{"id":72947,"date":"2025-05-23T13:30:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T13:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/72947\/"},"modified":"2025-05-23T13:30:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T13:30:09","slug":"eagles-news-saquon-barkley-says-the-2024-eagles-are-a-top-5-team-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/72947\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles News: Saquon Barkley says the 2024 Eagles are a top 5 team of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"ezLPnF\">Let\u2019s get to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bleedinggreennation.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> links &#8230;<\/p>\n<p id=\"jYZJon\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sbnation.com\/nfl\/2025\/5\/22\/24435280\/saquon-barkley-philadelphia-eagles-nfl-greatest-teams-ever\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Saquon Barkley made a bold claim on Eagles\u2019 placement in NFL\u2019s greatest teams ever &#8211; SB Nation<\/a><br \/>Everyone loves to debate on who the greatest NFL team of all time was. Teams from yesteryear like the 1972 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thephinsider.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Miami Dolphins<\/a> (who are still the only undefeated team of all time), the 1985 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.windycitygridiron.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chicago Bears<\/a>, and the 1999 St. Louis Rams, or more modern teams like the 2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fieldgulls.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Seahawks<\/a>. Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 RB Saquon Barkley is ready to throw one more team into consideration: the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles. While speaking on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_hLV_jCAbjE\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the Exciting Mics podcast<\/a> (which is hosted by Eagles\u2019 DBs Reed Blankenship and Cooper DeJean), Barkley had this to say about the 2024 Eagles: \u201cI firmly believe when you look at our team that we had last year \u2026 I think we\u2019re a top-five team of all time. \u2026 If you really look at the season outside of the first four games, it was belt to ass.\u201d Barkley does make an interesting point. After a shaky 2-2 start to the season, the Eagles won 16 of their last 17 games, including a dominant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sbnation.com\/super-bowl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Super Bowl<\/a> victory. Their point differential over the course of the season was +160 per Pro Football Reference, which would be higher than the Super Bowl champions from 2018-2021 and outclass legendary teams like the 2002 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bucsnation.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>. The playoff run the Eagles had really set them into an elite tier, shutting down legendary players and coaches like Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n<p id=\"K05KCY\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nfl\/news\/saquon-barkley-says-the-2024-eagles-are-a-top-5-all-time-nfl-team-heres-why-hes-wrong\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Saquon Barkley says the 2024 Eagles are a top-5 all-time NFL team. Here\u2019s why he\u2019s wrong.  &#8211; CBS Sports<\/a><br \/>Where do the 2024 Eagles rank? As you can see, we wouldn\u2019t slot them in among the NFL\u2019s top five all-timers. Could they give one of the aforementioned teams a run for their money? Maybe. Maybe not. A more reasonable ranking for the 2024 Eagles is probably somewhere between Nos. 10-20 of all time. There\u2019s no perfect science for comparing different greats from different eras, but recency bias shouldn\u2019t mask the fact there\u2019ve been a lot of truly magnificent teams over the years. The 1966 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acmepackingcompany.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Green Bay Packers<\/a> won the first Super Bowl under Vince Lombardi. The 1986 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bigblueview.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Giants<\/a> had an unceasing wrecking ball in Lawrence Taylor. The 1999 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.turfshowtimes.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Rams<\/a> were the \u201cGreatest Show on Turf\u201d with a track-team offense. Would the 2024 Eagles have beaten those teams? Again, it\u2019s debatable.<\/p>\n<p id=\"ipud4t\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nj.com\/eagles\/2025\/05\/eagles-star-to-teams-who-wanted-to-ban-tush-push-youre-soft-kind-of-lame.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eagles star calls teams against tush push \u2018soft &#8230; kind of lame\u2019 &#8211; NJ.com<\/a><br \/>\u201cI think it\u2019s soft, to be honest,\u201d Barkley said. \u201cEverybody can do it. It\u2019s not like it\u2019s a play that we only can do. We happen to have one of the best and biggest O-lines and Jalen Hurts can squat 600 pounds. That\u2019s not our fault. