BALTIMORE – Seven plays. Seventy-one yards. A Saquon Barkley touchdown. Fourth quarter. A drive and a score that put some distance between the Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in a taut, physical, playoff-atmosphere-like game at M&T Bank Stadium that ended with the Eagles winning, 24-19.

A drive that epitomized everything about this Eagles' team: Maturity. Patience. Physicality. Smarts. And Saquon.

It was the Eagles' eighth straight win, lifting their record to 10-2 with a game on Sunday against Carolina at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles did all the right things on the way to a most impressive victory. Here are some observations ...

1. The defense was awesome

Baltimore scored on its opening two possessions, taking a 9-0 lead and really giving the Eagles some problems with Lamar Jackson's legs and some grind-it-out yards by running back Derrick Henry. Then it all changed and the Eagles dominated. Baltimore failed to gain a first down on the next three possessions and had just 14 the rest of the way until very late in the game. The Eagles won up front – Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter (he was awesome) and Nolan Smith on the edge – did a fantastic job keeping Jackson in front of them and holding Henry in check. Josh Sweat pressured off the edge. Moro Ojomo won inside. The linebackers filled. The coverage was excellent. Baltimore finished with 372 total net yards and the No. 1 offense in the NFL scored 19 points – the final score coming with three seconds remaining.

"This is a good defense. We hold our heads high. I think we earned the right to have some confidence, going into any game," Baun said after the game. "There was no adjustments made. It was just locking onto our keys, scrambling quarterback, locking onto our guys and staying in our coverage."

2. A turning point? How about this one

After a fourth offensive possession that did very little, Braden Mann had a perfect punt downed by Sydney Brown at the 1-yard line and then the Eagles' defense stepped up with a three-and-out series. The Eagles had some momentum. They trailed 9-0 at the time, but they took possession at the Baltimore 49-yard line in the second quarter with something to feel good about, and then quarterback Jalen Hurts went to work. After starting the game 1-of-5 passing, and with the offense failing to convert on its first three third downs in the first quarter, Hurts completed 8 of 9 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Goedert and a 1-yard touchdown run by Hurts and the Eagles held a 14-9 lead. On those two drives, Hurts also ran 3 times for 18 yards.

"I just ran down the field. I think there's a lot more credit to Braden (Mann), put in a great spot, great roll. All I did was have to go down it on the one," Sydney Brown said. And what that does, it just puts them in a difficult position. And when you're playing backed up offense, it's hard to really get something going because of the risk of safety. So, whenever we can get them down there, and it's been a goal since the start of year and it was the first one of the year, so just try to keep on going. All credit to Braden though."

3. Offense grinded it out

The chants from the thousands of Eagles fans in attendance of "MVP, MVP, MVP," started after Barkley broke off a 25-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to cap that 7-play, 71-yard drive. Baltimore came into the game ranked No. 2 in run defense and understandably so: Baltimore is tough, physical, and very good. The yards didn't come easily. But the Eagles stuck with it and kept running the football and finally Barkley broke one for a score. He finished with 23 carries, 107 yards, and the clinching touchdown.

4. The fourth quarter again belongs to the Eagles

Philadelphia entered the game averaging 8.9 points per game in the fourth quarter, second-best (behind the Colts) in the NFL, with a league-best +49 in fourth-quarter point differential. Philadelphia outscored the Ravens 10-7 in the fourth quarter on Sunday and in games that are this close, this tough, finishing strong makes a world of difference.

5. The red zone: Huge for the Eagles

Baltimore led the NFL with a touchdown percentage of 79 entering the game, but the Eagles decisively won the red zone. Philadelphia scored touchdowns on two of its three red-zone possessions (a late-game field goal from Jake Elliott came from the red zone), while the defense held Baltimore to one touchdown in four red-zone trips before the last-minute desperation touchdown. Great, great job from the defense.

"Wish we didn't give up that last drive, but I think just making them earn everything. Bend, don't break mentality," Cooper DeJean said. "When we get down there, our backs against the wall, we just got to understand that we can still get a stop, and that's what
we tried to do."

6. Special teams helped, too

Elliott was perfect on his three PAT attempts and his 35-yard field goal, while Justin Tucker continued his season-long struggles. He missed a PAT and two field goal attempts, points that clearly would have made the game much, much more tense. The Eagles also were outstanding in kick coverage and simply won the hidden yardage game. Mann averaged 51.2 yards per punt and dropped five of his six punts inside the 20-yard line.

7. The win goes to the coaching staff

Great adjustments by the coaching staff after the very tough start. The Eagles were in a 9-0 hole at the start of the second quarter and it didn't look good at all. But the defense buckled up, won the physical game, and squeezed Jackson and his legs and made Henry a non-factor. The offense stayed patient in a tough environment. No giveaways. All focus. The running game churned out 141 yards on 32 carries. Wide receiver A.J. Brown was a big factor with five receptions, 66 yards on six targets. Goedert was a weapon, catching 3 passes for 35 yards and a score on four targets. The Eagles didn't have DeVonta Smith and they made do without their star receiver. The offensive line did its job. This was a grind-it-out-win, the best of the season against the best opponent the Eagles have seen to date.