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Eagles fans threw snowballs at Jared Verse and earned his respect

Verse had two sacks, but the Eagles eked out a 28-22 win behind Saquon Barkley’s 205 yards and two touchdowns.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley scores a touchdown in front of Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse during the first quarter on Sunday.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley scores a touchdown in front of Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse during the first quarter on Sunday.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer
    by Matt Breen
    Published 

Jared Verse played in rivalry games in high school and walked into hostile environments in college. But he said this — Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field — was different.

“After the game, I was walking into the locker room, and they’re throwing snowballs,” Verse said. “They bleed green and white.”

The Rams star rookie pass rusher became the villain earlier in the week when he said he hated Philly fans. The sight of “green and white,” Verse told the Los Angeles Times, made him “hot.” Verse grew up in Ohio and spent his final three years of high school in Berwick, Pa.

His comments were enough fuel to make Verse the target of boos as he walked onto the field before the 28-22 loss to the Eagles and then a moving target as he headed for the showers.

“I like that they stand on it,” Verse said. “They don’t shy away from it. My phone was blowing up the last two, three days. All I was seeing was ‘Yeah, we embrace it. We love that.’ I was like ‘OK.’ But I like that they stand on it.”

Verse did not shy away from the fans as he walked a lap around the perimeter of the field before the game, something Verse said he’s done for the last five years as a pre-game routine.

“I had my ski mask on, my hat on, and my hoodie on so I don’t think they really knew who it was,” Verse said. “But the second I took my ski mask off, all I heard was ‘Booo.’ I took my AirPods out. ‘Boooo. You [stink].’ I was like ‘Yeah. That’s what I expected.’ I can’t be mad about it.”

The fans jeered Verse all day. The stadium scoreboard flashed Verse’s quotes early in the first quarter and then showed him sitting on the Rams bench. Verse smiled as everyone booed. He later pumped his arms in the air as the crowd chanted about him. He had no problem being the heel.

“I like hostile environments,” Verse said. “It doesn’t mean anything to me. It doesn’t faze me. It hypes me up more. It’s not like I’m going to get shy or get nervous. No. That hypes me up more.”

» READ MORE: Eagles survive, storming past the Rams to reach the NFC championship game with a 28-22 win in the snow

Lost in the buzz this week was Verse’s on-field impact as he’s a leading candidate to be named the league’s defensive rookie of the year. He’s more than a blowhard and he proved it early on Sunday with three tackles and two sacks before halftime.

But the Eagles did their best to game plan against him, designing runs for Saquon Barkley away from Verse and picking on the opposite side of the defense. It worked. Barkley rushed for 205 yards on 26 carries, decimating the Rams defense in a 28-22 win to reach the NFC championship game.

“They’ll hammer you down, hammer you down, hammer you down, and every now and then they’ll break that big run,” said Verse, who finished with four tackles. “...You have to outlast them. They’re going to last the whole game. You have to last the whole game. It’s as simple as that.”

The Eagles contained Verse earlier this season, holding him to seven tackles, no sacks, and no QB hits. Verse, according to Pro Football Focus, did not even register a hurry in that Week 12 matchup.

He made more noise on Sunday but it wasn’t enough to wreck the game. The Eagles did what many teams struggled to do this season as they limited one of the NFL’s best defenders.

“He’s a dangerous running back, arguably the best in the league right now,” Verse said of Barkley. “I’ll say he’s the best right now. He’s been dominating. He’s dangerous. You have to stop him before you can do anything else. You have to earn the right to rush on third down.”

The Eagles will be challenged again Sunday in the NFC championship game against the Commanders and defender Jonathan Allen, who applied constant pressure in Washington’s win over Detroit. The defensive tackle missed both games this season against the Eagles as he was sidelined for nine weeks with a torn pectoral muscle. He totaled seven QB pressures, two quarterback hits, and a 25% win rate on Saturday night against Detroit. It will be another task for the Birds.

Barkley’s first TD on Sunday ended with the running back sprinting alone near the sideline. But then Barkley turned his head, noticing that Verse was charging. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Verse reached 21.60 mph as he chased after Barkley. It was the third-fastest speed this season by a defensive lineman or a linebacker. But it wasn’t fast enough. Barkley slowed down, allowing Verse to run into the end zone with him, as Philly’s villain listened to the roars for the stadium’s hero.

Philadelphia earned Verse’s respect on Sunday. But does he think he earned theirs?

“I feel like a couple of them,” Verse said. “But I can’t speak for all of them. I hope I did. It was a good game, no matter what. And we’re going to see each other a lot in the next couple years.”

    Matt Breen
    I write feature stories about all Philadelphia sports, constantly looking for stories that resonate with Philadelphians.
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