NFL Analysis
1/19/25
5 min read
Saquon Barkley Is Destroying 'RBs Don't Matter' Mindset, Driving Eagles Playoff Run
Running backs matter again, and Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley is leading that charge.
The Eagles are heading to the NFC Championship Game after pulling away late over the Los Angeles Rams in snowy conditions on Sunday. Sean McVay and his team were unable to acclimate to the conditions, while the Eagles were able to come away with crucial turnovers and a pair of breakaway touchdown runs from Barkley to come up with a 28-22 win.
Barkley was awe-inspiring in Saturday's win, rushing for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 26 carries, averaging 7.9 yards per rush attempt. That dominance on the ground was close to the all-time record in a playoff game.
Running backs got paid this offseason, and there has been a two-horse race as far as the league's most impactful free-agent signing between Barkley and Baltimore Ravens workhorse Derrick Henry. However, after such a massive performance from Barkley, the superstar running back has firmly established himself as the best free agent pickup of the year.
Instant Impact
The Eagles took a big swing on Saquon this offseason, signing their former rival on the New York Giants to a three-year, $37.5 million contract.
So far, that deal is looking like a bargain for the league's most exciting running back.
Barkley had an opportunity to break the all-time rushing record, but was benched in Week 18 to rest for the playoffs. Still, he became the ninth player in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a season, rushing for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding another 278 yards and two scores as a receiver out of the backfield.
It was a match made in heaven between Barkley and Philadelphia's offensive line. An OL filled with top-tier talent like Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata was a big reason why the Eagles were second in the league with 2.16 rushing yards before contact.
With those extra few inches and feet in the run game, Barkley was able to take off with consistency. According to Pro Football Focus, Barkley led the NFL with 835 breakaway yards generated on runs of 15-plus yards while tying Jahmyr Gibbs and Derrick Henry with 25 different runs of 15-plus yards.
Among running backs with at least 100 carries this season, Barkley led all of them with runs of 10-plus yards, and was near the top on EPA per play on designed runs, per TruMedia.
Beyond the analytics, Barkley had the city of Philadelphia believing in their offense, while capturing an entire new fanbase with highlight plays like his now iconic backwards hurdle.
Saquon Barkley just did a reverse hurdle and jumped over a guy backwards 😳 pic.twitter.com/n5qFtH7USM
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 3, 2024
It was an unforgettable regular season for Barkley and the Eagles, and the extra week of rest in Week 18 helped the superstar running back recharge for a dominant two-game stretch in the postseason.
Playoff Excellence
It doesn't seem to matter what kind of elements Barkley plays in. He continues to make game-breaking plays.
Barkley's 205-yard night wasn't going to be denied by some snow. Despite the elements slowing down players on both teams, the Eagles running back continued to separate from defensive players on his way to the end zone.
According to NFL Plus, Barkley still reached 20.78 miles per hour on his game-sealing touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Barkley has picked up right where he left off in the regular season, and could even be playing better in the postseason. He's averaging 4.43 yards after contact over these two playoff games after averaging just 3.17 YAC per attempt in the regular season. Over 58 percent of Barkley's rushing yards have been accumulated on runs of 15-plus yards, compared to just 41 percent in the regular season.
While it looks like he's fresh, Barkley is doing all of this while appearing to deal with knocks that any workhorse running back would be dealing with given his year-long workload. He appeared to injure his wrist early in Sunday's game, but still finished and continued to run past the Rams defense.
Barkley has been hyped up as a superstar running back since his college days at Penn State. He may have had some big seasons with the New York Giants, but he's now dominating on the league's biggest stage and is a game away from playing in his first Super Bowl.
History in the making
It's hard to overstate just how dominant Barkley has been in Philadelphia's two playoff games.
Barkley has already rushed for 324 yards heading into the NFC Championship. That has already moved him into 18th all time for rushing yards in a single-season playoff run, ahead of all-time legends like Marshall Faulk, Marshawn Lynch, and Frank Gore.
The Eagles running back won't even need to do much more to break into the top 10 of the list. If he reaches 100 rushing yards against Washington, he would vault up to seventh all time ahead of Thurman Thomas.
That's more than likely for Barkley given the matchup against Washington. In his two games against the Commanders in the regular season, Barkley rushed for 146 and 150 yards with four touchdowns, picking their defense apart with consistent breakaway runs.
Eagles catch the Commanders wanting send Luvu off the edge. Commanders DL created a few TFLs early, but Eagles OL is able to seal them off here for a Saquon Barkley touchdown pic.twitter.com/lrsRhS46NM
— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) November 15, 2024
If he can put up a similar performance this time around, and the Eagles pull out a win, then Barkley could be within striking distance of breaking John Riggins' all time playoff rushing record.
