Saquon Barkley intercepted a seemingly routine pass from Jalen Hurts in the flat. Early in the second quarter on Sunday, it was third-and-6 for the Eagles from the Jaguars' 30-yard line, and Barkley was about to turn the routine into something extraordinary.

That ability is why Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie is contractually obligated to pay Barkley up to $37.75 million over the next three years. This ability is why New York Giants chairman John Mara would have paid Barkley twice as much… and probably goes through a bottle of antacid every day. That skill produced perhaps the most breathtaking play of the season, perhaps the most exciting moment of the Eagles' wild 28-23 victory over the Jaguars, and a moment that will be added to every Eagles highlight sequence and cut into a meme and replayed endlessly Online loop if all of these things haven't already happened.

And then…

DeVonta Smith lined up opposite Jaguars cornerback – and former Eagle – Ronald Darby. It was third-and-22 from the Jaguars' 25-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, and Smith was about to turn the tension into the extraordinary.

That ability is why Lurie is contractually obligated to pay Smith up to $75 million over the next three years. That ability is why Lurie felt comfortable signing Smith, who is good enough to be nearly an NFL team's No. 1 wide receiver, to such a contract even though the Eagles already have AJ Brown, who could be the No. 1 wide receiver in the entire league. That skill produced perhaps the most breathtaking play of the season, perhaps the most exciting moment of the Eagles' wild victory over the Jaguars, and…

The meaning of the miraculous

Do you see a pattern here? The Eagles are 6-2 and seem to enjoy creating obstacles on their way to victory, only to have them knocked down. Sunday was the most blatant example of this tendency they could offer. Nick Sirianni continued his offense on fourth downs and two-point conversion attempts, as if to prove to Lurie and Howie Roseman that he could be as aggressive in chasing points as they could have hoped. He missed chances for Jake Elliott to hit extra points and regular field goals, then sent Elliott out to try for a 57-yarder with just more than two minutes left in regulation. The Eagles' refusal to take the easy route against an inferior opponent almost cost them.

” READ MORE: Jalen Hurts and context, Nick Sirianni and calm, and other self-evident Eagles truths

What ultimately saved them was the sheer talent of two players: Barkley and Smith. The former had a remarkable day: 199 total yards of offense, one rushing touchdown, one receiving touchdown. Even his biggest mistake was a barnburner: a fumble that may not have been a fumble when Jaguars defensive end Tavon Walker returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. But there was this one moment in the second quarter that everyone will remember.

Barkley was at the 31, a yard behind the line of scrimmage, when he caught the ball. Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell came toward him quickly, but Barkley, like a matador dodging a raging bull, darted just a hair to the right to avoid him. Linebacker Devin Lloyd zoomed in from Barkley's right. Somehow Barkley saw him, planted his right foot, and spun to the left, leaving Lloyd to attack a few oxygen molecules and nothing else. After advancing the ball enough to give the Eagles a first down, Barkley saw cornerback Jarrian Jones approaching and made the decision: Uh, why not? – turn your back on him and jump over him. It was the type of aerial maneuver that a human cannot normally perform without a pommel horse. Had Barkley been a member of this year's U.S. Olympic team, the breaking event wouldn't have been such a doozy.

Then, two quarters later, Smith surpassed him or came close. He pushed into the middle of the field and then swung out past Darby. Hurts threw the ball into the deepest corner of the end zone, and Smith hauled it in one-handed while still tapping his toes on the inbounds. Watching the play in real time made you wonder how he did it. There was no way he caught the ball. … I'll watch the replay. …Holy cow, he did.

Barkley, Smith, Brown – these three are the dividing lines for the Eagles. They are so talented that they can enable this team to overcome its deficiencies, at least against a team like the Jaguars, against an opponent that is now 2-7 and going nowhere. The Eagles escaped with a Sunday. Two of their players made two of their best plays. Otherwise, it would have been a down week for One NovaCare Way.