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Cooper DeJean, Saquon Barkley celebrate birthdays & Super Bowl win, praise God

By Joshua Doering Feb 11, 2025
Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean (33) and running back Saquon Barkley (26) in Super Bowl LIX, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photos)

Cooper DeJean had a singular thought when the ball landed in his hands: Find the end zone. The Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerback reversed field and ran his first career interception back 38 yards to give the Eagles a 17-0 lead in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night in New Orleans.

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If picking off Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl wasn’t memorable enough on its own, DeJean did it on his 22nd birthday. He produced more yards and points on that play than the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense did in the entire first half.

No player in the modern era had ever scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl on their birthday — and Philadelphia nearly had two guys do it in the same game. Sunday was star running back Saquon Barkley’s birthday too; he turned 28. He and DeJean got the ultimate present, becoming Super Bowl champions for the first time thanks to the Eagles’ dominant 40-22 victory over Mahomes and the Chiefs.

“It’s crazy,” DeJean said after the game. “To be able to do it with this group of guys, I come in and since day one, all of us rookies, they brought us in, taught us everything they know. Now, to be here on the biggest stage and be able to hold that Lombardi Trophy and do it on my birthday and Saquon’s birthday, it’s pretty crazy.”

While Barkley was held to under 100 rushing yards for the first time since Week 15 (he was rested in Week 18), he still finished with 97 total yards, including a 22-yard reception that put Philadelphia inside the 5-yard line midway through the third quarter.

Despite his relatively quiet day, Barkley’s 57 rushing yards were enough to break the all-time record for rushing yards in a season (including playoffs), as he ended with 2,504 yards. He didn’t care how Philadelphia got there as long as he got to lift the Lombardi Trophy.

“The beauty of this team is that we all want to see each other succeed,” he said after the game. “And when you have all those guys and all those superstar names and all buy into that mindset, buy into a team effort, that’s how you become world champs.”

Barkley and DeJean are also two of many Eagles players who have been outspoken about their faith in God. DeJean has a tattoo on his right bicep that stands for “God is greater than the highs and the lows” and he declared “God is the Greatest” in a post on X after the NFC Championship Game.

A projected first-round draft pick at one point, DeJean’s senior season at Iowa was cut short by a fibula fracture. He slipped to the second round, and Philadelphia traded three picks to take him 40th overall. As disappointed as he was in the moment, DeJean is grateful for the way things played out.

“What happened in the draft, where I fell into the second round, getting drafted by the Eagles, I think it’s a blessing in disguise on that day,” he told Sports Spectrum ahead of the Super Bowl. “Being able to play for such a great organization and a great city, fans that have supported us the whole way, it truly is a blessing just to be here and be able to play on the biggest stage.”

Barkley said last week that he made an effort to “really hone in and grow my faith” this year. His agent, Ed Berry, is a pastor who does Bible studies with Barkley.

“[I’m] just growing, and I think that’s the beautiful thing about it, and I think that’s what religion and faith is, is having a relationship with God and understanding who Jesus is, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do this year,” Barkley said. “I’m going to continue to try to get better at it.”

On Wednesday, Barkley talked to Sports Spectrum about the important role faith plays in the Eagles locker room. He said there was no one person who’d served as a spiritual leader.

“I think the beauty of that would be that this team that we have — whether it’s me, Parris Campbell, A.J. [Brown], just having all those conversations — it’s kind of our biggest conversation starter, asking questions about religion and asking questions about faith,” Barkley told Sports Spectrum. “It just helps you grow and learn even more.”

He joined head coach Nick Sirianni and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts in giving glory to God with a post on X Monday afternoon.

Boasting one of the youngest, deepest rosters in the NFL, Philadelphia will enter next season as one of the favorites. The Eagles have a chance to join the two teams they’ve beaten in the Super Bowl — Kansas City and the New England Patriots — as the only franchises to repeat as champions this century.

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