Nick Sirianni may have to ruminate about Jalen Hurts’ injury, but he can bask in the performance of Saquon Barkley. Also, Sirianni had a championship reaction to the Philadelphia Eagles Division Round win over the Rams, according to a post on X by Eliot Shorr-Parks.

“We played championship defense,” Sirianni said.

And it took Saquon Barkley, who dashed through the snow for touchdown runs of 78 and 62 yards. Barkley finished with 205 yards rushing and the Eagles held on for a 28-22 win over the Rams. They advanced to the NFC championship game for the second time in three seasons.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni saw his team hold on

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni reacts during the game against the Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Eagles gave up 324 yards passing and two touchdowns to Matthew Stafford. Also, they surrendered 106 yards rushing to Kyren Williams. But when it mattered most, they got a stop.

“Excited, but that just makes you more hungry to continue on,” Sirianni said. “We found a way in the midst of adversity. We embraced the adversity. It takes every single body in that room.”

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The Eagles held a 28-15 lead after Barkley’s second long touchdown run. But it came down to the final seconds after the Rams scored and got the ball back.

One of the key plays came when the Eagles decided to pass on second and seven with the Rams trying to get the ball back. Hurts got sacked, giving the Rams that final chance.

Rams coach Sean McVay said he saw his team winning 29-28, according to theramswire.com.

“Congratulations to the Eagles,” McVay began. “Tough, hard-fought game. Give them credit, they made enough plays to win the game but man, I’m damn proud to be associated with this football team. I didn’t see it going any other way than us winning that game, 29-28.

“I think this game in a lot of ways epitomized the grit, the ability to overcome adversity. Just had a couple things that we couldn’t overcome. There will be some things that we can learn from, but this is the time for gratitude, for appreciation. I love this group, I love this coaching staff, I love these players. And I also understand and appreciate how difficult it is to be in positions like this where you’ve got the game in hand. I feel like we had total control toward the latter part of that game. Momentum was in our favor and we had an opportunity to win that game. And we just came up short.”

The Eagles move on to play host to the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship game.