Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni gives locker room reality check despite 37-20 SNF win over Rams - “We haven’t done s—t”
The Philadelphia Eagles are on a roll. Jalen Hurts' team has won seven straight games, flying from 2-2 to a 9-2 record and boasting a strong lead in the NFC East. Their most recent win was in a primetime game, as they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 37-20 in Week 12's Sunday Night Football.
The Eagles are still looking to grab the first seed in the NFC, but the Detroit Lions are holding strong with a 10-1 record. Philadelphia's improvement since the start of the season is clear, but having lost the Super Bowl two seasons ago, they know the road is still long.
That was the message preached by head coach Nick Sirianni in the locker room following Sunday's win. Sirianni told his players to keep their heads down: the media would vindicate their quality, but there was still a long way to go to reach their goals:
"Listen, I want to keep it at this. Everybody watched that game. Everyone’s calling you and telling you how f—king good you are. We haven’t done s**t. Put your head down and work. It’s the work that got us here. You guys have been working your ass off and it’s the work that goes here."
Philadelphia is now two-and-a-half games above the Washington Commanders in the NFC East fight following the Commanders' 34-26 upset loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. It is also three games above the Atlanta Falcons, the current third seed in the conference.
Eagles' Saquon Barkley broke many records during SNF win over Rams
The most impressive aspect of Philadelphia's win on Sunday came from running back Saquon Barkley, who signed with the team in free agency after spending six years with their division rivals, the New York Giants.
Barkley amassed 255 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 26 carries during the game. This was the ninth-most rushing yards in a single game in NFL history. It was a career-high, and his 302 scrimmage yards were also a record for the Eagles' franchise.
With 1.392 yards this season, Barkley is averaging 126.5 yards per game. If he maintains this pace for the final six games, he would finish the year with 2,151 rushing yards, breaking the historical record of most rushing yards in a season (2,105) from Eric Dickerson in 1984.