NEW ORLEANS — Saquon Barkley and the Eagles emerged from a barrage of Philadelphia-style scrutiny with a masterpiece of how to endure — and finish — a physical defensive battle that had many things going wrong before it finally came together perfectly.
Barkley ran for touchdowns of 65 and 4 yards in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles recovered from an annoying game-ending collapse six days earlier to beat the previously strong New Orleans Saints 15-12 on Sunday.
“Last week was tough. Our guys had to get off the mat and every one of them did it,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said, referring to a 22-21 home loss to Atlanta on Monday night. “You have to overcome things like that. I’m so proud of the guys for doing that.”
Barkley’s shorter run to score came with 1:01 left, one play after Dallas Goedert got free up the middle on third-and-16 and made a 61-yard catch-and-run, rushing for a career-high 170 yards with 10 passes caught.
Barkley’s 147-yard rushing performance and crucial touchdowns gave him considerable redemption for his failure to make a potentially game-winning catch against the Falcons.
“When something like this happens, everyone thinks the world is ending, but it really doesn’t matter what the outside world thinks,” Barkley said. “Today we continued to trust each other and support each other.”
Eagles safety Reed Blankenship sealed the win by intercepting a Derek Carr pass up the middle with 48 seconds left, capping a stellar performance by Philadelphia’s defense against an offense that had scored an NFL-record 91 points in the first two weeks of the regular season under new coordinator Klint Kubiak.
“You knew there was going to be adversity at some point. It’s not always going to be this easy,” Carr said, adding that he regretted not throwing away the pass on the second attempt that Blankenship intercepted. “At the very end, they made one more play than we did, and that’s how this game goes sometimes.”
The Eagles (2-1) didn’t allow a touchdown until Carr found Chris Olave for a 12-yard touchdown with just under two minutes left to take the lead. That put the Saints ahead 12-7 after a failed 2-point attempt.
The Eagles appeared to be the better team on both sides of the ball, outperforming New Orleans (2-1) in total net yards, 460 to 219. But a series of odd decisions by Sirianni, along with some crucial plays by the Saints defense, kept the Eagles off the scoreboard for three quarters.
Hurts completed 29 of 38 passes for 311 yards and ran for 25 yards, but he also lost the ball twice in the first half, when he was intercepted in the end zone by Tyrann Mathieu and when he lost a fumble on a sack by Carl Granderson.
The Eagles threatened to score again late in the second quarter, but came up empty-handed when they missed a field goal on fourth and one attempt at the New Orleans 15-yard line with 14 seconds left.
Defensive end Chase Young and linebacker Pete Werner stopped Barkley’s run, securing the Saints’ 3-0 lead at halftime.
The Eagles penetrated Saints territory twice in the third quarter, but failed on the fourth and short attempt and then had to take an illegal substitution penalty that led to a deadlock near the halfway line.
But after JT Gray blocked Braden Mann’s punt and New Orleans got the ball inside Philadelphia’s 30-yard line, New Orleans stalled on its own missed fourth-and-1 attempt, despite having an opportunity to attempt a field goal late in the third quarter.
“I wanted to win the game and felt like we needed a yard,” Allen said. “They did a better job up front than we did.”
Four plays later, Barkley made a long run and the score was 7-3.
“He kind of went back to the left and there was nobody there,” Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu said, noting that an ill-timed blitz left few defenders in position to pursue the Eagles’ star running back. “It was like it was going off. Great play by him, great vision by him.”
The Eagles were already missing receiver AJ Brown, and early in the fourth quarter they lost Devonta Smith to a hit by defensive tackle Khristian Boyd. The receiver’s helmet fell off his head as he tried to prevent two other Saints defenders from bringing him to the turf.
The apparent concussion-causing helmet-to-helmet collision occurred after Smith’s seventh catch, which gave him 79 yards of gain in the game.
That attack stalled when the Eagles attempted a 55-yard field goal attempt by Jake Elliott, which missed.
Carr finished the game completing 14 of 25 passes for 142 yards. Saints running back Alvin Kamara rushed for 87 yards on 26 attempts and Olave caught six passes for 86 yards.
Eagles: WR Britain Covey left the field with a shoulder injury. … RT Lane Johnson left the field in the first half with a concussion.
Saints: Versatile TE Taysom Hill (chest) was ruled out two hours before kickoff. … C Erik McCoy limped off the field on the game’s first possession with a left groin injury and was unable to return. … RG Cesar Ruiz was treated in the fourth quarter for an apparent lower-body injury.
Eagles: Visit Tampa Bay on Sunday for their third straight game against an NFC South opponent and their second straight road game.
Saints: Visit Atlanta on Sunday.
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