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buffalorumblings.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buffalo Bills<\/a> quarterback) Josh Allen is super big but they\u2019re not as successful with it. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimorebeatdown.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Baltimore Ravens<\/a> quarterback) Lamar Jackson is one of the best running quarterbacks of all time and they\u2019re not as successful with it. It\u2019s not something that everyone can\u2019t do, so for them to try to eliminate it, I think that\u2019s kind of lame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mal7kk\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bleedinggreennation.com\/2025\/5\/23\/24434393\/defending-nick-sirianni-why-the-eagles-are-right-to-stick-with-their-head-coach-contract-extension\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Defending Nick Sirianni: Why the Eagles are right to stick with their head coach &#8211; BGN<\/a><br \/>Sirianni will probably get fired after a bad year in a few years. And those who don\u2019t rate him will rush to shout online and on TV, \u201cSee? I told you he wasn\u2019t that good!\u201d But that\u2019s not how sports work. Every coach gets fired eventually. Success in the NFL is nearly impossible to maintain. But, here\u2019s the crucial bit, it doesn\u2019t erase what came before. Nick Sirianni has already succeeded. He\u2019s taken the Eagles to a Super Bowl and built a team that consistently wins. I think a lot of the criticism stems from Sirianni\u2019s awkward first press conference. People made their minds up about him right then and there and haven\u2019t changed them since. That\u2019s the unfortunate part of sports media. People don\u2019t want to admit they were wrong. Admitting you\u2019re wrong is harder than just doubling down. So, people will keep saying that Sirianni is overrated and the Eagles\u2019 success is down to everyone else. Jeffrey Lurie said it best in his statement: the Eagles want to build a championship culture, and Sirianni embodies that vision. He empowers the people around him to do their jobs, and that\u2019s exactly what a great leader does.<\/p>\n<p id=\"eJdmkv\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.phillyvoice.com\/where-are-eagles-deep-and-not-so-deep-after-2025-nfl-draft-offense-edition\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Where are the Eagles deep, and not so deep, after the 2025 NFL Draft: Offense edition &#8211; PhillyVoice<\/a><br \/>Are the Eagles in good shape here relative to the rest of the league, depth-wise? As long as Barkley is healthy and the Eagles continue to have more leads than deficits in the second halves of games, they are going to skew toward the run game. And when they pass, Brown and Smith will dominate targets, with Dallas Goedert getting most of the leftovers, as long as he\u2019s healthy. There just isn\u2019t much to go around for the other receivers. In that respect, the Eagles\u2019 depth at receiver isn\u2019t as critical as most other teams around the league. But it is a concern. In the five games that Brown and\/or Smith missed last season \u2014 not including the meaningless Week 18 game \u2014 Dotson had 7 catches on 10 targets for 36 yards. He simply must be more threatening than that. Again, it\u2019s not as big a deal within the structure of the Eagles\u2019 offense and roster construction, but the Eagles depth at receiver is not as strong as most other teams around the league.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1PUepu\"><a href=\"https:\/\/allphly.com\/bowen-eagles-tush-push-nfl-punish-super-bowl\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bowen: The NFL couldn\u2019t quite muster enough votes to punish the Eagles for winning the Super Bowl, but 22 teams tried &#8211; PHLY<\/a><br \/>Going into Wednesday, I thought: Surely I am missing something. There has to be a good reason for this effort, that I\u2019m not getting. Maybe knowing the players and some of the coaches that have contributed to the play\u2019s success has colored my perceptions. If the ban passes, or even comes close to passing, maybe whatever it is that I can\u2019t see will become more obvious. Then the vote happened, and I looked at those totals. Read the quotes, which didn\u2019t provide any more insight. I thought about what might have happened over the past year-plus that would have taken this unprecedented idea \u2013 the NFL, to my knowledge, has never banned a play \u2013 from way out on the fringes to the verge of success. Well, the Eagles won the Super Bowl. This is the only answer. Yet events outside sports tell us we live in an age when if enough people want to pretend something is true, it becomes accepted fact. So you will see the banning effort continue, with no acknowledgement of the real impetus, unless the Eagles suddenly get less successful at running the push, and\/or don\u2019t get close to defending their title. Then the issue will mysteriously become less urgent.