Eagles news: How Birds can get No. 1 seed; Saquon Barkley leads all Pro Bowl voting; Jalen Hurts plays through injury

Not even Lamar Jackson can outrun Saquon Barkley forever.

The Ravens quarterback and reigning NFL MVP had been leading all Pro Bowl voting after the first two rounds of updates, but last week's update saw the Eagles running back and current NFL rushing leader closing in on Jackson. Now, after passing Derrick Henry last week, Barkley has officially moved ahead of Jackson and into first place.

Here's a look at the latest top 5 with one week of voting left.

The Eagles answered a lot of questions about their passing game in Sunday's win over the Steelers — questions head coach Nick Sirianni believes quarterback Jalen Hurts has been answering all season, even if the latest felt like the most full-throated response yet.

And Hurts did it with a broken finger on his non-throwing hand that he said after impacted his performance. Asked about that Monday, Sirianni sounded like he could hardly tell.

“You guys saw the game, I thought he played a really good game, really outstanding game," the Eagles coach told the media at his day-after press conference. "Jalen’s extremely tough, physically, mentally. Again, I thought he played a fantastic game in many ways. [He] was able to run for yards, threw the ball really well, slice and dice a really good defense. I just thought Jalen was in complete control and [it was] just another week of good football from Jalen Hurts.”

The Eagles lost Landon Dickerson for the second half of the Steelers game due to a knee injury. The 26-year-old left guard went down on the last play of the first half when he collided awkwardly with Jalen Hurts on a sack for Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith.

While Dickerson remained on the sideline for the second half, even riding the stationary bike at one point early on, he did not return to action. Nick Sirianni did not have an update on the severity of Dickerson’s injury on Monday.

“Still going through our process that we go through every Monday, Tuesday,” Sirianni said. “We’ll have more information for you guys on Wednesday of where we are with that. Obviously he didn’t go back in the game, so we’re just still going through things.”

The passing game is all right.

Jalen Hurts, playing with a broken left ring finger, had one of his best games of the season, and the Eagles’ passing attack, which was the topic of the week, got back on track in a big way with its best players.

Hurts threw in the direction of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith 23 times Sunday, the only time so far in 2024 the team’s top two receivers combined for 20-plus targets. How much has the Eagles offense changed with the arrival of Saquon Barkley? Brown and Smith combined for 20-plus targets six times last season.

After spending more than 10 minutes of literal game time in a figurative rock fight, Jordan Mailata barely had the energy to jog through the tunnel and into the locker room after the game.

Breathless after greeting comedian Pete Davidson a few dozen feet from the locker room entrance, Mailata made a concession most in Philadelphia would be ostracized for entertaining while talking to a team official.

“I’m tired of that [expletive] Tush Push.”

Jalen Hurts seldom allows glimpses into himself, but after he beat the Steelers on Sunday, he did just that.

He was asked how he felt being named player of the game by Fox analyst Tom Brady, and he politely accepted the honor. He then mentioned how he’d been asked about going head-to-head with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson two weeks before, and he acknowledged that, yes, having two of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the game on the same field was a big moment for football:

“You see a ton of kids out there watching Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson go at it, and that’s what they see. All eyes on them.”

The Eagles just keep winning, and Sunday’s victory over the Steelers showed that the Birds aren’t just winning on the ground. They can also dominate in the air, as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith each had over 100 yards and a touchdown Sunday in the 27-13 win.

With the Steelers stacked up in position to prevent Saquon Barkley from getting yards, the Eagles leaned on Jalen Hurts and their star receivers to deliver. It was the first game since the season opener with double-digit targets for Brown, and the first game of the season where both Brown and Smith had double-digit targets.

Former Eagles defensive lineman Chris Long praised the offensive versatility on his Green Light podcast.

A few hundred Eagles fans — mostly wide-eyed women — circled the man with the distinct eyebrows, sharp goatee, and chiseled jawline, some just eyeballing him, others yelling out questions.

“What’s your Instagram?”

“Are you single?”

The Eagles' passing game was starting to draw some questions after a few less-than-stellar performances. They seemed to put those questions to rest with a big day against the Steelers. Here's a look at our grades for the two positions most responsible for that success Sunday...

Quarterback: A

Jalen Hurts was excellent against one of the better defenses in the NFL and answered a lot of questions about his ability to carry the offense on his passing shoulders. He completed 25 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns and had a 125.3 passer rating.

Eric Dickerson’s all-time NFL rushing record is still in play for Saquon Barkley with three games left in his MVP-caliber season. Against the Steelers, Barkley posted one of his weaker performances this year, and had a brief injury scare in the first half while he was dealing "with a little something."

With that said, Barkley is still within striking distance.

Barkley put up 65 yards against the Steelers, in one of the Eagles’ most pass-heavy games of the season and didn’t get as many snaps as usual during the game, missing a drive in the second quarter in the medical tent.

Jalen Hurts was on the Eagles’ injury report all week as a full participant with a left finger injury.

On Sunday, the extent of that injury became clear. Hurts, in images shared by the team on social media, walked into Lincoln Financial Field with a wrapping of sorts on his left ring finger. NFL Network reported that Hurts was dealing with a broken finger, an injury Hurts later confirmed.

The quarterback wore a glove on his left hand during the Eagles’ 27-13 win. He completed 25 of his 32 pass attempts and threw for 290 yards. But he did commit his first turnover in five games on a play that magnified the injury he’s dealing with.

In the aftermath of a bruising game, stadium traffic was the only thing between Saquon Barkley and a much-needed cold tub.

The star running back conceded he was “dealing with a little something” during the Eagles’ 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, which helps explain why he missed an extended stretch during the second quarter and walked off gingerly in the final minutes of the game. Barkley finished with 19 carries for 65 yards while Kenneth Gainwell had seven rushing attempts and three catches in Barkley’s stead.

“I was dealing with a little something,” Barkley said. “I’m not going to go too much into that. But the guys stepped up big, Kenny made some big plays for us and at the end of the day I was able to tough it out and try to go out there and make plays. I didn’t have the splash plays I usually have, but I tried to go out there and grind it out for my team.”