The NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles extended their winning streak to nine games Sunday, picking up a 22-16 win in a back-and-forth contest against the visiting Carolina Panthers.
The Eagles’ rode NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley heavily to the tune of 124 yards on a record-setting day. In the fourth quarter, he surpassed LeSean McCoy for the franchise record for most rushing yards in a single season.
The moment history was made.
The Eagles single-season rushing yards record belongs to Saquon Barkley. @saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/3DDRTLlB2x— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 8, 2024
But despite Barkley’s strong play and Jalen Hurts’ three-touchdown day, the improved-looking Panthers never slipped out of contention. After Bryce Young threw a first-quarter touchdown and orchestrated long touchdown drives in the second and third quarters, he had one last chance in the final minutes of the fourth to drive Carolina down the field for the win.
Starting from the Carolina 3-yard-line, Young moved the Panthers into scoring position and nearly connected with Xavier Legette on a long go-ahead touchdown in the final minute. But after that pass was dropped, the Panthers went on to turn the ball over on downs, preserving the Eagles win as they improved to 11-2.
Barkley sets Eagles records
Barkley broke McCoy’s single-season rushing record of 1,607 yards set in 2013. He also broke Wilbert Montgomery’s record for most 100-yard games in a single season. Barkley now has nine.
The MVP candidate is continuing an all-time campaign. The Eagles don’t win this game without him. Trailing 16-14 in the fourth quarter, Barkley rushed for 28 yards on three attempts. Hurts salvaged a third-and-10 situation by scrambling for 35 yards to the Carolina 9. Hurts then hit Calcaterra for the go-ahead, 4-yard touchdown pass. — Brooks Kubena, Eagles beat writer
Grant Calcaterra’s first career TD gives Philly the lead #FlyEaglesFly
📺: #CARvsPHI on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/bN5EO8Ki18— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2024
Philadelphia defense gets stop late
This is a game the Eagles nearly lost. Up 22-16 with 3:05 left in the game, Nick Sirianni passed on a 55-yard field goal attempt, took a delay of game and chose to punt. The punt was downed at the Carolina 3. Jake Elliott’s career-long was 61. But he missed a 52-yard attempt wide right during the third quarter. He’s 0-for-5 on attempts of 50-plus yards in 2024.
Sirianni has been reluctant to say he’s lost any confidence in Elliott. But at the very least, Sirianni trusted his defense more in that scenario. They nearly forced the Panthers off the field swiftly. But Young completed a third-and-11 pass to Legette for 31 yards, which reached the Carolina 33. — Kubena
Last-minute drive falls short for Panthers
The Panthers have to be getting tired of the close-but-not-enough bit. For the third consecutive week, Young led a valiant, last-minute drive only for the Panthers to fall short. Young threw a perfect ball to Legette in the final minute that should have been a 32-yard touchdown. But the first-round pick couldn’t hold on to the ball as he hit the ground, and the Panthers’ comeback hopes stalled after two more incompletions.
Carolina has now lost three in a row by 12 points to Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, all of whom could be in the playoffs. — Joe Person, Panthers beat writer
Eagles secondary makes plays in key moments
This is the most trouble an opposing offense has given the Eagles secondary in some time.
The box score doesn’t quite show that. But Adam Thielen caught nine passes for 102 yards, often in critical scenarios. Thielen caught a fourth-and-7 pass for 13 yards to continue the final drive. David Moore also caught a third-and-1 pass while in man coverage against Darius Slay on an eventual touchdown drive earlier in the game. C.J. Gardner-Johnson delivered the difference-making play with an interception just before halftime. Slay ended the game with a fourth-down deflection against Thielen. — Kubena
Panthers lose Brooks to knee injury
It was a tough day for Panthers’ running backs. Rookie Jonathon Brooks left with a right knee injury after going down for a 3-yard loss in the first quarter on a non-contact play. The second-round pick from Texas made his NFL last month after recovering from ACL surgery on the same knee after tearing it late during his final season at Texas.
Brooks’ injury — along with the chest injury sustained by third-teamer Raheem Blackshear — left Chuba Hubbard as the only healthy running back for the final three quarters. — Person
Required reading
(Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