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7lcpcL\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.philadelphiaeagles.com\/video\/cooper-dejean-reed-blankenship-friendship-test\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship take a friendship test &#8211; PE.com<\/a><br \/>The Exciting Whites find out just how well they know one another. Will they bond over their success? Or will there be drama on the field as a result?<\/p>\n<p id=\"2rgfeR\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/nfl\/profootballtalk\/rumor-mill\/news\/eagles-selling-push-on-shirts-as-philly-fans-celebrate-tush-push-remaining-legal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eagles selling \u201cPush On\u201d shirts as Philly fans celebrate tush push remaining legal &#8211; PFT<\/a><br \/>Eagles fans are in a mood to celebrate after the attempt to ban the tush push failed, and the team is capitalizing with a sale of new marchandise. The top item at the Eagles\u2019 Pro Shop today is a T-shirt with an image of quarterback Jalen Hurts prepared to take a snap in the tush push formation, with the words \u201cPush On\u201d at the top. Instead of saying \u201cclick here\u201d to buy the shirt, the website says \u201cPush Here.\u201d The Eagles posted similar \u201cPush On\u201d messaging on their social media, with posts that have hundreds of thousands of likes.<\/p>\n<p id=\"peFm67\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcphiladelphia.com\/news\/local\/eagles-nakobe-dean-ballet\/4192257\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean takes up ballet to help in road to recovery &#8211; NBC10<\/a><br \/>BalletX, Philadelphia\u2019s premiere contemporary ballet company, has picked up a new recruit. As Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean recovers from a knee injury he suffered during the playoffs last season, he has taken up ballet to become lighter and more agile on the football field. \u201cThere\u2019s way more flexibility, of course. Way more mobility,\u201d Dean said of the results of his ballet training. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely something that\u2019s helping with my rehab.\u201d \u201cYou just feel a change immediately. After you stretch, you\u2019re not as tight or as sore,\u201d he added. Keelan Whitmore, the rehearsal director of BalletX, said the ballet exercises will help improve Dean\u2019s muscles and muscle memory. <\/p>\n<p id=\"fEIDel\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/45238368\/2025-nfl-season-most-underrated-players-quarterback-wide-receiver-edge-rusher\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Picking the most underrated NFL players at every position &#8211; ESPN<\/a><br \/>Tight end: Zach Ertz, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hogshaven.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Commanders<\/a>. It looked like Ertz\u2019s career might be over after he played only seven games for the Cardinals in 2023 at age 33. But he had a big comeback season with the Commanders in 2024. Ertz caught 66 passes for 654 yards and seven touchdowns, emerging as one of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels\u2019 go-to receivers. Ertz also ranked 10th among tight ends in my DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement) metric. He had an 85.7% run block win rate, one of the best figures among starting tight ends, too. The Commanders re-signed Ertz to a one-year, $6.25 million contract for 2025. They didn\u2019t add any other tight ends in free agency or the draft, signaling that they\u2019re keeping him in the starting role.<\/p>\n<p id=\"H2xFCa\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hogshaven.com\/2025\/5\/23\/24435390\/washington-commanders-underrated-players-2025-roster-dorance-armstrong-javon-kinlaw-jaylin-lane\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Commanders Hidden Gems: 3 Secret Superstars on the 2025 roster &#8211; Hogs Haven<\/a><br \/>Clearly, this was a pivotal year in Kinlaw\u2019s career, and he did his level best to prove that he still had something to offer. Maybe not at a seventh-overall level, but with five sacks, 30 total pressures, 27 solo tackles, 24 stops, four tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles, the Jets version of Kinlaw impressed the Commanders enough to give him a three-year, $45 million contract with $30 million guaranteed. That\u2019s a lot of lettuce for a guy who\u2019s still defining his palette at this point, but Peters said after the signing that Kinlaw is still a raw ball of clay who has played at different weights \u2014 as low as 275 with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ninersnation.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">49ers<\/a>, and at 320 with the Jets last season \u2014 and that the Commanders see Kinlaw as a player who can both penetrate and anchor from multiple gaps at around that 320 mark.