The lights have been turned off for the final time in the 2024 NFL season at Lincoln Financial Field and Broad Street has been cleared. The Philadelphia Eagles are now gearing up for a rematch against the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX in two weeks after dominating the Washington Commanders 55-23 at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
It was an all-time performance by the “Bird Gang”, with the 55 points being the most scored by a team in an NFC Championship game. The list of impressive performances is long with the likely suspects. Jalen Hurts turned in his best game of the season, responsible for four touchdowns. Saquon Barkley electrified the stadium and the City of Brotherly Love with his 60-yard tackle-breaking dash to the end zone on the Eagles’ first offensive play of the game.
A.J. Brown looked to be his old self, breaking away from cornerbacks with ease, hauling in six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the stars shined as well with Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean and Zack Baun leading the way in all facets.
However, what differentiates good teams from great teams is the depth on the roster, which can help overcome injuries or lack of performance. For the Eagles, the depth players on this year’s roster have answered the bell in a big way. Here are some of the key role players that might not get the flowers they deserve for helping the Eagles get back to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.
Oren Burks
An unassuming signing by Howie Roseman, the Vanderbilt product inked a deal with Philadelphia on a one-year, $2.5 million deal to be a depth piece in the linebacker room. Prior to joining the Eagles, Burks played the last two seasons with San Francisco after starting his career with Green Bay when the Packers drafted him in the third round of the 2018 draft out of Vanderbilt.
Burks had been thrusted into a starting role at linebacker once Nakobe Dean went down with a season-ending injury in the Wild Card Round victory against Green Bay and told PSN’s Mike Greger that he was ready for the opportunity.
All Burks has done in the playoffs is make plays for the defense. He’s made 20 tackles, 11 stops, and has forced a pair of fumbles. In the NFC Championship game, he was second on the team with nine total tackles, five being solo, to go along with a sack a tackle for loss and a QB hit. He also made a huge play on Jayden Dainels in the open field in the first quarter to keep the momentum for the Eagles.
Burks and Zack Baun have played to what can only be described as a script to a movie with their career arcs and where they stand now. Burks and Baun give the Eagles a formidable linebacker duo which will be relied on to keep the Chiefs in check as they like to utilize their running backs in the pass game.
Will Shipley
We finally saw a glimpse of what Shipley can do and why the Eagles drafted him in the fourth round of the 2024 draft out of Clemson. The third string running back made the most of his extended playing time late in the rout with Kenneth Gainwell out with an injury on the offensive end, turning just four carries into 77-yards and a touchdown. The bulk of his yardage came on this 57-yard run that got the entire Eagles’ sideline jumping. He also forced a fumble on special teams and racked up 165 all-purpose yards in the NFC Championship game thanks to is three kick returns for 88 total yards, good for an average of 29.3 per return.
Shipley entered the game with zero carries in any of the two previous playoff games and just 30 throughout the regular season with a third of them coming in the season finale against the Giants. The status of Gainwell is still up in the air due to being in concussion protocol. If he’s unable to go, Shipley will step in as the backup running back to Barkley. If Gainwell is a go, we might see a couple of wrinkles that feature Shipley after he showcased some of his playmaking abilities.
Jalyx Hunt
Yet another newcomer to the team and on this list, Hunt had a solid game against Washington racking up five total tackles with four being solo to go along with a QB hit while showing off his explosiveness. The rookie has been trending upward over the last month earning more playing time.
A third round pick out of Houston Christian in the 2024 Draft, Hunt started his collegiate career in the Ivy League, playing for Cornell. A bit of an unknown coming into the draft to more casual fans, Hunt a former safety transitioned to EDGE rusher and he has shown he can handle it at the NFL level. In the playoffs, he has eight tackles, six of which are solo, to go along with a sack. With the major lack of production from the high-priced signing of Bryce Huff ($51.1 million for three years), Hunt’s performance should be recognized.
After the Eagles’ Divisional Round victory over the Rams, Nick Sirianni said, “We’ve got some special people in this building. Again, it’s not the best groups of individuals that win, it’s the best teams that win and we’ve got some special guys.”
The Eagles certainly have some special guys in the locker room while guys like Burks, Shipley and Hunt help round out to make this 2024 squad one of the two best teams standing.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
