All season long, Saquon Barkley has been in the news. The Penn State veteran is among the contenders for this year’s AP NFL MVP award for a number of reasons, including his 2,000 regular-season rushing yards and his spectacular postseason efforts.
In the NFC championship game on Sunday, Barkley had again another outstanding day, rushing for 118 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries against the Washington Commanders. After three playoff games, he now has 442 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
The most significant thing is that his Philadelphia Eagles are on their way to the Super Bowl. The Eagles will make their third Super Bowl appearance in eight years, and Barkley will play on the grandest stage in sports for the first time. After defeating the New England Patriots 41-33 at the end of the 2017 season, they took home the Lombardi Trophy. On February 9, Philadelphia will play the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII.
Barkley leads a group of four former Penn State players—three on the Eagles and one on the Chiefs—who will play for the Nittany Lions in the game.
On Sunday, January 12, 2025, in Philadelphia, wide receiver Jahan Dotson, 83, of the Philadelphia Eagles, smiles after catching a ball for a score in the first quarter of an NFL Wildcard playoff game against the Green Bay Packers.Mills, Andrew | NJ Advance Media
Philadelphia is home to cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields and wide receiver Jahan Dotson. In the playoffs, Dotson, a former Commanders first-round pick who was moved in the summer, has only caught one pass for two yards and a touchdown. Castro-Fields, who began the season with the Carolina Panthers, has been a member of the Eagles’ practice squad.
The Chiefs’ only Penn State alumnus is offensive tackle Hunter Nourzad. He has only appeared in one game this season, against the Denver Broncos in Week 18, and according to PFF, he did not give up a quarterback pressure in 31 snaps.
Stories by
Max Ralph