Saquon Barkley’s uncomfortable truths, plus the Eagles rooting for the Lions and another replay fail

“They wanted it more.” -- Saquon Barkley, after the Eagles blew a lead and lost at Dallas.

“Honestly, I think it’s been awful.” -- Saquon Barkley, assessing the Eagles’ game-day juice, after the Eagles lost the following game on Black Friday to the Bears.

What will Saquon say if the Eagles lose a third straight game when the visit the Chargers on Monday Night Football?

Whatever it is, believe it. It’s the truth. His truth.

What we’ve learned in Barkley’s 32 games as an Eagle is he speaks his truth. It is a refreshing and unvarnished truth, and not everyone always agrees with that truth.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni “saw the effort sky-high” all game long in Dallas and has emphasized that the effort level remains high.

Lots of folks criticized Barkley in April when he not only attended the Eagles’ White House reception (several teammates, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, conveniently discovered scheduling conflicts), he also golfed and lunched with President Trump the day before, even as Trump advanced his scurrilously racist agenda.

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley got cozy with Donald Trump. Jalen Hurts declined. So what?

Barkley didn’t care.

He didn’t care that Nick clapped back. He didn’t care that I clapped back.

Barkley is 28. One day he might regret his words or actions. One day he might speak and act with greater discretion.

For now, even while living as a celebrity in a world of unprecedented scrutiny, he’s saying what he feels and doing what he wants.

For that, he should be commended.

In 2021, Sirianni’s disastrous introductory press conference was largely overshadowed by comparisons to Dan Campbell’s outrageous presser, in which he promised his Lions would bite off kneecaps.

Since their memorable arrivals, Campbell has been nearly as successful as Sirianni. Many Eagles players and coaches expected to face the Lions in the NFC Championship game, and they were quietly pleased as the Lions stumbled through the season.

Now, they’re rooting for the Lions.

The Bears’ loss to the Packers on Sunday helped the Eagles’ chances to secure the No. 1 seed and a bye in the NFC. The Packers are 9-3-1 and atop the NFC North. The Bears are 9-4, and the Eagles can move to 9-4 with a win Monday night, through the Bears hold that tiebreaker.

However, after they play the Browns next week, the Bears face the Packers again, then the 49ers, and finally, Campbell and the Lions to end the season. The Lions blew out the Bears in Week 2.

The Rams’ win at Arizona put them at 10-3 and they remain atop the conference with the best chance at the bye, but they face the Lions and the Seahawks, who they barely beat at home, as well as the Falcons and Cardinals.

The Packers face the Broncos, Bears, Ravens, and Vikings.

The Eagles will face the Raiders, Commanders, Bills, then the Commanders again. The only game they won’t be favored in will be at Buffalo. If they finish 4-1, a 12-5 record could secure the top seed. Don’t scoff: The Chargers, Raiders, and Commanders all have injured starting quarterbacks.

What’s the Eagles’ most likely path to the No. 1 seed?

First, they would need the Rams to lose the next two weeks. One of those losses would be to the Lions. That would leave the Rams at 12-5, but the Birds have the tiebreaker since they beat the Rams.

Second, they would likely need the Bears to beat the Packers, then lose to the 49ers ... and Lions. That would leave the Bears at 11-6.

Third, they would need the Packers to lose to the Broncos and, probably, the Ravens. That would leave the Packers at 11-5-1.

Where would all of that Lions winning leave the Lions? At 12-5, that’s where. The Eagles beat the Lions on Nov. 17, and so hold that tiebreaker.

So, go, knee-biters.

Replay stinks.

My stance: Review every play or review nothing, and do so with replay officials located in the booth rather than forcing coaches to challenge.

My point: Too often, reviewing plays to the letter of the law robs us of plays that follow the spirit of the game. Just ask the Ravens.

Leading, 27-22, midway through the fourth quarter Sunday, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to catch his own batted pass — but he also appeared to lose possession as he fell to the ground and to have the ball snatched from him. The initial call awarded the Ravens an interception at the Steelers’ 31-yard line with 6:26 to play. However, upon mandatory turnover review, Rodgers was ruled down by contact, even though his possession seemed far too flimsy to reverse the call. The Steelers kept the ball and punted.

Certainly, the Rodgers ruling was much more convincing than another play that was reversed upon review four minutes later.

Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely caught a go-ahead touchdown pass, took one step, took another as he extended the ball away from defender Joey Porter Jr., but before he landed a third step, Porter knocked the ball from his hands. The initial ruling of a touchdown was overturned, and, two plays later, the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.

Likely didn’t tuck the ball away, and he didn’t get a third step down, so it was ruled incomplete. The call might have been right, but the rule is dumb, and its enforcement Sunday was ridiculous.

These plays happened minutes apart in the same game that, for the moment, gave the 7-6 Steelers the AFC North lead and bumped the 6-7 Ravens out of the playoff picture.

Replay slows the game. It also it affords officials the chance to interpret plays in a counterintuitive manner. Officials are terrified to not apply the letter of the law, even when the spirit of the law aligns better with common sense.

Zach Ertz, one of the Eagles’ heroes in Super Bowl LII, ended a possible Hall of Fame career when he suffered a torn ACL on Sunday. Ertz planned to retire after this, his 13th season. Ertz only went to three Pro Bowls, from 2017-19, but he ranks in the top 10 in receptions (5th), yards (8th) and TDs (10th) for a tight end.

Ertz and his wife, Julie, a soccer star for the U.S. Women’s National Team, spread goodwill wherever they played and lived, be it in Pennsylvania/New Jersey, Arizona, or the Washington, D.C. area. He might never get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he’s become a Hall of Fame person.

Before Sunday, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was in the middle of a career resurrection, but he also had played three games with a broken bone in his left leg. He was one of several quarterbacks playing with what appeared to be significant injuries to non-throwing appendages: Aaron Rodgers’ left wrist, Jayden Daniels’ left elbow, and Justin Herbert’s left hand, which was surgically repaired just a week ago but was not expected to keep Herbert out of Monday’s game against the Eagles.

Daniels played with the aid of a brace from a company called Protect3D, begun by two clever former Duke teammates who helped Jones play in college with a broken collarbone by 3-D printing a similar protective device. It was a cool story.

On Sunday, however, Jones collapsed with a non-contact injury to his right Achilles tendon. This brings into question whether playing on the broken left leg created stress on the right Achilles, and whether Jones should have been playing at all.

He was anticipating a massive free-agent contract extension in 2026. Now, he’s looking at unemployment and a season lost to rehab.

On Sunday night, the Chiefs lost to the Texas in Kansas City to fall to 6-7, with possible losses to the Chargers and Broncos on the horizon. After reaching five of the past six Super Bowls and winning three of them, the Chiefs are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. ... Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders, who played under Deion Sanders at Colorado before falling to the fifth round of the draft, threw for 364 yards and with three touchdowns, an interception, and a rushing touchdown in a 31-29 loss to the Titans. It was his third start. He’d thrown for 358 yards in his first two starts combined. ... The NFL has enjoyed the careers of running quarterbacks like Randall Cunningham, Cam Newton, Steve Young, and Steve McNair, but in less than eight seasons Josh Allen holds the rushing TD record, which he extended Sunday to 77. That’s two more than Newton, who played 11 seasons. Notably, Hurts is in third place with 63 rushing TDs, and he’s played less than six seasons.