<\/p>\n<p id=\"oeeXTV\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloggingtheboys.com\/2025\/5\/22\/24433207\/dallas-cowboys-malik-hooker-named-most-underrated-player-safety-matt-eberflus\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">S Malik Hooker named Cowboys most underrated player &#8211; Blogging The Boys<\/a><br \/>Safety Malik Hooker hasn\u2019t been a star in his four seasons with the Cowboys, but he\u2019s been a consistent, reliable presence in the secondary. The nine-year veteran enters 2025 with a clear path to continuing in his starting role, and perhaps without enough appreciation for his contributions. Analytics site Pro Football Focus certainly thinks so, recently naming Hooker as Dallas\u2019 most underrated player ahead of the upcoming season. Hooker was one of three defensive backs from the NFC East to get recognized by PFF, joining Giants CB Andru Phillips and Eagles S Reed Blankenship. The Commanders\u2019 player was TE Zach Ertz, who just turned in a very productive year in Washington despite turning 34 last November.<\/p>\n<p id=\"sFi26v\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bigblueview.com\/2025\/5\/22\/24435175\/evan-neal-will-finally-move-to-guard-for-new-york-giants\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Evan Neal will \u2014 finally \u2014 move to guard for the New York Giants &#8211; Big Blue View<\/a><br \/>For several months signs have pointed toward Evan Neal transitioning from right tackle to guard for the New York Giants. A post from Paul Schwartz of the New York Post confirms that is indeed what will happen when the Giants begin OTAs next week. After three difficult seasons at right tackle, the No. 7 overall pick in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sbnation.com\/nfl-draft\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2022 NFL Draft<\/a> will line up at right guard this spring. If he shows an aptitude for the position, perhaps he could supplant 35-year-old Greg Van Roten as the starter at that spot. That would allow the Giants to get some return on investment for picking Neal so early in the draft. It would also turn Van Roten into a quality guard-center backup.<\/p>\n<p id=\"F1Z72Z\"><a href=\"https:\/\/overthecap.com\/thoughts-on-brock-purdys-265-million-contract-extension\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Thoughts on Brock Purdy\u2019s $265 Million Contract Extension &#8211; Over The Cap<\/a><br \/>In any case this is a monster year for the 49ers. They have invested a lot of money this year on and have a lot of roster space occupied by 3rd+ contract players. That is a risky way to build in the NFL. They need Purdy to continue his growth to get to the level where more people think he is capable of carrying a football team. Fairly or unfairly he is going to get blamed if they don\u2019t win even if it is because the injury bug hits the 49ers older players or players just look a step slower. This is definitely one of the teams I am most interested in watching this year because of all of the expectations that they should have on them. <\/p>\n<p id=\"rCKTu4\">&#8230;<\/p>\n<p id=\"1ct0dY\">Social Media Information:<\/p>\n<p id=\"SUm9fC\">BGN Facebook Page: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Bleeding-Green-Nation\/57835308051\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to like our page<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"eOrQ2B\">BGN Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BleedingGreen\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow @BleedingGreen<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"Zn8wbe\">BGN Bluesky: <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/bleedgreennation.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow @bleedgreennation.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"mJ3fW9\">BGN Instagram: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bleedinggreeninsta\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow @BleedingGreenInsta<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"W7V3qs\">BGN Manager: Brandon Lee Gowton: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrandonGowton\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow @BrandonGowton<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"lC0Iyt\">BGN Radio Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BGN_Radio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow @BGN_Radio<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links &#8230; Saquon Barkley made a bold claim on Eagles\u2019 placement in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[2329,2763,3367,2018,26,25,7,29,27,28,88,6,4773,152,242,109,2476,2017,3804,185,24,149,3444],"class_list":{"0":"post-72947","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-a","9":"tag-all","10":"tag-are","11":"tag-barkley","12":"tag-bleeding","13":"tag-eagles","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-front-page","16":"tag-green","17":"tag-nation","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-nfl","20":"tag-nfl-analysis-play-breakdowns","21":"tag-of","22":"tag-philadelphia","23":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","24":"tag-philadelphiaeagles","25":"tag-saquon","26":"tag-says","27":"tag-team","28":"tag-the","29":"tag-time","30":"tag-top"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}