Philadelphia Eagles

Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons hyped up fellow running back Saquon Barkley as he dominated in the Philadelphia Eagles' divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Barkley, who has had a standout season, rushed for 205 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Eagles' 28-22 victory.

Robinson is a close friend of Barkley, so the words of encouragement came as no surprise.

"Saquon is definitely one of my close friends, even mentor type guys and I'm super excited to get to go out there and watch him play, obviously I don't want him to do nothing special against us," Robinson told reporters earlier this season. "I definitely can't wait to get to talk to him before the game and then this is my first time competing against him so it's going to be a fun game to get to match up against him."

This isn't the first time Robinson has hyped up his fellow running back. After Barkley's incredible backward hurdle against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Robinson shared his reaction to the play on The Rich Eisen Show.

"When he did that, I was watching it, and at first I was like, 'Ain't no way that just happened," Roinson told Eisen. "I was like, 'That couldn't have happened. He didn't jump over him. He probably jumped on the side of him'... But then when I saw the replay, and he jumped completely over him, I was like, 'Yeah, I gotta try this.'"

Robinson and the Falcons failed to make the post season, finishing 8-9 alongside Robinson's 1,456 total yards and 14 touchdowns on 304 carries.

In Barkley's seventh year in the league, he is averaging a career-high 125.3 rushing yards per game, surpassing his previous best by 43.3 yards. He is also setting a career high with 345 carries, leading the league and has totaled 2,005 yards, also leading the league.

With the No. 2 Eagles' playoff win, largely thanks to Barkley, they advanced to the NFC Conference Championship to face the No. 6 Washington Commanders.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said Friday that he intends to speak with Eagles legend LeSean McCoy about playing in the snow.

According to NFL.com's Bobby Kownack, Barkley revealed his intention to reporters, saying: "Definitely going to call Shady just in case we do get some snow. See what he did because it don't make sense how he was able to cut in that snow. You could just see he was on a whole different level."

The Eagles are set to host the Los Angeles Rams Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs, and weather may be a major factor.

Per AccuWeather, the forecast is calling for between three and six inches of snow Sunday in Philly, which will perhaps place an even greater emphasis on the running game for both teams.

Kownack noted that McCoy set a then-Eagles record of 217 rushing yards in a single game against the Detroit Lions in 2013, and he did so in snowy conditions.

Barkley, who is in the midst of his first season with the Eagles, enjoyed a dominant 2024 campaign, becoming the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 or more yards.

Included in that total was an Eagles single-game record 255 yards in Week 12 against the Rams. Barkley also set the team record with 302 yards from scrimmage in that game, plus he had a pair of 70-plus-yard touchdowns.

The Eagles already have the advantage if running the ball is going to be the biggest key to offensive success on Sunday, but it can't hurt for Barkley to get some tips from McCoy, who is the franchise's all-time rushing leader with 6,792 yards.

While weather can be an equalizer or separator at times, Barkley suggested that he isn't particularly worried about it, saying: "I don't really buy into the weather thing. Whoever comes out there and executes is going to be the team that's going to win."

Execution has been the name of the game for Barkley this season, and if he can continue to get the job done in the snow, the Eagles have a good chance to reach their second NFC Championship Game in the past three years.

Legendary NFL running back LeSean "Shady" McCoy and defensive tackle Aaron Donald placed a significant wager on Sunday's NFC Divisional Round playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams.

McCoy, who spent six of his 12 NFL seasons with the Eagles, posted a video on X on Friday night in which he and Donald agreed to a $50,000 bet on the game:

Donald, who spent his entire 10-year NFL career with the Rams, jokingly said he was "tired" of McCoy "sleeping" on the Rams during his television appearances on FS1, which is why he decided to take the bet.

McCoy, 36, was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and played collegiately at Pitt before the Eagles selected him in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft.

He went on to establish himself as one of the greatest running backs in franchise history, earning three Pro Bowl selections in his six years with the team, and rushing for 6,792 yards, while scoring 54 total touchdowns.

Shady went on to play four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, securing three more Pro Bowl nods, followed by one-year stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, each of which ended with Super Bowl wins.

