FRISCO, Texas — For most of two-time Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley’s seven years, NFL In his career, the first six of which were spent with the New York Giants, he shared a backfield with shortstop Daniel Jones, while the Giants did not have a top-tier receiver that opposing defenses respected.
In his first season of a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley runs like an unencumbered man. Hs has the fifth-most rushing yards, 925, in his first eight career games with a team of all time. That production keeps him on pace for 1,965 rushing yards, which would break Eagles’ LeSean McCoy’s single-season record of 1,607 set in 2013. Barkley is also averaging 133.9 yards from scrimmage per game, best in the NFL, after accumulating 199 – 159 on the ground. 27 carries and 40 receptions on three catches, in a 28-23 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9.
“Saquon is playing as well as I’ve seen him play,” Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday before facing the Eagles at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
Three of Barkley’s seven career-high single-game rushing totals came in his first eight games as an Eagle, and he’s averaging 2.5 yards per rush before the contract, third-most in the league among running backs. this season. That’s a big difference from his average of 2,023 yards before contact per one-yard run, which ranked 32nd among running backs last season.
Playing with a dual-threat quarterback who really scares defenses in Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia’s vaunted offensive line, and two high-caliber receivers in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith has unlocked the last of Barkley’s high potential. That makes the former Penn State star play “peacefully,” in the words of three-time Cowboys All-Pro running back Micah Parsons, a former teammate at PSU.
“It’s his confidence, brother. Confidence that people will make the right blocks. He’s just playing his reads. He’s playing running back very peacefully,” Parsons said Wednesday. “A lot of people doubted he would have that success, but just like his rookie year [with Odell Beckham Jr. in 2018]If you put the weapons outside of him, you can’t stack the box against him. Let’s be realistic. You’re playing the Giants, you’re putting eight in the box and saying, ‘hit me with the weapons you’ve got.’ Now that he has received help here, it has been a difference between day and night. the same with [Christian] McCaffrey [when he joined the San Francisco 49ers]. You can’t stack that box. When those good runners come into those good systems, it’s always good to see people get back to where they were.”
Not only is Barkley back to his best with the Giants, but he’s also doing things never seen before like jump over a defender backwards Sunday against the Jaguars. It’s impossible not to be drawn to that type of player, which is why Barkley played a big role in recruiting Parsons to Penn State in 2017. That was Barkley’s final year of college and Parsons’ final year of high school in Pennsylvania.
“That was tough. It’s always been that exciting,” Parsons said. “He was a big part of the reason I went to Penn State. It’s very exciting. [He was] If you just lecture me, if you take the right steps and do the right things, good things can happen to you. “It’s been exciting to see what he’s doing.”
However, Parsons, who He hasn’t played since Week 4 due to a sprained ankle.He made it clear that he didn’t text Barkley after his highlight reel because the Eagles will visit the Cowboys in Week 10.
“No, no, no, no, no, no. It’s a rivalry. That’s big brother, but he knows that when it’s game day, we’re not friends anymore,” Parsons said.
After a 2-2 start to the season that included a blowout loss in Week 4 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, something clicked for Philadelphia. They are now on a four-game winning streak in which Hurts has 12 total touchdowns and no turnovers and Barkley has 490 rushing yards, the best mark in the NFL since Week 6. However, Parsons doesn’t believe that Eagles game has changed a lot. throughout the season.
“I wouldn’t say they’re doing anything different,” Parsons said. “I think they’re trusting their system. They know they have explosive guys. They can create explosive plays. They’re doing a good job managing the clock. Jalen is doing a good job. They’re still using Jalen’s legs even though they have Saquon, obviously those exterior pieces. [Brown and Smith] They are two of the most dynamic pieces in the NFL. I don’t think they are doing anything different. I think this is the same Eagles team. But that Saquon Barkley factor is paying dividends for them.”
Barkley is certainly a big play waiting to happen. His 12 runs of 15-plus yards are the second-most among running backs in the league. So how will a Cowboys defense that is allowing the third-most rushing yards per game (147.8) and averaging the second-highest missed tackle rate (30.1%) in the NFL stop its old NFL rival? NFC East? Have a fundamentally sound attacking technique and pray.
“It’s just attacking the legs. I know it’s hard,” Parsons said. “He’s like a big brother to me, but at the end of the day, I know he’s going to come with that. He knows I’m going to come with that. So it’s going to be an exciting matchup.”
