Eagles' Saquon Barkley Praises Jalen Hurts: 'He'll Do Anything to Be Great'

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley praised teammate and quarterback Jalen Hurts on Friday, complimenting his drive and desire for greatness.

"He wants to be great," Barkley told Brooks Kubena of The Athletic. "He'll do anything to be great."

Barkley also added these remarks.

"Greatness doesn't come from someone saying he can't do this or he can't do that, but him going out there and doing it and showing people. When I think about people that are great, greatness is the things you accomplish, the winning, the things you do as a team — all those little things. I feel like that's his mindset, his goal."

The Eagles are hosting the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday for an NFC Divisional Round game. The winner heads to the NFC Championship against the Detroit Lions or Washington Commanders.

Hurts has largely been exceptional as the Eagles' QB1 since taking over that role late in the 2020 season. He was great particularly in 2022, when he earned NFL MVP runner-up honors and nearly led Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles fell just short, 38-35.

They started 10-1 last year, but Hurts and the Eagles faltered down the stretch and were crushed in the playoffs, 32-9 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This year has been tremendous, though, in large part because of Barkley. The ex-New York Giant finished the year with 2,283 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns in 16 games. Philadelphia went 14-3, good enough for second in the NFC.

Hurts enjoyed his best year through the air, posting a career-best 103.7 passer rating. He completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 2,903 yards, 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Hurts also rushed for 630 yards and 14 touchdowns.

His chase for greatness continues Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles are firing on all cylinders, especially with the defense also performing well of late. Hurts could very well find championship glory this year, but the next step is Sunday, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET