David Akers and Seth Joyner praised Zack Baun and Saquon Barkley ahead of Super Bowl LIX

As Eagles players prepared to compete in Super Bowl LIX down in New Orleans, back home in Philadelphia former Eagles players Seth Joyner and David Akers joined thousands of fans for Verizon FanFest at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Former Eagles linebacker and three-time Pro Bowler Seth Joyner believes this year is going to be a much different matchup from two years ago, when the Chiefs defeated the Eagles 38-35 in the 2023 Super Bowl.

“A lot of people want to compare Super Bowl 57 to Super Bowl 59,” Joyner said. “Just frankly, this football team is a much better football team than that one was. Because on the offensive side, they got the benefit of experience because they’ve been there before. Defensively, although they don’t have the pass rush that the Super Bowl 57 team had, they’re a much better overall defense.

“They’re better against the run, against the pass. They’re just a better overall defense and I think that’s going to serve them better and the results should be different because they are a better football team in total.”

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There’s also one glaring difference from this year’s team compared to the 2023 team: Saquon Barkley. Former six-time Pro Bowl kicker Akers had a message for Barkley’s former team, the New York Giants, ahead of the game.

“I just always want to thank the New York Giants for Saquon Barkley and I really appreciate what he’s been able to come down here and do,” Akers said. “You have to have just that ‘it’ and watching the hurdle in reverse I mean come on, where do you think of that, how does that even come into play and when you see a guy that is that special behind an incredible offensive line — some of the holes even as slow as I am, I can run through those. I’m sure Saquon has his eyes wide open and is ready to get to the secondary.”

After signing a three-year contract with the Eagles last offseason, Barkley put together an MVP-caliber season in his first year in Philadelphia. Barkley set the franchise single-season rushing record and became the ninth player ever to log 2,000 rushing yards in a single season. The AP’s offensive player of the year was just 101 rushing yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards.

Sunday night, Barkley broke Denver Broncos legend Terrell Davis’ 1998 total of 2,476 yards between the regular season and playoffs, with 31 yards in the first half of Super Bowl LIX.

“I’m happy for him,” Joyner said. “Because he spent six years playing in New York not having any help whatsoever. He’s got to feel like he’s died and gone to heaven playing behind this offensive line and this bevy of talented players that complement him and he complements them.”

Another new addition to this year’s team is All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun. In one season, the 6-foot-3 linebacker has helped transform the Eagles’ defense, emerging as one of the top linebackers in the league under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system. Baun added to his banner season by intercepting Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the second quarter of Sunday’s Super Bowl.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Saquon Barkley breaks Terrell Davis’ single-season rushing record in Super Bowl LIX

When asked to describe Baun’s season, Joyner said “just incredible.”

“Because you know, he’s playing a position I played. So, when I’m watching him play, I’m absolutely blown away that a guy who was a situational player, situational pass rusher, special teams player comes in, into a system he’s never played before in his first year and has the type of year that he had,” added Joyner. “That’s unheard of because most of the time it takes time for you to come and learn a new system and understand what the defensive coordinator wants you to do and most importantly how you master the defense that you’re playing in and he’s done that all that in one season. It’s nothing short of miraculous to watch.”