The 33-year-old Donald retired at the end of the 2023 season, and although he only played 10 years in the NFL, he is likely a surefire, first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Like McCoy, Donald is a Pitt product, and he recorded 111 sacks in 154 career regular-season games from the defensive tackle position.

Donald was a 10-time Pro Bowler, eight-time First Team All-Pro and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, plus he helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl win in 2021.

Both the Eagles and Rams were impressive in their Wild Card Round wins last week, as Philly outlasted the Green Bay Packers 22-10, and L.A. took down the Minnesota Vikings 27-9.

Sunday's game will be in Philadelphia, and some tough weather conditions are expected, as AccuWeather is forecasting between three and six inches of snow.

That could benefit the Eagles thanks to their dominant offensive line and the presence of the league's leading rusher in running back Saquon Barkley.

Barkley became only the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 or more yards in a season, as he finished with 2,005 yards, and the Eagles figure to lean heavily on him in the elements.

McCoy expressed his belief that the Rams won't be able to stop Barkley and joked that their only hope to do so would be if Donald suited up.

The Rams have a quality running back in their own right, though, in Kyren Williams, who has topped the 1,000-yard mark in each of the past two seasons.

Plus they have a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Matthew Stafford, who potentially has the type of big-game experience needed to keep his team in contention in a tough playoff game on the road.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams could be set for a snowy divisional round matchup this weekend.

Parts of the Philadelphia area are forecast to get between three and six inches of snow Sunday, according to AccuWeather.

Here's the game day forecast for the area as of Saturday night, per Brittany Boyer of Action News.

Precipitation will start to spread over the area by mid-morning. Areas near and south/east of I-95 will see plain rain or a wintry mix with temperatures above freezing.

Even in the city there may be a period where precipitation is a mix of rain and snow before the atmosphere cools enough to produce steady snow. 

Snow will continue to develop southwest to northeast with the heaviest snow in the northwest suburbs, Lehigh Valley and the Poconos.

Snow wraps up between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., with some parts of our area seeing 3" to 6" of snow. Some higher totals are possible in higher elevations and toward the Lehigh Valley and Poconos.

Temperatures crash behind the storm which will make for hazardous road conditions and walkways. Areas that experience mostly rain from the storm will have to watch for standing water that will freeze as temperatures fall into the teens and 20s overnight.

The Rams and Eagles are set to kick off Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

Both teams have said they are ready to play in the snow for a shot at the NFC Championship Game.

"We will handle the elements, regardless of what they are this weekend," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Friday, per Dave Spadaro of the team website. "You have different things you do in all of these (weather) situations, just like you do if a guy goes down, just like you do if they play a different style than you were anticipating, you have contingency plans for everything."

Rams head coach Sean McVay meanwhile said Thursday his team was "aware" of the changing forecast, per NBC Sports' Mike Florio.

"I think the biggest thing is just being mindful of, if the surface is affected, that our cleats aren't an issue. That's a big part of it," McVay said, per Florio. "[Senior director of equipment] Brendan Burger does a great job with that. Matthew has had experience handling that ball.

"I know this, if it does snow or if it does rain, we have to be mindful of what we need to do to adjust and adapt, but there's no way it can be as cold as it was at the Jets game."

The Rams claimed a 19-9 win in sub-freezing temperatures when they played the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Dec. 22.

The Eagles have meanwhile already been getting practice playing in snow while practicing outdoors in Philadelphia during the week leading up to the divisional round contest.

The Rams and Eagles won't be the only teams playing for a conference championship game spot in extreme weather. The Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills are projected to play Sunday in temperatures that will feel as low as zero degrees with windchill, per AccuWeather and NFL.com's Nick Shook.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley praised teammate and quarterback Jalen Hurts on Friday, complimenting his drive and desire for greatness.

"He wants to be great," Barkley told Brooks Kubena of The Athletic. "He'll do anything to be great."

Barkley also added these remarks.

