Barkley Shines with 255 Yards, but Eagles Secure the Victory

Inglewood, California -- Saquon Barkley scored 70 and 72-yard touchdowns in the second half and ended with 255 yards rushing to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to their seventh consecutive victory, 37-20 over the Los Angeles Rams, on Sunday night.

 

Barkley rushed for the eighth most yards in a game in NFL history, thanks largely to two massive touchdown runs that bookended the second half. He rushed for a 70-yard touchdown on the first snap of the third quarter and added another monster run up the middle with 2:44 remaining. 

Barkley had 302 total yards and became the first NFL player to score two 70-yard touchdown runs in a single game since Maurice Jones-Drew in 2009. Barkley leads the league in rushing with 1,392 yards, including a league-high seven 100-yard rushing games in his explosive rookie season with Philadelphia.

 

Barkley broke LeSean McCoy's franchise record of 217 yards rushing in a 2013 game, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. He also had the most rushing yards against the Rams, surpassing DeMarco Murray's 253 yards for Dallas in 2011. 

A.J. Brown grabbed six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown from Jalen Hurts, who threw for 179 yards, as NFC East-leading Philadelphia (9-2) pulled away with a 24-point second half.

 

The Eagles are 4-0 versus the Rams in the Los Angeles area since returning home, but they led only 13-7 at halftime despite dominating both sides of the ball in the second quarter.

 

Barkley started the third quarter by cutting clear through L.A.'s defense and down the Eagles' sideline for his ninth running touchdown. It was the second-longest streak in the veteran Giants' seven-year career. 

The Rams (5-6) dropped their second consecutive home game, with Kyren Williams rushing for a touchdown and Demarcus Robinson catching a touchdown pass.

 

Matthew Stafford passed for 243 yards while being sacked five times by Philadelphia's top-ranked defense, and Los Angeles could not stay up with a Super Bowl contender in the second half, suffering its second loss in six games. Puka Nacua had nine receptions for 117 yards, and Cooper Kupp caught a 27-yard touchdown throw with 1:07 remaining. 

Barkley had only 73 yards rushing in the first half for Philadelphia, which led 13-7 after Hurts hit Brown for a 6-yard touchdown with 1:27 left on a play that was initially declared incomplete but was overturned by video review.

 

Barkley's third-quarter run up the middle opened up the game and the Rams' defense. Los Angeles responded with Robinson's short touchdown reception, his sixth of the season, but Kenneth Gainwell raced for a 13-yard touchdown seconds later, one play after Barkley's 31-yard catch-and-run on third and long. 

The Eagles kept Barkley in the game late with a comfortable lead, seemingly in an attempt to better his previous career high of 189 yards rushing -- and he found another big hole in the middle of Los Angeles' defense, dashing away for another touchdown.