Eagles vs. Ravens Shapes Up As Superstar Central

The Ravens are the only team in the NFL that boasts a quarterback/running back tandem that can rival the Eagles.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) hands off to running back Derrick Henry (22). / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - The 9-2 Eagles have bigger fish to fry than regular-season football.

That said, Sunday's late afternoon date in Baltimore against the 8-4 Ravens is the highlight of the 2024 undercard for Philadelphia.

Perhaps the two most talented teams in football, the head of the monster for both clubs starts with the quarterback/running back dynamic with four legitimate MVP candidates: the Eagles' Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley vs. Baltimore's Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.

They are different setups, almost crisscrossed between the two teams, but can both be traced to the same thing: the plus-one impact of the quarterbacks on the running game.

Jackson and Barkley are the supremely gifted athletic freaks with rare skill sets that can't be duplicated while Henry and Hurts are the powerhouses of their respective positions.

"Both different players, different schemes, everything like that. But I think the thing that you can really focus on is Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are phenomenal football players that help their team win football games," Eagles head coach Sirianni said of the Ravens' superstars. "And Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley are phenomenal football players that help their team win football games."

The Ravens need the game more as the second-place team in the AFC North, one-half game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, who already bested Baltimore once in what is traditionally the NFL's best rivalry.

Playoff-scenario season kicked off for the NFL Tuesday with the league sending out clinching routes for Buffalo and Kansas City in the AFC and the 10-1 Detroit Lions in the NFC.

The Eagles aren't quite there yet but the postseason is a fait accompli for the fourth consecutive year of the Sirianni era. That doesn't mean Philadelphia has nothing to play for.

The Eagles want the No. 1 seed in the NFC and need to win in Baltimore for the first time in the regular season or risk falling further behind Detroit and allowing Minnesota an opportunity to get a leg up.

"Excited about the opportunity this week because it's our next one," Sirianni said, no doubt trying to somewhat lessen the Jackson/Henry vs. Hurts/Barkley hype. "It will be a really good opponent, really well coached, good players, good atmosphere that will be there."

However, sometimes you just need to embrace two heavyweights slugging it out.

"We're going to have to be on it against a really good team," Sirianni said.

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