"Greatness doesn't come from someone saying he can't do this or he can't do that, but him going out there and doing it and showing people. When I think about people that are great, greatness is the things you accomplish, the winning, the things you do as a team — all those little things. I feel like that's his mindset, his goal."

The Eagles are hosting the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday for an NFC Divisional Round game. The winner heads to the NFC Championship against the Detroit Lions or Washington Commanders.

Hurts has largely been exceptional as the Eagles' QB1 since taking over that role late in the 2020 season. He was great particularly in 2022, when he earned NFL MVP runner-up honors and nearly led Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles fell just short, 38-35.

They started 10-1 last year, but Hurts and the Eagles faltered down the stretch and were crushed in the playoffs, 32-9 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This year has been tremendous, though, in large part because of Barkley. The ex-New York Giant finished the year with 2,283 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns in 16 games. Philadelphia went 14-3, good enough for second in the NFC.

Hurts enjoyed his best year through the air, posting a career-best 103.7 passer rating. He completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 2,903 yards, 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Hurts also rushed for 630 yards and 14 touchdowns.

His chase for greatness continues Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles are firing on all cylinders, especially with the defense also performing well of late. Hurts could very well find championship glory this year, but the next step is Sunday, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and Jim Murphy, the author of "Inner Excellence," met after the wide receiver went viral for reading Murphy's book on the sideline of a playoff game.

Murphy joined Brown at the Eagles facility on Friday, according to PHLY's Zach Berman and NBC Sports' John Clark.

Brown was seen reading Murphy's "Inner Excellence" on the sideline of the Eagles' Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers last Sunday.

Brown then said on X he brings the book to every game and reads it "between each drive."

"I use it to refocus and lock in despite what may transpire in the game good or bad," he wrote.

When asked after the win if frustration over recording one catch on three targets had led him to pick up the book, Brown answered: "I wasn't frustrated. I like to read."

Brown's charitable foundation announced the launch of a new "reading initiative" Wednesday.

Murphy's book has meanwhile climbed to No. 1 on Amazon's trending list. The title was previously ranked 523,497th on the list, per ESPN.

Murphy told Sportico's Jacob Feldman the book went from selling five copies a day to selling 10,000 the day after the Eagles game.

He is considering re-releasing a new version of the book "with Brown's support," according to Feldman.

A former minor league baseball player, Murphy was inspired to write the book in order to "teach baseball players how to have confidence under pressure," according to The Associated Press' Dan Gelston.

Murphy and Brown have discussed collaborating on "opportunities to raise awareness and funding for common causes" since the moment went viral, Feldman reported earlier Friday.

Brown sat out Wednesday's practice due to rest and a lingering knee injury. He was limited during Thursday's session before returning to full capacity Friday.

The wideout has a tendency to perform well following a game during which he received limited targets. The Eagles will hope the extra rest will help Brown bounce back during Sunday's divisional round clash with the Los Angeles Rams.

A group of Philadelphia Eagles fans has raised over $10,000 on GoFundMe for California Community Foundation in an effort to aid in Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts ahead of Philly's NFC Divisional Round matchup against the Rams on Sunday.

The GoFundMe page reads:

Now that we know the Rams are our opponent and obviously L.A. is dealing with some seriously crazy stuff right now, I thought it might be nice ahead of the game to offer some help and support L.A.'s way from Birds' fans (and especially after that horrible fan made life miserable for an opposing Packers fan and went viral for it). This fund is organized by Eagles fans in the Philadelphia area and beyond to benefit the California Community Foundation's Wildfire Relief Fund. We're still gonna kick the Rams' butts, but there's plenty of people in and around L.A. (Rams and Birds' fans alike) that could use some help right now. I know a lot of the attention is going towards celebrities but there are plenty of everyday people who have lost a lot during this and are risking life and limb to help others.

The wildfires in Los Angeles County have been devastating, with the Eaton Fire in the Altadena region—just north of Pasadena—and the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu areas now considered the two most destructive fires in Southern California history.

The Eaton fire has burned over 14,000 acres, destroyed 7,000 structures and killed 17 people. The Palisades fire has burned over 23,000 acres, destroyed 5,000 structures and killed at least eight people.

A number of other fires also broke out across the region—including the Hurst Fire, Kenneth Fire and Sunset Fire, which broke out in the Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon—as incredibly strong Santa Ana winds combined with a lack of rain in the area since May and low humidities to create the ideal conditions for such massive wildfires.

The Rams were scheduled to host last weekend's victory over the Minnesota Vikings at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, but given the ongoing fires, the game was instead moved to Arizona.

"There's some things bigger than football, and we owe this to our community to make sure that this game can be played safely and not be a distraction," Rams team president Kevin Demoff said last week. "Heaven forbid a single home or car, or god forbid, a human life was lost because some asset was diverted to SoFi Stadium. Or that a firefighter who's been working nonstop for 10 days had to stay on the front line to cover for a firefighter who had to go to SoFi Stadium. Or... a fire breaks out during the game and people get an evacuation notice on their phone. It's just not the right place to be holding the game."

Sunday's matchup against the Eagles will be played in Philadelphia as planned.

The relationship between Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts has reportedly improved since ESPN reported in August there was "a prolonged strain" between the two last season.

According to ESPN's Tim McManus, one of the sources who contributed to the August report said the pair's "relationship is in a better place."

"Once you learn a person, you learn how to deal with that person," the source told McManus.

McManus and Jeremy Fowler reported for ESPN in August that "a disconnect in offensive visions" had caused the split between Sirianni and Hurts during the 2023 season.

After advancing past the Wild Card round with a win over the Green Bay Packers, the Eagles are preparing to take on the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round on Sunday.

According to McManus, the turn in Hurts and Sirianni's relationship took place during the Eagles' Week 5 bye. The team went into the break having dropped to 2-2 on the season with a Week 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

McManus previously reported that coach and quarterback "had myriad conversations about the direction of the football team" during that week off.

When Hurts spoke to reporters after the bye, his tone was notably more positive than his past answers about the head coach.

"I think this was probably, I'd say, one of the most efficient bye weeks I've been a part of in my career," Hurts said ahead of Week 6, per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro. "Just being able to, like I said, share those moments and talk through some things and build."

Those conversations with Hurts, combined with a talk initially reported by McManus between Sirianni and his offensive linemen, could have contributed to Philadelphia's focus on their run game after the bye.

The Eagles went from averaging about 153 rushing yards per game as of Week 4 to rushing for more than 187 yards per game starting Week 6. The focus dropped Hurts' usage as a passer but improved his efficiency and brought Saquon Barkley within 101 yards of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing yards record.

That improvement could lead to the Eagles losing offensive coordinator Kellen Moore after a single season with the team. The former Dallas Cowboys coordinator and player has been tied to the head coaching vacancy with his old club.

For now, with Moore still in Philadelphia and the connection between Hurts and Sirianni reportedly strong, the Eagles will look to lean on their rushing attack again this weekend as the team looks to advance to the conference championship for the second time in three seasons.

The Philadelphia Eagles have banned a man from future games after he was seen on video verbally abusing a female Green Bay Packers fan during Sunday's Wild Card Round matchup between the teams, according to longtime Eagles reporter Derrick Gunn.

The organization is also sending the woman Packers gear as part of its apology for the incident.

A viral post by Alexander Basara on social media (warning: NSFW language) showed the since-banned Eagles fan berating and verbally abusing the female Packers fan.

The Eagles beat the Packers on Sunday, 22-10—their second victory over Green Bay this season after winning 34-29 in Week 1—and will now host the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The Eagles beat the Rams in Week 12 behind Saquon Barkley's 255 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

That bodes well for the Eagles, who won the first contest in Los Angeles and will now host the Rams in Philadelphia for the rematch. It may be Philadelphia's final home game of the season. If the Detroit Lions win their divisional-round matchup against the Washington Commanders, they'll host the NFC ChampionshipGame as the top-seeded team.

If Washington wins that game and Philly beats the Rams, the Eagles would host the NFC Championship with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line.

Either way, there is at least one fan who won't be in attendance for that game or any others going forward.