PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles have a clear path to the NFC East title. Whether they can ascend to the top spot in the conference is out of their control — and coach Nick Sirianni insists it's not his concern.
“We can’t control anything else that happens,” Sirianni said. “Our job is to control what we can control. That doesn’t make for good press, that doesn’t make for good stories. We’re boring.”
The Eagles (10-2) have won eight straight and established themselves as a Super Bowl contender — Sunday's impressive 24-19 win at Baltimore only reinforced that status — but the road to a second conference championship in three seasons would be tougher if they have to play away from home.
With five games left, Sirianni, Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley seem poised to keep the Eagles in the running for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage — but they need help.
The Eagles are one game behind Detroit (11-1). Next week, the Lions host the Green Bay Packers (9-3) while the Eagles return home to play the three-win Carolina Panthers.
Minnesota (10-2) is also in the mix for a top seed in the NFC. Beyond Green Bay, no other team in the conference has a better record than Washington (8-5).
The milestones are piling up for this Philadelphia team.
Sirianni — who weathered calls for his job in September — became the fourth Eagles coach with three straight 10-plus-win seasons.
Barkley has run his way into MVP contention. He had another 25-yard-plus touchdown run on Sunday, his fourth of the season. He tied the season franchise record with his eighth 100-yard game and he leads the league with 1,499 rushing yards, having extended his advantage over Baltimore's Derrick Henry on Sunday.
With another big game this weekend, Barkley could break LeSean McCoy's franchise record of 1,607 yards with four games left.
What’s working
The defensive line. Henry was held to 82 yards rushing along with three catches for 29 yards. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter tackled Zay Flowers for a loss on Baltimore's opening drive, forcing the Ravens to settle for a field goal. Carter also had a sack of Lamar Jackson right before the half. He has 4 1/2 sacks this season and played all but the final defensive snap on Sunday. Carter has helped shape the Eagles' line into one of the best in the league.
What needs help
Hurts had modest numbers against a leaky Baltimore pass defense. He was 11 of 19 for 118 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for a TD on yet another tush push.
Yes, Hurts is playing just fine — Sirianni even campaigned for MVP consideration for the QB, arguing that his value goes beyond statistics.
“You can’t say enough good things about how Jalen managed that four-minute” offense, Sirianni said. “You’ll say, ‘Well, game manager,’ That’s all BS. Jalen played an awesome game. His stats are going to say, ‘We didn’t throw it a lot.’ We were 11 of 19. He had 118 yards, but that guy made runs when he needed to make runs. He made good checks. He managed the game in a four-minute (offense) to take the clock down to use as much time as he can.”
Stock up
P Braden Mann. He had five punts downed inside the 20-yard line and twice pinned the Ravens inside the 10.
Stock down
Kelee Ringo. The special teams ace was flagged for a pair of penalties, including hitting a punt returner after a fair catch was signaled. Ringo ran out of bounds on another punt.
Injuries
The Eagles were without WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring). S Reed Blankenship left the game because of a concussion, WR Britain Covey left with a neck injury, and TE Dallas Goedert exited with a knee issue.
Key number
225 — The Eagles have held teams to fewer than 225 yards passing in eight consecutive games for the first time since a nine-game stretch in 1997.
Next steps
Home games. The Eagles start a stretch Sunday against Carolina where they play four of their final five games at the Linc.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
