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Philadelphia Eagles
Sep 12, 2025 12:08 PM EDT
The Philadelphia Eagles’ first win of the NFL season came against their NFC East rival, the Dallas Cowboys, on opening night in what was a 24–20 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.
The game itself was filled with drama, from Jalen Carter’s pre-game ejection to a late-game weather delay that lasted over an hour.
However, a quieter moment off the field has now emerged between two of the team’s biggest stars.
According to PHLY Sports’ EJ Smith, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley recently had a conversation with quarterback Jalen Hurts centered around his first year in Philly and comparing it to his rookie year with the New York Giants.
“Obviously you want to get All-Pros and you want to get Super Bowls and you want to get to the Hall of Fame,” Barkley said. “You want to have those statistics, you want to have those numbers, that’s the human in you, but at the end of the day, I had two seasons where I had 2,000 [scrimmage] yards and 15 [total] touchdowns. One was my rookie year and one was here, and it looked really different. And I’d take last year over my rookie year every single time.”
“It’s all about winning. The numbers don’t really matter,” Barkley added.
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The exchange comes on the heels of Barkley’s historic debut season in Philadelphia, where he rushed for 2,005 yards and added 278 receiving yards for a total of 2,283 scrimmage yards, ranking first in the NFL.
He scored 15 total touchdowns, was named Offensive Player of the Year and more importantly, helped lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, becoming just the second running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards and win a Super Bowl in the same season.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. — Source: © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Eagles now turn their attention to a Week 2 showdown against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl.
Kansas City is coming off a 27–21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil, a game in which they struggled with penalties (10-71) and red zone efficiency, going just 1-of-3 from the red zone and 5-of-14 on third downs.
Philadelphia (-120) enters the game as slight favorites (-1.5), with the total set at 46.5 points, per ESPN BET.
Look for injuries to play a role, however, as Chiefs wide receivers Xavier Worthy (shoulder) and Rashee Rice (suspension) are both unavailable, while the Eagles will be without FB Ben VanSumeren (knee) and possibly LG Landon Dickerson (back) and RB Will Shipley (rib).
About the author
Trending News Writer, Athlon Sports
Rowan Fisher-Shotton is a contributing writer to the Athlon Sports trending and breaking news team.