The Philadelphia Eagles survived the three-win Carolina Panthers in Week 14 to improve to 11-2. This was the ninth straight win for the Eagles who clinched their fourth consecutive playoff appearance with the win on Sunday.
The Panthers are one of the worst teams in the National Football League in 2024, but they’ve played close games since Week 9, including a two-game win streak before their Week 11 bye. They lost by three points to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 and again by three points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime in Week 13.
It was an ugly performance by the Eagles, particularly by Jalen Hurts and the passing game. A win is a win, and that’s all that matters at this point in the season. Here are four takeaways from the Eagles’ narrow Week 14 22-16 win:
Saquon Barkley is having a phenomenal season in his first year with the Eagles. The 27-year-old back is the NFL’s leading rusher through Week 14 with 1,623 yards. He leads the league in attempts, yards per carry, rushing yards per game, touches, and scrimmage yards.
The Eagles offense as a whole disappointed in Week 14, but Barkley found success yet again. He rushed for 124 yards on 20 carries against a poor Panthers rushing defense. Barkley set the Eagles’ single-season franchise record for most rushing yards, previously held by legend LeSean McCoy. McCoy set the previous record in 2013 with 1,607 rushing yards.
Barkley needs 377 rushing yards to eclipse 2,000 yards this season and would be the ninth running back in NFL history to do so. He needs 483 rushing yards to break Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson’s NFL record for most in a season, set in 1984. Barkley has games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants to attempt history.
Hurts didn’t have much success in the passing game against the Panthers, but the dual-threat quarterback made history in the Week 14 win. Hurts scored on a tush push touchdown early in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead. This was his 13th rushing touchdown of the season.
Hurts became the seventh player in NFL history and the first since Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson to rush for 13 or more touchdowns in three consecutive seasons. He is the first quarterback to accomplish the feat. He’s two rushing touchdowns away from becoming the first quarterback to have consecutive 15 or more rushing touchdown seasons and the first player since Derrick Henry to do so (2019-2020).
The Panthers were among the league’s worst overall defenses through Week 13, including a lackluster passing defense. Hurts finished the game 14/21 for 108 yards and two touchdowns through the air. A.J. Brown was the team’s leading receiver with 43 yards on four catches. The longest passing play came from a 27-yard completion to DeVonta Smith.
It was a down game from an explosive offense. The Eagles’ star receivers, Brown and Smith, shared their frustration with the passing offense after the game. It’s just one game, but the Eagles can’t make this a trend come playoff time.
Eagles kicker Jake Elliott missed a 52-yard field goal early in the third quarter. The Eagles had a 14-10 lead at the time, and the Panthers would take a 16-14 lead on the following drive after a Chuba Hubbard touchdown run. Elliott was 0/1 on field goal attempts and made both of his extra points.
Elliott turned into one of the top kickers in the NFL over the last few years. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2021 and had a career-high 93.8 field goal percentage in 2023. Elliott is 18/24 on field goal attempts in 2024, the second-lowest rate of his eight-year career. He’s a perfect 13/13 on attempts under 40 yards, but he’s 0/5 on field goal attempts over 50 yards. He has also missed one extra-point attempt this year.
Elliott is an Eagles captain and has been a fan favorite over the years. However, no job is safe in the NFL, and if he doesn’t fix his kicking woes, he could be out of a job in Philadelphia.
Every team has a bad game from time to time throughout an NFL season. It’s all about finding ways to win football games, especially late in the season. The Eagles found a way to beat the Panthers and extend their win streak in Week 14.
Philadelphia faces the AFC North-leading Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 15 in what should be a physical matchup. They’ll face the eight-win Commanders on the road in Week 16 before heading home to close out the regular season against their divisional foes, the Cowboys and Giants.
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